Insights

CEO turnover recently hit a 5-year high as organizations brace for continued disruption. In Kormac's executive collaborations, we've certainly seen many leaders heading for the exits. We've also noticed a disturbing trend of executives reaching out to us far too late. When leaders are struggling with operational challenges, some belatedly...

If your recycling bins are fuller than they used to be, you’re not alone. Macroeconomic and social trends are driving growth in the packaging sector, including enhanced sustainability expectations and increasing consumer reliance on e-commerce. Manufacturers of boxes, cans, pouches, plastic containers, tubes, cartridges, rolls, and more are grappling with the associated...

Research has corroborated Teddy Roosevelt’s adage, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” From Harvard Business Review to academic journals, business studies confirm that swift...

To improve cash flow while mitigating risk, many companies are reevaluating their approach to inventory management. Excess materials and persistent shortages remain despite the overall recovery from pandemic constraints. When times were tough, gaps in inventory management discipline magnified the impact of constrained supply chains. As conditions improve, discipline gaps still leave...

A leading supplier of metal components to the mining industry was struggling with manufacturing variability in its foundries. The president turned to Kormac for help in improving operational stability and predictability, including maintenance, operations management, and employee training and retention. Our initial foundry analysis revealed an understaffed and undermanaged maintenance...

No one wants to work with jerks. Unfortunately, some industries are rife with them, and consulting tops the list. Kormac’s founders previously served at several firms with abusive colleagues and/or leaders. They decided life was too short for toxicity and committed to creating the kind of heart-led organization they always...

Driven by federal incentives, geopolitical risk and pandemic aftershocks, reshoring and nearshoring continue apace. For manufacturers compressing supply chains, nearshoring to our southern neighbor provides a comfortable, cost-effective option. Companies of all size are feeling the pull – even 88% of small and medium sized businesses are “reshuffling their supply...

CNBC’s recent “State of Freight” updates reveal “High inventory levels are limiting [warehouse] capacity, and combined with less new square footage coming into the market due to higher interest rates, are keeping prices up even as the economy slows.” Kormac has sensed those headwinds as many manufacturing leaders have recently...

As supply chain disruptions ease, many organizations are left holding excessive inventory accumulated during the turmoil. Our Inventory Intelligence Surgical Strikes provide a path out of the wilderness toward optimized inventory and availability. While inventory executives can typically slice and dice data to reveal relative performance and volumes, they often...

As home value appreciation and pandemic risk prompt more seniors to permanently exit the labor market, companies are facing an experiential “brain drain.” Many teams rely on informal knowledge and know-how trapped in the heads of tenured employees. When we analyze organizations, we often find huge gaps between processes as...

We all lose our heads sometimes, but it’s big trouble if a factory does. When a leading manufacturer of aerospace fabricated assemblies lost its facility general manager, executives knew it could take months to find a qualified replacement. Unfortunately, their 50,000-square-foot integrated contract manufacturing facility needed a leader immediately. Kormac...

Leaders engage consultants for countless reasons, but how often do they actually enjoy the collaboration? We frequently hear stories of client trauma inflicted by consultancies that left behind unresolved problems or cultural damage. Why? Too many consultants prioritize their own business needs over their clients’. Inverting that myopic approach, Kormac’s...