With the impact of the credit crunch and the shift in focus by the customer and consumer, from branded to price i.e. more for less meant that UB needed to change its approach. This meant that the need to further reduce costs in all parts of the organisation whilst maintaining a quality product and service was now seen as a must in order to ensure UB as a brand continued to be valued.

This required a step change and began by the appointment of a Lean Director to enable buy in at the highest level. The next phase was to define the UB UK Lean Way and to improve the base from which this would be delivered and hence the engagement of a Group Lean Controller to provide support and guidance to the organisation. The increased focus on lean programme has enabled cost reduction and improved efficiency throughout operations

Key Learning's