Chemical
Breaking through the barriers to
dramatically enhanced revenue, EBITDA
results, and risk management across a
dynamic chemical and process
industry value chain.
MainePointe.com
Boston Vancouver Schaffhausen Shanghai
A New Pathway to a More Dynamic, Fully Optimized Strategic Supply Chain
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Maine Pointe drives profitable business transformation through
n Operations Excellence
n Strategic Procurement
n Logistics
…and uniquely integrated approaches to Sustainability and Organizational Improvement.
A New Pathway
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“The Maine Pointe team
applied a ‘roll up your
sleeves and get to work’
approach to our engagement
that identified areas for
improvement as well as
detailed processes to
implement and monitor
the success in sales and
operations planning,
maintenance and operations
excellence. Their team
blended seamlessly with
our personnel. We feel that
our investment in Maine
Pointe was well worth it; the
project rendered the tools
and processes necessary for
us to sustain improvements.”
Luther C. Kissam, IV
President
Albemarle Corporation
For some time now, chemical companies have been diversifying their mix of products and customers to improve margins and stimulate more consistent revenue growth. Concerns over economic factors – such as unstable foreign exchange rates and fluctuating oil prices – have focused industry leaders on selling assets and acquiring new businesses as a means to gaining market share and enhancing EBITDA.
While this strategy has been successful, it has often injected more
complexity into operations or instigated havoc upon the supply chain.
There are factors that are now converging to alter the competitive context
– such as greater demand for ever more scarce raw materials, rising energy
costs, and demographic shifts. Smart CEOs are already responding with a
greater emphasis on differentiated products and service models in addition
to implementing alternative production methods (such as lean principles
and automation). They are also transitioning to greater segmentation of
their customers’ supply chain requirements.
Regionally-focused chemical companies are looking to scale globally
at the same time that the large market leaders are going more vertical
in an effort to create new niche opportunities. Cyclical sectors, such as
commodity chemicals, are restructuring as those companies become more
specialized to ward off encroachment from private equity firms looking for
deal opportunities.
Companies expanding overseas are navigating tax and regulatory
obligations along with license to operate and stakeholder issues. As they
divest from their installed base and relocate operations to more financially
advantageous footprints – issues of centralization, rationalization, cost
management and intellectual property engender tensions with tax
authorities in a complex web of global asset restructuring. Ongoing
development issues in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, India,
and China are requiring companies to apply new approaches to a range
of operational concerns.
Chemical CEOs continue to be concerned about market and financial
volatility amidst global trends toward more regulation, proactive
government oversight, and public sector investments in commerce.
Nevertheless, they are hedging their odds and penetrating new markets –
especially regions where their presence may be limited or non-existent – such
as China and Brazil. Rather than building research facilities, their focus is
on scaling manufacturing operations, leveraging a range of local resources
– including human capital (via training and development) – and engaging
new customers.
Attracting and developing the next generation of skilled workers at all
levels remains a potential impediment for capacity building in the near
term. As company leaders address this gap, more senior personnel are
being pulled from their native posts and assigned to new, or developing,
market initiatives to help ensure a successful build out.
Evolving operations and reporting standards are raising expectations
for responsible business practices, bringing greater attentiveness to
environmental, health and safety concerns as well as transparent
financial practices. Company leaders are increasingly viewing safe work
environments, sound financial standards, reducing pollution levels, and
improving energy and resource utilization as pathways to more
durable competitiveness.
Don’t Be Fooled into Going it Alone
Chemical and process industry companies are compelled to develop
operational efficiencies and quality management standards unlike what
they have achieved before. They must reinvent many aspects of their
business model in order to support a renewed priority around optimizing
the supply chain as a driver of operations excellence, competitive
agility, and risk resiliency.
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Achieving supply chain optimization will require greater utilization of
e-procurement technologies, lean manufacturing, outsourcing non-
core activities, reducing cash-to-cash cycles and minimizing material
inventories. By focusing on the full range of operational improvements –
including enhanced sales and operations planning, distribution and
delivery – companies can significantly lower costs while converting their
supply chain into a differentiated driver of perpetual growth.
Many chemical leaders have not focused on building a depth of supply
chain expertise or transferring best practices from other industries. Their
teams have necessarily concentrated on solving day-to-day issues and
executing on current initiatives to keep up with immediate priorities.
It’s common to underestimate the importance of practical, on-the-ground
supply chain experience to deliver results quickly. Companies tend to
go it alone but if they do hire a consultant they retain one with singular
chemical industry experience. Trouble is, those options are what everyone
else does and the result is more of the same.
Collaborating with a trusted advisor who can integrate extensive chemical
and process industry experience with cross-modal logistics expertise,
frontline operations implementation, and multi-industry insights on global
procurement practices can be a game-changing tactic. Engaging such a
resource can put the best ‘feet on the ground’ to achieve bottom-line
results more quickly than an internal team can on its own.
As a result, company leaders and facility managers become better able to
calculate and build capacity for meeting true real-time demand. They’ll
no longer be held hostage to reactionary or impulsive responses to
expectations that are not validated.
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The Difference We Make
Maine Pointe works with all types of chemical and process industry companies
– from basic, commodity and agricultural to specialty and consumer entities.
We dramatically compress the cycle to greater profitability and cash flow with
less upfront investment in time and resources.
Our specialists offer deep frontline experience across the entire chemical
and process industry value chain to effectively align facilities, capabilities,
processes and strategic initiatives for long-term advantage. By leveraging
the right combination of functional competencies, we deliver innovative
cost-saving business transformation solutions that are accountable and
measurable. We reorientate supply chain operations from the traditional
Total Cost of Ownership model to Maine Pointe’s next-generation Total Value
Optimization (TVO) framework.
