Cutting Costs without cutting corners

The Problem

In April 2005, Arnott's looked to hit budget for the year
The challenge was to find USD500,000 net savings across the biscuit manufacturing business without affecting the quality of their famous products.
Arnott's is a well-run business - they are always looking for new ways to make their biscuits using process, materials and labour more efficiently.

The Process

There were ideas in the business already, we had to land these and other new ideas in a way which:

took into account what has worked in the past and what hasn't
involved a wide range of people in the project and helped them keep ownership of their ideas
kept the confidence of these people who are passionate about the products they make

The Solution

First we listened: What has been tried before? How much focus is there on the need to look for savings in the business? Does this feel like deja vu? What would you do?

Then we designed a process which took us (a team of two from Arnotts and two inventors from ?What If!) to all the factories to give Manufacturing the chance to share their ideas, and look at the product portfolio in new ways to generate more ideas.

These ideas were grouped based on who would be needed to make them happen.

Next we took the ideas which needed cross-functional support to an incubator session including representatives from marketing, packaging, product development, sensory and manufacturing. We prioritised the ideas in terms of what it would take to make them happen and made a plan for making sure they would.

All ideas were captured on a giant database which anyone in the business can access - showing the status of the idea.

The Results

The process unearthed over 250 ideas with those chosen for action being worth more than double the target. The process took five weeks, and generated a lot of enthusiasm at Arnott's. We also identified a range of ways of making the process stick and coached Arnott's so they could do it next time without the need for consultants (talk about finding efficiencies...)

"The team from ?What If! approached the task with a tremendous level of confidence and enthusiasm, which we found infectious. The guys also challenged some of our mental models with a sharp commercial focus, and ensured that we had the right discussion in mapping out an approach. We were impressed by the speed with which the team became familiar with, and understood our business, which was reinforced by feedback at the plants. They also brought credibility, structure, freshness and importantly fun to the process. They were able engage well with our manufacturing teams, and as such the approach we built brought a much better sense of ownership of the ideas than previously. The ?What If! team provided us coaching in facilitating the process, so that we have the skills to institutionalise the process successfully."
Hayden Goodman, Arnotts

"We had the good fortune of working with an adventurous team at Arnott's who were prepared to try a new approach to an old problem, and threw themselves into the project with gusto. The teams at the factory were a rich source of ideas, which we helped to draw out and build on together. It was a true team project, and we worked hard to ensure that ownership of the output stayed with the teams themselves. We combined best creative thinking practice with a degree of on-project coaching to ensure that we generated powerful solutions that would stick."
Martin Amor & Matt Whale, ?What If!