Excellent Relax Bedding Co.
Excellent Relax Bedding Company Ltd is a family-owned business that manufactures high-quality, sustainable bedding products, including springs, mattresses and headboards. The company positions itself in the middle to high-end market, with plans to increase its presence in the premium bedding sector.
The market for mattresses is increasingly competitive, and the energy price hikes, interest rates and inflation were all impacting consumer demand. Despite this, there is a growing demand for higher-quality bedding at affordable prices.
Within this competitive marketplace, there is a large category of customers who demand craftsmanship coupled with sustainable materials.
Joining WYBPS
The directors were operating in a very competitive marketplace, and wanted to improve their productivity, cost base, and sales revenue, especially having made significant investments in new machinery and additional workforce.
Given a number of operational challenges, they wanted to be able to identify areas where productivity could be measured in the manufacturing operation. This improved knowledge would inform their day-to-day decision making and longer-term strategy and planning. They wanted to address gaps in their management information and needed support to identify, prioritise, measure and monitor production KPIs, focused on individual and departmental performance, including direct labour productivity.
Within the project scope, they wished to improve quality, increase output, and reduce turnaround and overall lead times, but Excellent Relax Bedding’s ultimate aim was to increase efficiency and production capacity from its premises, to enable it to drive an additional 52% of sales by March 2026.
”We have learnt what productivity measures we needed to track, where our issues were. We have understood our processes and our market better, and have invested in new machinery to become more efficient and competitive, allowing us to expand into new markets”
Azeez Akudi, Operations Director, Excellent Relax Bedding Co.
Initial Situation
James’ initial meeting with Excellent Relax Bedding Company gave him insights into how the business operated, on the factory floor, he got a good feel for the operating processes, and his meetings with the wider team allowed him to understand the challenges they faced.
James Smith led the team through the productivity diagnostic process, which is a fundamental part of the Business Productivity Service programme. This involved meetings with experts from Leeds Beckett University, where they analysed the areas of productivity that would deliver the best results. Together, they set definitive productivity KPIs.
The Operations Director, Azeez and Operations Manager Eddie identified the following metrics to measure:
- Time duration from works order to finished goods
- Average overall process (resource utilisation) time
- Direct labour hours actually worked (not wasted)
- Direct labour work rate vs standard/expected/target
Excellent Relax Bedding Company knew that they would need to reassess how to effectively train and manage their team as they started on their high-growth strategy. The productivity diagnostic informed them where they needed to improve and highlighted gaps in information that was needed for strategic decision making. They knew they had to improve their efficiency, and so invested in a new spring machine, as well as two additional support staff.
Diagnostic Results
The productivity target they set themselves for year 1 2023 to 2024
Baseline Labour Productivity £3.95
Forecast Labour Productivity £4.98
Actual Labour Productivity £4.58
The team at Excellent Relax Bedding Company did a tremendous job implementing all the areas from the WYBPS Productivity Improvement Plan, and increased their productivity by 16%. They did not quite hit the forecast, but on reflection, felt that the economic environment had more of an impact on them than expected.
Challenges Addressed:
The programme has helped the company to identify and measure productivity and to plan accordingly. This includes acting during quieter times with regard to managing labour. It has also helped highlight the need to develop a clear sales and marketing plan tied to the strengths of the business, including working efficiently and focusing on the most profitable products for the company. The company has invested in a new show van to take products to trade customers and shows. It is actively exploring export opportunities to Europe and the Middle East.
The company now employs structured methods, such as daily tracking via Excel charts, to monitor departmental performance and identify areas for improvement in productivity. The continuous modifications to equipment and processes are also part of their strategy to ensure increased output and improved efficiency.
“Since working with the West Yorkshire Business Productivity Service, we have experienced significant growth in sales and productivity, despite the challenging market conditions.”
Azeez Akudi, Operations Director at Excellent Relax Bedding Co.
1-Year on
Over the last year, Excellent Relax Bedding Company has continued to invest in new productivity-focused initiatives.
The business received a grant of £41,000 towards a £150,000 purchase of a calico pocket spring machine. The new machine has brought the component unit cost down, and is helping increase production, reduce waste, and has increased capacity. They have recruited two additional, skilled production staff and expanded their customer base, including a significant customer in Holland.
Conclusion
Through the Productivity Programme, Excellent Relax Bedding Company is now working towards solidifying its competitive edge in the market while focusing on sustainable practices and high-quality manufacturing. The company’s success reflects the benefits of embracing innovation and adaptability in a challenging economic landscape, and as a direct result from working with the Business Productivity Service programme team, and implementing their Productivity Improvement Plan for the company.