What it looked like.

The schedule lived in a foreman's head; 30% of orders shipped late and nobody could say which ones would be next.

A visual schedule board on the wall, a weekly planning meeting with a fixed agenda, and two planners trained to run it without me.

Late orders under 8% in four months. The foreman took a holiday for the first time in six years.

Inventory counts off by 20%, two write-offs a year, and a buyer who ordered by instinct.

Cycle counting by zone, one reorder rule per SKU family, and a Friday count that takes forty minutes.

Counts within 3%. No write-off in the following year.

The founder wanted to retire; no successor was ready and the plant ran on his instincts.

A twelve-month handover plan, a new GM shadowed on the advisory retainer, and the founder's decisions written down one by one.

The founder stepped back on schedule. The GM is still there.

Three legacy spreadsheets for one schedule, each owned by someone who'd left.

One schedule, two trained planners, and a rule that nothing goes on it without a date.

Overtime down by a third in a quarter.