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Cutting costs

Description

As innovation progresses and new services are developed, the competitive edge has become a key factor of performance that sets one company apart from another. There are a number of cutting costs. In order to make a quantum performance leap in this field, it is necessary to address the complete value chain.

Even if the various levers clearly depend on the sector of activity, they do, in fact, impact almost all of the processes related to operations: By way of example:

  • Purchasing: how can product sourcing be optimized, while including as many suppliers as possible in the controlled panel? How can the QCD performance of suppliers be improved? How can products be redesigned to cost?
  • Manufacturing: how can the productivity of teams be improved and how can progress initiatives be deployed? How can flows be made tighter and wastage be reduced (Lean manufacturing)? How can the cost of non-quality be cut? How can the availability of industrial assets be increased, while cutting maintenance costs?
  • Repairs and after-sales:how can the total cost of ownership of products be cut? How can the cost of maintenance and repairs be cut? How can products be designed that are less expensive to maintain? How can the interface between after-sales, production and R&D be improved?
  • Supply Chain Planning:how can forecasts be made more reliable in order to minimize uncertainty? How can schedules be optimized to maximize the productivity of the teams and the load factor of resources, while meeting the customer’s specifications? How can the cost of subcontracting or overtime be cut? How can the cost of obsolescence be cut? How can the make or buy mix be optimized? How can the supply chain of products bought in low-cost zones be optimized?
  • Logistics:how to set up a distribution  network that is less costly, but that better meets customer demands? How to improve the productivity of operational teams? How to rationalize logistics activities? What must be outsourced?
  • Research and Development:how can the development cycles and costs be cut? How can prototyping costs be cut? How can we design products that are easier to manufacture (internally or externally) and to repair?
  • Support functions: how can the support services be designed to deliver maximum efficiency? How can the support functions be made more flexible according to the company activity, in order to avoid fixed overheads?
  • Information systems:how can IT costs be cut by rationalizing the architecture and improving the maintenance of applications? How can business tasks be automated in order to reduce staffing requirements and focus employees on their added value?

Thanks to its position and its expertise, Argon Consulting can help is customers with their change plans designed to cut costs.

Argon Consulting can provide input in the diagnostic phase:

  • identify and validate the levers to be used,
  • facilitate the alignment of players with the target processes and roles and responsibilities,
  • set ambitious targets and make sure that they are accepted by management, which then supports commitment,
  • define the required action plan.

…and in the implementation phase:

  • put the organization under pressure,
  • control the change program and keep track of gains through a benefits tracking system in order to remain permanently focused on results,
  • execute the actions required to achieve the business target and the gains,
  • support the human dimension of the change process.
Team

Yvan Salamon – President

The founder and President of Argon Group, Yvan has managed and been directly involved in many assignments to improve operations (costs, cash flow), as well as industrial and logistics strategy assignments in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Before creating Argon Group, Yvan Salamon was a member of the European Board of Hays Logistics Group (Kuehne & Nagel), where he was in charge of production methods and organization. Prior to that, Yvan Salamon spent four years as the Production Plants Manager with CGC, and five years with the strategy consultancy bureau, Mars & Co. Yvan is a graduate of the Ponts & Chaussées engineering school.

Fabrice Bonneau –  Managing Director

Before becoming Managing Director of Argon Consulting, Fabrice was in charge of the Manufacturing Distribution Retail sector at Capgemini Consulting, and a member of the management committee. Before that, he was one of the founders of PEA Consulting.  Fabrice has worked on numerous performance improvement (cost cutting, stock reductions, improvement of service) and supply chain change and manufacturing projects. He has also managed supply chain strategy, governance and organization projects, manufacturing system projects, supply chain planning (forecasting, planning, stock optimization) projects and information system master plan projects, in all the manufacturing and retail sectors. Fabrice is a graduate of the Ponts & Chaussées engineering school and a qualified mathematician. He is also President of the Industrial Engineering department of the Ponts & Chaussées engineering school.

Fabrice Corbière – Associate Director

Fabrice Corbière has more than 20 years of experience in supply chain consulting in the aerospace, pharmaceutical, automotive, consumer products/luxury, manufacturing and services sectors. He has worked on numerous competitive performance projects, in particular in the field of cost reductions (logistics, manufacturing; purchasing) in the aerospace, automotive equipment and manufacturing, broadcasting, luxury and healthcare sectors. Before joining Argon Consulting, Fabrice was an Associate Director with PEA Consulting, then with Cap Gemini Consulting, where he was in charge of the supply chain practice. Fabrice is a graduate of Centrale Paris.

Nicolas Gelle – Associate Director

Nicolas Gellé has 16 years of experience in consulting, in particular in the fields of strategy, manufacturing or logistics master plans, the reconfiguration of supply chain processes and organizational changes, and in restructuring and working hours reorganization projects, performance, outsourcing and activity transfer plans and the design of warehouses and industrial sites. Before joining Argon Consulting, Nicolas was in charge of the manufacturing entity at Valtech Axelboss, of which he was one of the founders. He was also Supply Chain Director at Moulinex. Nicolas started his career with Ouroumoff and CSC Peat Marwick.  Nicolas is a graduate of Centrale Lille.

Eric T. – Director

Eric T. joined Argon Consulting after 10 years with BearingPoint, where he worked on logistics strategy projects, and on logistics and manufacturing performance. Before that, he worked for Productive Edge Associates. He has accomplished a varied range of missions to cut costs in manufacturing activities. Eric is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and of Ponts et Chaussées.

Mathieu de N. –  Director

Mathieu de N. is a Director in the supply chain and manufacturing practice. Over the last few years, Mathieu has acquired outstanding expertise in the issues of logistics strategy, logistics and supply chain performance and industrial planning. He has supported groups such as Valeo and Schneider Electric in the implementation of international cost-cutting programs. Mathieu is a graduate of Mines Paris.

Isabelle H. – Senior Manager

Isabelle H. is a Senior Manager in the supply chain and manufacturing practice, with more than 10 years of experience in consulting. She has accomplished numerous assignments to improve performance by cutting costs and boosting operational productivity. Before joining Argon Consulting, Isabelle worked in the planning department for Hays Logistics (Kuehne and Nagel) and for Sylea (Valeo), in the field of industrial planning. Isabelle is a graduate of the Arts & Métiers school.

Donatien M. – Senior Manager

Donatien M. is specialized in supply chain. He has worked with both manufacturers and distributors on issues of logistics strategy and industrial planning and scheduling and operational improvement programs. He was worked on cost-cutting missions for investments funds. Donatien is a graduate of Centrale Paris in industrial engineering, production management and logistics.

Danielle P. - Manager

Danielle P. is a manager in the supply chain practice. She has worked on numerous operational performance improvement projects aiming at reducing costs and optimizing working capital, in France and abroad. In particular, she implemented her expertise in the fields of shipbuilding, in the automotive industry (inventory reduction programs), catering and retail (productivity increase) Danielle is a graduate of Mines Paris.

Eric P. - Manager

Eric P. has worked on many performance improvement assignments (logistics and supply chain) as well as transformation assignments, in particular cost cutting logistic assignments (warehouse and transportation calls for tender, transportation benchmark). He has also worked on issues of logistic blueprint definition. He worked in particular for Buffalo Grill, Casino and Sun Capital. Eric is a graduate of Centrale Paris and of Technical University of Munich (TUM) in production management.