Manufacturing Consulting & Operational Improvement

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Gross & Company is a Michigan-based manufacturing consulting firm helping manufacturers improve operational performance, restore delivery, increase throughput, strengthen leadership and improve profitability.

We work with owners, CEOs, private equity firms and management teams facing operational problems that require more than recommendations. Our approach combines senior executive leadership with hands-on manufacturing experience to identify what is preventing the business from performing and help management implement the changes required to produce measurable results.

Led by Tom Gross, an engineer and experienced CEO, COO, General Manager and manufacturing executive, Gross & Company brings decades of experience leading manufacturing, industrial technology, automation, aerospace, defense and automotive businesses.

 Based in Lake Orion, Michigan, we serve manufacturers throughout Metro Detroit, Michigan and nationwide.  

Click here to discuss your manufacturing challenge. 

Manufacturing companies rarely struggle because of a single isolated problem.

Poor on-time delivery may actually be caused by weak production control. Excessive overtime may indicate capacity imbalance, scheduling problems or poor labor utilization. Quality problems may originate in engineering, tooling, maintenance or process discipline. Declining margins may result from purchasing, productivity, scrap, pricing or an inaccurate understanding of actual manufacturing costs.

Gross & Company evaluates the operation as an integrated business system.

Typical assignments include:

• Poor on-time delivery and missed customer commitments
• Production scheduling and control problems
• Capacity constraints and manufacturing bottlenecks
• Excessive lead times and work-in-process
• Low throughput or poor equipment utilization
• Labor productivity and staffing issues
• Quality, scrap and rework problems
• Manufacturing engineering and process issues
• Tooling and CNC machining performance
• Maintenance and equipment reliability
• Supply chain and supplier performance
• Excessive inventory and working capital
• Margin erosion and manufacturing cost problems
• Management and organizational gaps
• Rapid growth that has exceeded existing operating systems
• Underperforming plants or business units

Our objective is not simply to identify problems. It is to help management establish priorities, execute corrective actions and create sustainable operating discipline.

Manufacturing performance depends on the interaction between people, equipment, processes, materials, information and management systems.

When those elements become disconnected, the symptoms appear throughout the business: missed deliveries, expediting, excessive overtime, high inventory, poor productivity, customer complaints and declining profitability.

Gross & Company works with manufacturing leadership to determine where performance is being lost and establish a practical improvement plan.

Depending on the operation, our work may include:

We evaluate planning, scheduling, material availability, capacity, production priorities and shop-floor execution to identify the causes of missed customer commitments.

The objective is to establish a production-control process that management can actually operate, not simply generate another report.

Before purchasing additional equipment or expanding facilities, manufacturers should understand how effectively their existing resources are being utilized.

We evaluate bottlenecks, cycle times, changeovers, labor constraints, equipment availability, workflow and scheduling to identify opportunities to increase productive capacity.

Strong sales do not automatically produce strong earnings.

We help management examine labor productivity, scrap, rework, purchasing, tooling, inventory, overhead, equipment utilization and other manufacturing cost drivers that can quietly erode EBITDA and cash flow.

Recurring quality problems are often symptoms of broader operational weaknesses.

We help management evaluate quality systems, manufacturing engineering, inspection, process control and accountability to identify root causes and strengthen execution.

 Lean tools can produce substantial improvements, but only when they solve the company's actual operating problems.

Gross & Company focuses on practical application rather than implementing Lean terminology for its own sake.

Depending on the operation, improvement initiatives may include:

• Value-stream analysis
• Bottleneck reduction
• Setup and changeover improvement
• Standard work
• Workplace organization
• Visual management
• Production-flow improvement
• Inventory reduction
• Root-cause problem solving
• KPI and management reporting systems
• Daily operating reviews
• Management accountability

The objective is measurable improvement in delivery, throughput, quality, working capital and profitability.

 Gross & Company brings unusually deep experience in CNC machining, machine tools, automation and engineered manufacturing systems.

That technical background can be particularly valuable when operational problems involve both management and manufacturing technology.

Experience includes:

• CNC machining operations
• Machine tools and manufacturing equipment
• Cutting tools and tooling systems
• Industrial automation
• Robotics
• Manufacturing engineering
• Aerospace and defense manufacturing
• Automotive and Tier supplier operations
• Capital equipment
• Engineered industrial products
• Advanced manufacturing technology

We can work with both executive management and technical personnel, helping bridge the gap between business objectives and what is actually occurring on the manufacturing floor.

Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly useful tool for manufacturers, but not every manufacturing problem requires AI.

