“The interactive factory model identified £4 million in cost savings compared to our initial spreadsheet-based solution.”
— Operations Director
The Challenge
A UK defence contractor was planning a new assembly and packing facility for military ration packs. The operation would involve three assembly and packing lines handling over 100 different components—from main meals and snacks to utensils and flameless heaters—each with specific shelf lives, storage requirements, and sequencing constraints.
Before committing to multi-million pound capital expenditure, they needed answers to critical questions: What equipment configuration would actually meet throughput targets? How many staff would each shift require? What inventory levels would balance stock availability against storage costs? And what would the true cost of manufacture be for each ration pack variant?
Their initial approach—spreadsheet-based calculations and supplier estimates—produced numbers, but couldn’t account for the complex interactions between line changeovers, component availability, and labour allocation across a three-line operation.
The Solution
We built an interactive digital twin of the complete facility before it existed. The model captured every operational constraint: line speeds, changeover times between ration variants, component delivery schedules, buffer capacities, and staffing requirements across assembly, packing, and warehousing.
Equipment Selection Through Simulation
Rather than specifying equipment based on peak theoretical demand, we simulated actual production scenarios across seasonal demand patterns. This revealed where the initial design was over-engineered and where genuine bottlenecks would emerge—allowing the client to right-size their capital investment with confidence.
Just-In-Time Component Flow
With over 100 components feeding three assembly lines, inventory management directly impacts both working capital and warehouse footprint. We modelled delivery frequencies against production schedules to establish minimum viable stock levels that wouldn’t risk line stoppages.
Labour Optimisation
The model tested different shift patterns and crewing configurations against the production schedule, identifying where labour could be shared between lines and where dedicated operators were essential. This wasn’t about theoretical efficiency—it was about finding staffing levels that would actually work on the factory floor.
True Cost of Manufacture
By capturing all operational parameters in the model—labour, materials, changeover losses, energy, and equipment depreciation—we calculated accurate manufacturing costs for each ration pack variant. This gave the client defensible factory gate pricing for contract negotiations.
The Results
The interactive facility model transformed decision-making from estimation to evidence:
£4 million in cost savings identified versus the initial spreadsheet-based solution.
50% reduction in inventory through just-in-time stock holding, cutting both working capital and warehouse requirements.
20% reduction in crewing levels through optimised shift patterns and cross-line labour allocation.
Accurate product costing for every ration pack variant, enabling confident factory gate pricing.
Right-sized equipment specifications with validated costs before procurement.
The client proceeded to construction with production schedules they could trust—not because a spreadsheet said so, but because a digital twin of their factory had already proven it would work.