A Decade of Operational Excellence: How a North American Food Packaging Leader Built $285M+ in Value Creation with TBM

This client is one of North America’s largest manufacturers and distributors of food service disposables and food packaging products. With 57 manufacturing facilities, 12,000 employees, and more than 17,000 SKUs across 12 material types, the company operated in a high-mix, high-volume environment where margin protection and growth-by-acquisition had to happen simultaneously.

TBM’s engagement spanned five distinct phases over 13+ years — each building on the last, each deepening the client’s internal capability to improve and sustain performance independently. In every phase, TBM worked as an embedded operational partner, not an outside advisor: teaching rather than fixing, transferring ownership of every tool and system to the internal team before departing.

Challenge

From isolated plant improvements to an enterprise that couldn't sustain or scale its gains

The company’s plants were improving in isolation — without networked strategic alignment, shared best practices, or continuous improvement activity tied to the corporate bottom line. End-of-quarter promotions were distorting demand signals and eroding working capital. A high-volume thermoforming operation was leaving significant productivity gains uncaptured. A film extrusion facility was missing output targets due to scrap losses and insufficient process capability. And as the company grew through acquisition, it struggled to replicate its improvement model fast enough to generate returns on newly purchased sites.

Solution

Five phases of operational excellence in food packaging manufacturing — from first kaizen to enterprise management system

TBM partnered with the client across five chronological phases:

  1. Plant-level lean kaizen and capability building, embedding 5S, standard work, and a monthly CI calendar across the plant network
  2. Design and implementation of a four-level enterprise strategy deployment system and proprietary Business System, directly connecting 50+ sites to corporate financial targets
  3. Six-month labor productivity redesign at a thermoforming facility that delivered a 30% productivity gain without capital investment or job losses
  4. Cross-functional supply chain transformation using pull-based demand replenishment and statistical forecasting
  5. Focused 90-day OEE improvement project in film extrusion.

In each phase, TBM embedded alongside the client’s teams — facilitating executive strategy sessions, coaching plant supervisors, developing standard work documentation, and building the technical capability of engineers and operators. The goal in every engagement was the same: leave the client stronger and more self-sufficient than before.

Results

Food Packaging Leader Builds $285M+ in Value

The cumulative results of TBM’s 13-year engagement are exceptional by any measure:

  • The enterprise transformation phase delivered $22M in P&L savings and a 33% EBITDA improvement in a single year, enabling a successful private equity acquisition.
  • Across the multi-year lean program, revenue grew 17% and $250M in costs were removed.
  • A focused productivity project at a thermoforming plant delivered a 30% improvement and nearly $1M in annual savings with zero job losses.
  • Supply chain redesign cut inventory by $1M, raised fill rates from 97.7% to 98.5%, and improved forecast accuracy from 55% to 75%.
  • And a film extrusion OEE improvement project achieved a 12-point gain worth $12.7M in annualized savings.

Underlying all of these results: the client’s proprietary Business System, co-developed with TBM, which continues to drive operational performance within the enterprise today.

Learn more about how we help companies in the packaging industry. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can a food packaging manufacturer improve OEE without a major capital investment?
Most OEE losses in food packaging manufacturing aren't equipment problems — they're visibility and discipline problems. In a 25-extruder film extrusion facility, TBM achieved a 12-point OEE gain and $12.7M in annualized savings in 90 days by implementing a visual management and daily control system, creating standard work and optimized process parameters to reduce scrap, and building operator and engineering capability to sustain the gains. No capital required — just the ability to see losses as they happen and a structured process to address them the same day.
What does a lean CI program look like in a high-mix, high-volume food packaging company?
CI in food packaging manufacturing is complex because high SKU counts and demanding changeover requirements hide enormous waste that standard approaches miss. The most durable programs start with a plant-level lean assessment to make that waste visible, then build capability through structured kaizen events — teaching client teams to see and solve waste themselves rather than fixing it for them. One North American food packaging manufacturer using this approach achieved a 67% improvement in cases per man-hour and an 83% reduction in machine setup time in early events, then scaled those disciplines across 50+ sites over 13 years, ultimately removing $250M in costs from the business.
How do you build an enterprise operational excellence system across 50+ manufacturing plants?
Scaling operational excellence in food packaging manufacturing requires a management architecture, not just more kaizen events. The most effective model is a four-level strategy deployment system connecting executive priorities to plant-level improvement workbooks — with monthly countermeasures and financial tracking at every level. This creates site-level accountability and enables accelerated best-practice replication across facilities simultaneously. A packaging manufacturer that implemented this model achieved $22M in P&L savings and a 33% EBITDA improvement in a single year, and removed $250M in total costs over the life of the program.
What causes forecast accuracy problems in food packaging supply chains, and how do you fix them?
Three root causes typically work together: promotional patterns that train customers to stockpile, production scheduling driven by subjective forecasts rather than actual demand, and available POS data that nobody is analyzing. The fix is a pull-based replenishment system for the 70–75% of SKUs that qualify, a statistically based forecasting methodology incorporating regional POS and promotional calendars, and SKU rationalization to eliminate the most volatile products. One food packaging manufacturer applying this approach improved forecast accuracy from 55% to 75%, reduced inventory by $1M on a single product line, and raised case-fill rates from 97.7% to 98.5% — simultaneously.
How long does it take to see ROI from a lean operational excellence program, and how do you sustain the gains?
Initial ROI can appear within weeks — kaizen events regularly deliver measurable throughput gains quickly. Sustainability is harder, and that's where most programs fail. Gains erode without standard work that locks in the improved method, a daily management system that gives supervisors a structured response to abnormalities, and a management architecture connecting CI activity to financial targets. In a 13-year engagement with a North American food packaging manufacturer, each phase built on the last — plant-level kaizen justified enterprise strategy deployment, which enabled supply chain and productivity improvements — compounding to $285M+ in total value. The sustaining factor in every phase: TBM transferred ownership of every tool and system to the client's internal team before departing.

Topics in this Case Study

Lean TransformationContinuous Improvement

At a Glance

Client

Leading North American food packaging manufacturer

Results

  • $22M+ in direct P&L savings (enterprise transformation)
  • 17% revenue growth and $250M cost reduction (multi-year)
  • 33% EBITDA improvement in one year
  • 30% productivity gain; ~$1M annual labor savings (thermoforming)
  • $1M inventory reduction; fill rate 97.7% → 98.5% (supply chain)
  • Forecast accuracy improved 55% → 75%
  • 12-pt OEE gain; $12.7M annualized savings (film extrusion)
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