Redefining the Results You Should Expect
Maine Pointe consistently delivers an average engagement ROI of 6:1
to 10:1, supported by a guaranteed 2:1 ROI based on annualized savings.
Our industry engagement successes include:
Saving 7-10% in the direct spend for key raw materials of many
specialty chemical manufacturers – including companies that serve
the garment, pharmaceutical, consumer product, film, food thickener
and LCD screen markets.
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Achieving a 4:1 ROI in Procurement for a cosmetic formulator.
Saving 6-18% for a number of different industry leaders by optimizing
their network, upgrading supplier contracts, and shifting truck load to rail.
Reducing Logistics costs 17% for a producer of refractory products.
Assisting in removing 8,000 trucks from the Logistics spend
of a synthetic polymer company while significantly advancing
achievement of their corporate Sustainability goals.
Improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) for an agricultural
chemical company from a 52% rate to 63% and increasing production
by over 2 million pounds in one facility; consolidating operating costs
by 15% in another plant by improving the OEE rate from 55% to 75%.
Redesigning of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) function
for a leading precision coated films manufacturer – increasing
productivity by over 35% and reducing inventory by 40%.
Eliminating a 60,000 sq. ft. refrigerated warehouse, reducing fresh
water and steam usage in the manufacturing process with significant
productivity gains for a laminated glass manufacturer; also reducing
the plant’s waste and scrap levels, chemical waste, and treated waste
water produced.
Improving EBITDA by $27 million annually and reducing inventory by
30% for a polypropylene manufacturer in the flooring sector.
Decreasing overtime by 90% and consolidating three plants into one
for a mouldings manufacturer in the building sector.
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Our Values-Based Approach
While there are a number of ways for Maine Pointe to collaborate with
chemical and process industry leaders, we develop and implement robust
savings initiatives in six to nine months following our analysis. We may
collaborate with your team on simple, point solution projects – or on
multiple supply chains and operations across a complex, integrated value
chain within your subsidiaries.
Implementation
n Identifies and implements operational improvements
n Optimizes the global supply chain
n Aligns the company leadership and teams with the overall strategic
imperatives and transformation agenda
n Delivers substantiated savings, supported by the
Maine Pointe guarantee
Our Approach Emphasizes:
n Alignment with client’s
work flow and organization
culture
n Integrity-driven
assessments
n Thorough, rigorous
implementation
n Transparent and
accountable results
n Regular progress reports
and meetings
n A bottom-line commitment
to Sustainability
n Collaborative knowledge
transfer
n A focus on the client team
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“Maine Pointe performed
a comprehensive analysis,
assigning a team of very
experienced consultants
that worked diligently with
our internal team to identify
significant cost savings
opportunities in direct
raw materials purchases,
indirect spending, and
logistics. More importantly
the processes, procedures,
training, contract template
and toolkit developed by
Maine Pointe forms a solid
foundation and framework
to maintain the savings
long after the engagement
ended. Despite a myriad
of challenges throughout
the assignment, Maine
Pointe remained impartial,
professional and focused.”
Timothy J. Powell
Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer
Resco Products, Inc.
Continual Value Enhancement
n Implements new approaches and their attendant methodologies,
processes, infrastructure, and behavioral changes
n Perpetuates value through cost reduction, revenue enhancement, and
productivity gains
n Integrates the Maine Pointe Sustainability framework to substantiate
and leverage new sources of value creation
Analysis
n Utilizes interconnected diagnostic approaches to understand the
company strategy and priorities
n Enhances acquisition decisions through the identification of value
creation opportunities, organizational and productivity improvements,
and guidance on risk areas
n Delivers an objective, action-oriented and detailed assessment of
the current or potential supply chain – including its functional and
departmental processes
n Identifies and quantifies potential bottom line asset improvements, as
well as working capital risks and opportunities
n Discerns the appropriate value creation opportunities to be factored into
ongoing budget decisions as well as future investments
n Maps a clear pathway for seizing opportunities that will achieve the
projected ROI
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About Maine Pointe
Maine Pointe is an operations management and implementation firm
that is rapidly becoming a leader in sustainable global supply chain
transformation. We help chemical and process industry leaders maximize
profits and improve cash flow to free up working capital while developing a
sustainable approach to business practices.
Maine Pointe accelerates value creation by leveraging our frontline
operations expertise across multiple industries to break through the barriers
to improved growth and profitability. Our methodologies, processes and
collaborative knowledge transfer capabilities help transform how chemical
and process industry companies actually operate on the ground.
Maine Pointe teams work with all personnel to seize opportunities that drive
significant cash, profitability and EBITDA enhancements to the bottom line.
Select Chemical and Process Industry Clients:
AlbemarleArclin USAArizona ChemicalBaker HughesBunge LimitedCanadian Natural Resources, Ltd.ChemAid LaboratoriesCP FilmsFlexsysNeucel Specialty CellulosePhiladelphia Energy SolutionsPotashCorpSolutiaThe Mosaic CompanyUnited Suppliers
“Maine Pointe’s unique
approach to a savings
guarantee for clients,
combined with their deep
knowledge and practical
work experience in supply
chain management, sets
them apart from others.
Through an intense
evaluation of existing
practices and their focus
on low capital investment
solutions, process
improvements are developed
and implemented that yield
real and measurable benefits
for the long term.”
Blaine Higgs
Former Director, Logistics
and Distribution
Irving Oil
U.S. (Headquarters)
Independence Wharf
470 Atlantic Ave., 4th flr.
Boston, MA 02210
Telephone: 617.273.8450
Fax: 781.934.0579
Jim Kulbeda
Executive Vice President, Chemical
Cell: 404.274.8949
