From SAP Bedlam To Operational Discipline
OVERVIEW
Johnston Sweepers, a global manufacturer of road sweepers, was spiralling into chaos at its Dorking, UK aftermarket facility. The site’s parts and service operation couldn’t cope with aged systems, poorly configured SAP, and misaligned workflows.
Trigger for intervention: Service collapsed due to bad SAP logic. The supply chain had become severely congested, costly, and stuck.
THE CHALLENGE
Service was collapsing as systems, workflows, and space constraints collided at the aftermarket facility.
- Service levels were collapsing. Stuck below 50% by Day 3, with rising frustration from the service centres they supported.
- Goods were left untouched. Inbound receipts sat for days before being booked into stock and made available to client orders.
- SAP triggered chaos. Misuse of system logic caused fragmented partial shipments — one order shipped 39 times and remained back ordered.
- Inbound was unmanaged. Suppliers turned up unannounced, overwhelming the receiving team.
- Teams were disconnected. Sales, production, and parts service operations clashed daily.
THE APPROACH
Gary Newbury, an established Supply Chain Management Consultant, was brought in to stabilise operations, not just the SAP system. The transformation was swift, dynamic, and lasting.
- Redesigned the warehouse. Optimised layout and flow from goods-in to shipping.
- Relocated the operation. Shifted parts fulfilment into its own controlled space.
- Imposed daily discipline. Introduced shift structures and booking protocols to eliminate inbound backlogs.
- Reconfigured SAP. Aligned system logic to support designed fulfilment behaviour.
- Segmented the inventory. Defined SKUs by lead-time and service priority.
THE SOLUTION
A hybrid of physical and digital redesign restored control, pace, and confidence.
- Redesigned the facility. Repurposed vehicle service bays into a dedicated fulfilment hub to support expanding order volumes.
- Rebuilt and balanced shift structure. Introduced split timing across goods-in, putaway, and selection/shipping.
- Installed inbound booking. Replaced chaos with capacity-led scheduling.
- Cleaned up SAP logic. Stopped partial picks, reactivated replenishment, and synced ATP.
- Tiered the SKUs. Created four lead-time service levels with clear internal and external expectations, and allocation rules.
SAP wasn’t broken. It was blind. The win came from teaching the system how the business should run — and the people too.
THE OUTCOMES
A redesigned fulfilment model delivered speed, stability, and sustained performance.
- Same-day availability created. Inbound stock was checked, booked, and often available for allocation before the inbound delivery driver had left.
- Fulfilment surged. Day 1 fulfilment climbed from under 50% to consistently over 90%.
- SAP was stabilised. Logic was aligned with operations — no more fragmented shipments or misallocated picks.
- Process beat platform. Leadership realised system issues were symptoms — not causes.
- Confidence returned. Clear workflows and ownership revitalised the warehouse team’s performance.
WHY IT MATTERS
A simple, disciplined approach delivered scalable, repeatable value. This wasn’t a rescue. It was a full operating model reset — with staying power.
- The warehouse was rebuilt to match demand. Layout and flow were reengineered for operational scale.
- Inventory logic finally made sense. SKUs aligned with service level expectations — and SAP supported the operation, rather than hindered it.
- Leaders saw the light. Process discipline — not software — was the missing piece.
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
“Gary quickly moved the conversation from ‘the system’s broken’ to ‘here’s what excellence looks like and how we get there.’ We didn’t need a new system. We needed someone who could see the whole battlefield and act fast. That’s what we got.”
— John Halley, Head of Quality and Customer Service, Johnston Sweepers