Premier Foods Recovery Program

Designed and implemented a tailored program governance system, to ensure effective budget and planning management.

The Client

Premier Foods is the UK's largest food producer, employing 20,000 people across 60 manufacturing sites, with an annual group turnover of £2.7 Billion. It's this significant market in the food industry that finds a Premier Foods-branded product in the kitchens of 98% of UK homes.

The Challenge

Following the 460 million pound acquisition of Campbell's Soup, Premier Foods commenced the integration of 85 Campbell's product lines and production capacity from its King's Lynn site to its other existing production facilities around the UK. The majority of the business integration would be focused on its Wisbech and Long Sutton canning sites. In order to manage the program, Project "Valentine" was conceived towards the end of 2006 with a completion deadline of March 2008. The business change program and asset transfer to the Wisbech site included:

• A five-story-tall hydrostatic cooker to enable high-speed cooking of canned products
• A stand-alone cold storage facility capable of housing up to 900 pallets of frozen product
• The relocation and installation of two complete can filling and seaming lines

Other key challenges included:

• The relocation and installation of two high-speed de-palletizing machines for unloading and transferring empty cans
• The replacement and renovation of four labeling and packing lines

The Pcubed Solution

Pcubed was asked to join the team in April 2007. At that time they initiated an in-depth analysis of all the assets to be relocated, and developed full business cases based on measurable financial and strategic benefits for each of the program's defined work streams. The cases were presented to the Premier Foods board securing capital budget allocation for the entire program scope. The Pcubed team designed and rolled out a tailored program governance system with specific checks and balances such as:

• The utilization of rigorous process controls to ensure effective budget and planning management
• Thorough budget planning that reduced risk by the scoping of work and the implementation of competitive tendering processes
• A program management system that covered key resources to maintain the buy-in and confidence of the plant's senior management team
• The development of detailed project plans and contracts drawn up to ensure adherence to plans and budget

The program delivery was complemented by an overarching management information system covering all key resources to maintain the buy-in and confidence of the senior management team in the plan. The Management Information System also covered key performance indicators such as product line trial success and key dates and efficiency savings.

Key elements of the solution included:

• An in-depth management information system that covered key performance indicators such as product line trial success and key dates and efficiency savings
• An increased production capability of 11.5 million cases per year, with subsequent efficiency savings across the plant
• On-time and on-budget delivery of the project's entire program of work