Key Takeaways
- A specialist defence manufacturer was relocating production into a smaller facility while shifting more activity to an outsourced supply chain, all without changing its existing design-to-manufacture process.
- Tight timelines meant the transition carried real risk of supplier delays, supply gaps, reduced manufacturing capacity and disruption to customer order commitments.
- Procurato delivered a focused readiness assessment across engineering, procurement, supply chain, industrialisation and production capacity.
- The assessment quantified the production gap and modelled the ramp up needed to meet the delivery schedule, build the required stock buffer and absorb downtime during the facility transfer.
- Recommendations combined established best practice with more unconventional solutions suited to the complexity and demanding timeframes involved.
At a Glance
| Sector | Defence Manufacturing |
| Challenge | Delivery and business continuity risk during a production relocation and shift to outsourced manufacturing |
| Service provided | Supply Chain Risk Assessment |
| Related capability | Supply Chain Resilience Improvement |
| Outcome | Full readiness visibility, quantified production gap and modelled ramp up, prioritised transition roadmap |
The Challenge: A Production Relocation Carrying Significant Delivery Risk
A specialist defence manufacturing business was preparing to relocate production into a smaller facility. This transition required the business to shift more activity from in-house manufacturing to an outsourced supply chain model, while ensuring end-to-end production could continue without changes to the existing design-to-manufacture process.
A change of this scale carried real delivery risk, especially within tight timelines. Without a clear view of current readiness, the business could face supplier delays, supply gaps, production constraints, decreased manufacturing capacity and disruption to customer order commitments during the transition.
Before moving forward, the business needed an honest, evidence-based view of how ready it was across engineering, procurement, supply chain and industrialisation. That included clarity on where the greatest risks to delivery continuity were concentrated, along with practical recommendations for a smooth transition.
Procurato was engaged to deliver a focused readiness assessment, establishing visibility of the current position, identifying critical risks and defining the actions needed to protect delivery through the transition.
The Approach: A Structured Assessment Across Key Workstreams
The assessment covered the end-to-end workstreams that needed to be addressed and aligned for a successful, non-disruptive transition, including engineering, procurement and supply chain, industrialisation, and production capacity.
On engineering, the team reviewed the requirements and support needed to transition selected manufacturing processes to external suppliers, including drawings, specifications, change-control processes and the creation of supplier-ready information. Industrialisation considerations were also assessed, including buffer stock build-up, equipment transfer planning, production transfer and the management of delay risks.
On procurement and supply chain, the team reviewed supplier readiness, capacity constraints, sourcing requirements and stock-build exposure. This included identifying where supplier onboarding remained incomplete, where supplier capacity needed to be increased and where sourcing activity was still required to support the future operating model.
The team also quantified the production challenge. Current output of units per week was insufficient to meet the delivery schedule, build the required stock buffer and compensate for the downtime expected while the manufacturing facility was transferred and re-established. To protect customer delivery commitments, output needed to increase in line with the growing order book and wider business growth.
Findings were segmented by workstream, work group and production stage to highlight the priority risks, delivery impacts and areas requiring targeted support. The outputs were consolidated into a structured report containing clear, actionable recommendations for the next phase of the transition. These considered both established best-practice approaches and more unconventional solutions that could prove effective given the complexity and demanding timeframes involved.
The Results: A Clear, Evidence-Based Roadmap for the Transition
The assessment gave the business a clear, evidence-based view of its transition readiness and the actions needed to protect delivery, with all underlying risks identified.
- Delivered a structured end-to-end readiness assessment, giving the business clear visibility of critical transition risks across engineering, procurement, supply chain, industrialisation and internal capacity, along with potential options and solutions.
- Identified the key blockers to business continuity, including supplier onboarding delays, incomplete supplier-ready drawings and specifications, stock-build gaps and capacity constraints.
- Quantified the production gap, with the modelled production ramp up needed to meet the delivery schedule.
- Established a prioritised support roadmap for the next phase of procurement, engineering and industrialisation activity, helping the business focus on the areas most critical to reducing delay, rework and delivery disruption.
Services Used
- Supply Chain Risk Assessment: the core readiness assessment across engineering, procurement, supply chain and industrialisation workstreams.
- Supply Chain Resilience Improvement: informing the roadmap actions needed to protect delivery and business continuity through the transition.
- Supply Chain Development: supplier onboarding, capacity uplift and sourcing requirements for the future operating model.
- Manufacturing: sector expertise in production transfer, industrialisation and supplier capacity risk.
How Procurato can help
If your organisation is planning a production relocation, facility consolidation or a shift toward outsourced manufacturing, Procurato’s Supply Chain Risk Assessment service gives you the evidence-based visibility needed to protect delivery continuity through the transition.
The engagement described in this case study is representative of how we work: structured, evidence-based, and focused on identifying the risks that matter most before they turn into delays.
Talk to us about your transition readiness →
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