Gross & Company helps manufacturing leaders identify where AI can produce measurable value and where conventional engineering, process improvement, automation or management discipline remains the better solution.

Potential applications include:

• Manufacturing data analysis and performance reporting 
• Predictive maintenance and equipment monitoring 
• Quality inspection and defect detection 
• Production scheduling and optimization 
• Sales and Operations Planning (SOP)
• Demand and capacity analysis 
• Supply chain and inventory analysis 
• Engineering and technical documentation 
• Knowledge management and retrieval 
• Customer and supplier communication 
• Automated reporting and administrative processes 
• Manufacturing engineering support 
• Identification of operational trends and anomalies 

The objective is not to implement AI because it is new. The objective is to determine whether a specific AI application can reduce cost, improve quality, increase productivity, accelerate decision-making or provide information that management could not efficiently obtain otherwise.

Gross & Company can help management evaluate potential AI applications, prioritize opportunities and develop practical implementation plans.

The question isn't “Where can we use AI?”

The better question is “Where can AI create measurable value in this manufacturing operation?”

 When a manufacturing operation is significantly underperforming, incremental improvement may not be enough.

Customers may already be dissatisfied. Delivery performance may be deteriorating. Employees may be working excessive overtime. Quality problems may be increasing. Cash flow may be tightening while management spends most of its time reacting to the latest crisis.

These situations require rapid prioritization and disciplined execution.

Gross & Company helps manufacturers stabilize operations, establish management control and develop a practical recovery plan.

Typical priorities include:

1. Establishing accurate operational visibility
2. Identifying the most critical customer and production risks
3. Restoring production-control discipline
4. Addressing leadership and organizational gaps
5. Stabilizing quality and manufacturing processes
6. Improving throughput and delivery
7. Establishing meaningful KPIs and management accountability
8. Creating a longer-term operating improvement plan
   

Gross & Company leadership was engaged to help stabilize a 300-person Tier 2 automotive CNC machining operation experiencing severe delivery and operational performance problems.

On-time delivery had fallen to approximately 25%, creating significant customer pressure and constant production expediting.

The operation required improvements in production control, management structure, quality and manufacturing support.

Leadership actions included:

• Implementing a disciplined production-control process
• Establishing clearer production priorities and accountability
• Strengthening quality-control and inspection functions
• Rebuilding CNC tool-management capability
• Recruiting key engineering leadership
• Strengthening manufacturing supervision
• Improving communication between management and production

Less than six months

The engagement illustrates an important principle behind Gross & Company's manufacturing consulting approach:

Lasting operational improvement requires hand-to-hand combat, leadership and team execution, not simply recommendations.

Manufacturing investments present risks that may not be obvious from financial statements alone.

Equipment condition, capacity constraints, maintenance, quality, labor, management depth, manufacturing engineering, inventory, supply chain performance and future capital requirements can materially affect an investment thesis.

Gross & Company can support private equity firms and portfolio-company management teams before and after a transaction.

Services may include:

• Manufacturing operational due diligence
• Facility and operations assessments
• Management and organizational evaluation
• Capacity and equipment assessment
• Operational risk identification
• Capital expenditure evaluation
• 100-day operating priorities
• Post-acquisition operational improvement
• Manufacturing value-creation initiatives
• Post-merger integration
• Interim and fractional executive leadership

Our manufacturing and executive operating experience allows us to evaluate an operation from the perspective of both the investor and the person responsible for making the business perform after closing.

 Gross & Company primarily works with industrial and technically complex businesses, including:

OEMs, Tier suppliers, CNC machining operations and manufacturing technology companies.

Precision manufacturing, engineered products, aerospace structures and defense-related operations.

Machine-tool builders, automation suppliers, industrial equipment manufacturers and related technology businesses.

Automation equipment, robotic systems and advanced manufacturing technologies.

CNC turning, milling, tooling-intensive manufacturing and engineered metal products.

Businesses commercializing new manufacturing technologies, engineered products and industrial systems.

Manufacturers have no shortage of consultants capable of producing analyses, presentations and recommendations.

Gross & Company brings a different perspective.

Our experience comes from actually being responsible for businesses and manufacturing operations as CEO, COO, General Manager, VP of Engineering, Manufacturing Director, Plant Manager, CFO and business owner.

That means understanding the consequences when:

• The plant misses shipments
• A major customer is unhappy
• High employment turnover and people issues
• Margins disappear
• Production falls behind
• A new product does not launch properly
• An acquisition underperforms
• Management lacks the bandwidth to execute
• The board expects an operating plan and results

We combine engineering, manufacturing, human resources, financial and executive leadership experience to help clients move from identifying problems to implementing solutions.