Business Case Studies & Business Publications

California Closets: Rethink, Rebuild (A)

Thomas, Doug, Chin...

Case

California Closets: Rethink, Rebuild (A)

Thomas, Doug; Chinnaswamy, Trent; Yemen, Gerry

OM-1810 | | 13 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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In July 2021, Peer Nielsen, partner at the Business Improvement Group, was deciding how to improve manufacturing at California Closets. Although sales were expected to exceed current production by the end of the year, California Closets faced existing issues with manufacturing defects, incomplete orders, and delivery delays. A partner at the Business Improvement Group, a boutique consultancy, Nielsen had spent much of the spring evaluating the custom storage provider’s manufacturing centers in Arizona and Michigan. While California Closets' leadership was planning a major investment in automation, Nielsen believed Lean manufacturing techniques could improve the situation with existing resources. As a high-mix, high-volume manufacturer, how could California Closets meet its quality, delivery, and production targets? This case series examines how to improve a process with existing company resources in a high-volume mass customization manufacturing environment. It can be used as an introduction to Lean thinking or for learning and practicing specific methods such as A3 or 5S. The case has been used with students in full-time MBA courses and executive education programs.

- Examine the dynamics of a high-volume mass customization manufacturing operation. - Identify the root causes of each production challenge. - Explore how to implement Lean techniques to meet manufacturing targets. - Analyze how to improve workflows between teams in an organization while maintaining common goals. - Identify the bottleneck resource.