Case Study: Network Optimization & Footprint Reduction for a $3B Global Water Treatment Leader

A $3B global leader in water treatment solutions initiated a strategic consolidation of its manufacturing footprint — merging two subsidiaries into a shared services model to reduce overall manufacturing costs and improve operational efficiency.

The plan required relocating one subsidiary's production from a Florida facility to a new facility in Mexico. The challenge: the client lacked the internal supply chain planning resources and expertise necessary to execute the transition without disrupting customer fulfillment.

The transition exposed three critical gaps:

Planning capacity. The supply chain planning function didn't have the bandwidth to manage the complexity of a cross-border production relocation while continuing to run day-to-day operations. Something would have to give — and the risk was that customer service would be the casualty.

Material transfer complexity. Coordinating material movements between two facilities in different countries, with different regulatory environments and logistics networks, required a level of planning sophistication that the existing team wasn't resourced to provide.

S&OP integration. The Mexico facility needed to be integrated into the existing Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE) and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes — not as an afterthought after go-live, but as part of the transition plan from day one.

We engaged a skilled supply chain planning consultant to address the critical gaps in the planning function. The engagement focused on three workstreams:

We coordinated material transfers between the Florida and Mexico facilities — managing the sequencing of inventory movements, production ramp-down in Florida, and production ramp-up in Mexico to ensure continuity of supply throughout the transition.

This required building a detailed transition plan that accounted for lead times, minimum order quantities, safety stock requirements, and customer commitments across both facilities simultaneously.

We developed a planning model to support material procurement for the production ramp-up in Mexico. The model provided visibility into procurement requirements across the transition timeline, enabling the team to place orders ahead of need and avoid the supply gaps that typically accompany facility transitions.

Technology: Excel Models, ERP – IFS

We supported the integration of the Mexico facility into the existing S&OE and S&OP processes — ensuring that the new facility was operating within the established planning cadence from day one of production, rather than being managed as a separate exception.

This included process design, data integration, and training for the Mexico planning team.

• Raw material procurement and customer demand fulfillment transitioned smoothly from the Florida to the Mexico facility — no material supply disruptions during the transition window
• Structured transition and disposition plan executed for Florida site inventory — minimizing write-offs and ensuring clean closure of the facility
• S&OE/S&OP processes effectively leveraged to support decision-making throughout the transition — the planning cadence provided the visibility leadership needed to manage the complexity in real time

Embedding dedicated planning capacity was the critical decision. The client's internal team was capable — they simply didn't have the bandwidth to manage a complex cross-border transition on top of their existing responsibilities. We provided the capacity and the expertise, and the internal team provided the institutional knowledge and relationships.

The early integration of the Mexico facility into the S&OP process — rather than treating it as a separate workstream — was the other key factor. It meant that by the time production went live in Mexico, the planning infrastructure was already in place.

This case study has been anonymized to protect client confidentiality. Results are representative of actual engagement outcomes.