Competing in the automotive aftermarket parts and accessories sector means defending efficiency while preparing for growth, and this manufacturer ran that race across two production facilities. Leadership recognized that to maintain operational efficiency and support future expansion, the way material and people moved through those plants had to improve.
An automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer lifted productivity 20% by redesigning how material and people moved across two plants, turning a layout that had become a bottleneck into one built to scale.
Automotive Aftermarket Parts Manufacturer
Results at a Glance
20%
Productivity Increase
Executive Brief
This automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer ran production at two locations on a layout that had quietly become the constraint, congesting material flow near shipping and receiving, forcing detours and excessive handling, and putting people in close, repeated contact with forklifts. POWERS conducted multi-day on-site evaluations at both facilities, gathered detailed data on material movement from receiving through shipping and on personnel flow, then used a grid-system review to develop and weigh two layout options. The recommended Layout Option 2, built around a perpendicular production line with new material-loading methods and structured personnel pathways, was chosen for its superior flexibility and safety, and delivered through an implementation strategy with a timeline and milestones. The result was a 20% increase in productivity, materially improved safety protocols, and a footprint with room to expand.
The Situation
A production layout that once fit the work had become the bottleneck, congesting material flow and putting people in the path of moving equipment.
Competing in the automotive aftermarket parts and accessories sector means defending efficiency while preparing for growth, and this manufacturer ran that race across two production facilities. Leadership recognized that to maintain operational efficiency and support future expansion, the way material and people moved through those plants had to improve.
The deeper problem was the layout itself. Designed for an earlier era of the operation, it had become a bottleneck: material flow congested near shipping and receiving, routes that forced unnecessary detours and excessive handling, and high interaction between personnel and equipment in tight, busy areas. Each of these eroded throughput, and together they posed real safety risks on a floor never configured for the current volume.
What leadership needed was not a one-time fix to a single aisle but a systematic rethink of the floor, one that could relieve congestion, separate people from forklift traffic, raise productivity, and leave headroom to scale. That called for a structured assessment grounded in how the facilities actually ran, not assumptions about how they were drawn.
The Diagnosis
Four structural gaps producing the same outcome from four directions.
Congestion at shipping and receiving
Material-flow inefficiencies near the shipping and receiving areas created congestion, choking the points where throughput was most exposed.
Detours and excessive handling
Routes forced unnecessary detours and excessive material handling, adding time and cost to every move that should have run straight through.
People moving through forklift lanes
Excessive personnel movement around forklifts in congested areas put workers and equipment in repeated, avoidable proximity.
A layout that bred safety risk
High interaction between personnel and equipment, on a floor never designed for the current volume, turned everyday flow into a standing safety hazard.
What POWERS Did
Redesigned the floor's material and personnel flow for productivity, safety, and growth.
POWERS started where the problem lived: on the floor. Over several days at both locations, the team ran on-site evaluations and gathered detailed data on how material actually moved from receiving through shipping and how personnel flowed around it. To review the layout systematically rather than by intuition, they established a grid system that mapped the facilities and exposed where flow broke down.
From that foundation, POWERS developed and evaluated two layout options. Option 2 was recommended and adopted, built around a perpendicular production-line installation and chosen over Option 1 for its superior flexibility for future expansion and its improved safety. The redesign paired that line with new material-loading methods and structured personnel pathways, separating people from forklift traffic and pulling the detours and excess handling out of the daily routine.
The work was delivered as more than a drawing. POWERS provided a comprehensive implementation strategy with a timeline and milestones, so the new flow could be installed in sequence and the gains held. The cumulative effect was a floor where material and people moved with intent, congestion eased, and the operation gained both safer conditions and room to grow.
The Full Result
One quantified gain anchoring a safer, more scalable floor.
20%
Productivity Increase
Redesigning material and personnel flow around the new perpendicular-line layout lifted productivity 20% while improving safety and creating room to scale.
Ready to builddisciplined execution in your operation?
Every POWERS engagement starts with our intensive Discovery Process. We work with everyone on your team, identify the gaps in the five disciplines that hold execution back, and build the partnership that closes them. The results stay built long after we’re gone.
Stronger Execution. Stronger Performance.
Operational Readiness · Supply Chain
An automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer lifted productivity 20% by redesigning how material and people moved across two plants, turning a layout that had become a bottleneck into one built to scale.
Automotive Aftermarket Parts Manufacturer
Executive Brief
This automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer ran production at two locations on a layout that had quietly become the constraint, congesting material flow near shipping and receiving, forcing detours and excessive handling, and putting people in close, repeated contact with forklifts. POWERS conducted multi-day on-site evaluations at both facilities, gathered detailed data on material movement from receiving through shipping and on personnel flow, then used a grid-system review to develop and weigh two layout options. The recommended Layout Option 2, built around a perpendicular production line with new material-loading methods and structured personnel pathways, was chosen for its superior flexibility and safety, and delivered through an implementation strategy with a timeline and milestones. The result was a 20% increase in productivity, materially improved safety protocols, and a footprint with room to expand.
Results at a Glance
20%
Productivity Increase
The Situation
A production layout that once fit the work had become the bottleneck, congesting material flow and putting people in the path of moving equipment.
The deeper problem was the layout itself. Designed for an earlier era of the operation, it had become a bottleneck: material flow congested near shipping and receiving, routes that forced unnecessary detours and excessive handling, and high interaction between personnel and equipment in tight, busy areas. Each of these eroded throughput, and together they posed real safety risks on a floor never configured for the current volume.
What leadership needed was not a one-time fix to a single aisle but a systematic rethink of the floor, one that could relieve congestion, separate people from forklift traffic, raise productivity, and leave headroom to scale. That called for a structured assessment grounded in how the facilities actually ran, not assumptions about how they were drawn.
The Diagnosis
Four structural gaps producing the same outcome from four directions.
Congestion at shipping and receiving
Material-flow inefficiencies near the shipping and receiving areas created congestion, choking the points where throughput was most exposed.
Detours and excessive handling
Routes forced unnecessary detours and excessive material handling, adding time and cost to every move that should have run straight through.
People moving through forklift lanes
Excessive personnel movement around forklifts in congested areas put workers and equipment in repeated, avoidable proximity.
A layout that bred safety risk
High interaction between personnel and equipment, on a floor never designed for the current volume, turned everyday flow into a standing safety hazard.
What POWERS Did
Redesigned the floor's material and personnel flow for productivity, safety, and growth.
POWERS started where the problem lived: on the floor. Over several days at both locations, the team ran on-site evaluations and gathered detailed data on how material actually moved from receiving through shipping and how personnel flowed around it. To review the layout systematically rather than by intuition, they established a grid system that mapped the facilities and exposed where flow broke down.
From that foundation, POWERS developed and evaluated two layout options. Option 2 was recommended and adopted, built around a perpendicular production-line installation and chosen over Option 1 for its superior flexibility for future expansion and its improved safety. The redesign paired that line with new material-loading methods and structured personnel pathways, separating people from forklift traffic and pulling the detours and excess handling out of the daily routine.
The work was delivered as more than a drawing. POWERS provided a comprehensive implementation strategy with a timeline and milestones, so the new flow could be installed in sequence and the gains held. The cumulative effect was a floor where material and people moved with intent, congestion eased, and the operation gained both safer conditions and room to grow.
The Full Result
20%
Productivity Increase
Redesigning material and personnel flow around the new perpendicular-line layout lifted productivity 20% while improving safety and creating room to scale.
POWERS|+1 678-971-4711|info@thepowerscompany.com|1801 Peachtree St NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 303091 / 1