Cross-Country Product Line Relocation: 7,900 Components Resourced in 5 Months

The Challenge

A global OEM manufacturer made a strategic decision to relocate an entire aerial work platform assembly line from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast — a distance of over 2,500 miles. The line's existing supply base was entirely West Coast–based, meaning every one of the 7,900 components in the bill of materials needed to be resourced with new, locally qualified suppliers. The original implementation plan called for two 4-month phases, but corporate headquarters compressed the timeline to 5 months total. Compounding the challenge: 3 new product launches, an ERP system migration, and full current production requirements all had to continue simultaneously. The line had a hard shutdown date — if the new facility wasn't operational in time, production would stop.

Our Approach

A 3P Stage Gate methodology was implemented using a Gantt chart with clearly defined go/no-go milestones and risk barriers. Weekly cross-site coordination calls were held between both facilities, with daily communication on critical-path items involving approximately 12 stakeholders including managers, general managers, VPs, and the CEO. A new commodity manager was hired specifically to lead the resourcing activity. All 7,900 components were systematically evaluated, quoted, and sourced from new suppliers meeting quality, delivery, price, consolidation, and lead-time criteria. For components requiring identical commodities across multiple corporate facilities, coordination was managed through corporate supply chain leadership. Three strategic suppliers were negotiated to co-locate a shared distribution facility less than one mile from the new plant, maintaining vendor-managed inventory with multiple daily deliveries. A complete Plan For Every Part, cycle count plan, FIFO supermarkets, and barcoded Kanban system were established. Ten Kaizen events were executed to optimize materials setup and flow, and custom carts and fixtures were developed for line-side material delivery.

Measurable Results

• First unit produced on the new line in Week 1 of Month 5 — on plan despite compressed timeline
• $100K+ annual cost savings versus Pacific Northwest BOM costs through local sourcing
• 7,900 components successfully resourced from new supplier base
• 10 Kaizen events completed for kanban setup, SWIP, and visual flow controls
• 3 suppliers co-located distribution hub within 1 mile of plant for multi-daily VMI delivery
• Zero disruption to existing production during the entire relocation period
• Simultaneous management of 3 new product launches + ERP migration during the move