As supply chains have become increasingly complex, many manufacturers find themselves struggling to maintain customer service levels while managing growth, multiple facilities, expanding product portfolios, and ongoing disruptions. When systems, processes, and teams become disconnected, service levels suffer, inventory increases, and profitability is put at risk.

This was the challenge facing Armacell, a global leader in insulation materials serving customers throughout the Americas. Despite having talented employees, extensive ERP capabilities, and decades of operational experience, the organization was struggling with service performance and supply chain execution. Armacell partnered with LMA Consulting Group to improve customer service, strengthen planning processes, optimize SAP capabilities, and create a sustainable foundation for long-term success.

The results were significant. Watch the video to learn how Armacell transformed its supply chain, improved OTIF performance from approximately 38% to more than 90%, strengthened SIOP and planning processes, enhanced SAP utilization, and created a foundation for sustainable operational excellence.

The Challenge: Service Levels Had Reached a Critical Point

Armacell’s supply chain had grown increasingly complex. The company operated multiple manufacturing facilities and distribution centers across North and South America while serving diverse customer segments with varying demand patterns.

Compounding the challenge were several major disruptions:

  • Rapid business growth and increasing complexity
  • Organizational silos across departments
  • Heavy reliance on manual processes and spreadsheets
  • Underutilization of SAP planning capabilities
  • A significant cyberattack that disrupted systems and processes
  • COVID-related supply chain disruptions

The impact was clear. When Armacell established a consistent measurement process for customer service, their on -time-in-full (OTIF) performance was approximately 38%. For a company committed to delivering industry-leading service, this performance level was unacceptable and required immediate action.

Building a Foundation for Sustainable Improvement

LMA Consulting focused on identifying the root causes of performance issues and creating sustainable processes that would continue delivering results long after the engagement concluded. The team began by conducting a deep assessment of Armacell’s supply chain processes, systems, data, and organizational structure.

Key focus areas included:

  • ERP utilization (SAP)
  • APS utilization (APO)
  • Demand planning
  • Production planning & scheduling
  • Capacity planning
  • Inventory management
  • Distribution replenishment
  • Customer service processes (order management & commercial integration)
  • SIOP / S&OP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning)/ Integrated Business Planning (IBP)
  • Master data governance

One of the first discoveries was that many planning activities were occurring outside of the ERP system through manual spreadsheets and workarounds. While these processes had been created with good intentions, they often limited visibility, reduced consistency, and made decision-making more difficult. The goal was to bring planning activities back into SAP, automate processes where appropriate, and create a single source of truth for decision-making.

Breaking Down Silos Across the Organization

Supply chain performance is rarely the responsibility of a single department. One of the most important aspects of the engagement was creating stronger connections between customer service, sales, planning, operations, replenishment, inventory management, IT, and executive leadership. LMA worked closely with teams across multiple facilities and distribution centers to establish common processes, consistent reporting, and shared accountability.

Rather than operating independently, departments began working together to understand:

  • Customer demand patterns
  • Inventory positioning
  • Capacity constraints
  • Production priorities
  • Service level objectives
  • Business growth opportunities

This cross-functional alignment became a cornerstone of the transformation.

Transforming SIOP Into a Strategic Decision-Making Process

A major component of the engagement focused on strengthening Armacell’s SIOP process. The objective was not simply to hold meetings. The goal was to create a structured process that connected demand, supply, capacity, inventory, and financial objectives.

Working with leadership and operational teams, LMA helped them achieve:

  • Improved visibility to key supply chain metrics
  • Developed actionable dashboards
  • Rolled out capacity planning
  • Standardized & upgraded planning processes
  • Enhanced accountability across departments
  • Focused discussions on data-driven decisions

As the process matured, leadership gained greater visibility into constraints and opportunities, allowing the organization to proactively address issues before they impacted customers. The result was a more focused and effective planning process. Meetings that previously consumed several hours became concise, action-oriented discussions supported by reliable data directly from SAP. To learn more about how to roll out SIOP, download our complimentary eBook.

Leveraging Data to Improve Customer Service

One of the recurring themes throughout the engagement was helping teams turn data into actionable decisions. Armacell possessed extensive information within its systems, but much of that information was not being fully utilized.

LMA worked with the team to:

  • Develop meaningful reports
  • Improve metrics and projected metrics visibility
  • Analyze customer demand patterns
  • Identify inventory opportunities
  • Upgrade production planning and distribution planning (DRP) processes
  • Optimize distribution center inventory positioning
  • Support capacity planning decisions

For seasonal businesses and large OEM customers, the team leveraged historical trends, forecast data, and capacity information to proactively align production with demand. This improved planning enabled Armacell to reduce lead times, eliminate stockouts, improve service performance, and capture additional revenue opportunities that previously may have been missed.

Improving Inventory While Supporting Growth

Another key focus area involved inventory optimization. Rather than simply increasing inventory to improve service levels, the objective was to strategically position inventory where it would provide the greatest benefit to customers.

The team analyzed:

  • Inventory deployment across distribution centers
  • Slow-moving inventory
  • Working capital opportunities
  • Replenishment strategies
  • Make-to-stock and make-to-order classifications
  • Master data accuracy

These efforts helped improve service while simultaneously strengthening inventory management practices and supporting profitable growth.

Creating Lasting Organizational Capability

One of the differentiators highlighted by Armacell’s leadership team was LMA’s commitment to building internal capability. Rather than creating dependency on consultants, LMA focused on transferring knowledge, training employees, documenting processes, and establishing sustainable routines. Throughout the engagement, the team worked side-by-side with planners, customer service personnel, operations teams, IT professionals, and leadership.

The objective was simple:
Equip the organization with the tools, processes, and knowledge necessary to continue improving after the engagement ended.

The results:
The transformation delivered measurable and sustainable outcomes.

Key results included:

  • Improved OTIF performance from approximately 38% to over 90%
  • Sustained service performance above 85%
  • Reduced lead times
  • Improved customer satisfaction
  • Enhanced SAP and APO utilization
  • Stronger SIOP and capacity planning processes
  • Improved inventory management
  • Greater cross-functional collaboration
  • Increased visibility across the supply chain
  • More effective decision-making through data-driven planning

Most importantly, the improvements remained in place after the project concluded. The organization developed the capability, discipline, and processes necessary to sustain performance and continue driving results.

The Power of an Integrated Supply Chain

Armacell’s success demonstrates an important lesson for manufacturers and distributors. Technology alone does not solve supply chain challenges. Instead, sustainable improvement occurs when people, processes, systems, and data work together toward common objectives. By aligning teams, leveraging technology more effectively, strengthening planning processes, and creating organizational accountability, companies can significantly improve customer service, operational performance, and profitability.

At LMA Consulting Group, we help manufacturers and distributors create resilient, integrated, and high-performing supply chains that support predictable growth, profitability, and customer success. If your organization is struggling with customer service, planning challenges, inventory issues, or supply chain complexity, we’d welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can help.

 

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Published: October 4, 2022 | Updated: June 3, 2026