Identifying the Causes of Underperformance in Upholstery Manufacturing

The Situation

Following the relocation of its upholstery manufacturing operations to a new facility in Lithuania, the company was operating at just 55% of its expected production capacity.

Despite the investment in a new production site and available manufacturing technology, the factory was struggling to achieve the planned output. Inefficiencies across production departments were affecting workflow, resource utilization and overall operational performance.

The company needed a comprehensive assessment to understand what was limiting production capacity and identify practical improvements that could be implemented within the existing operation.

The Findings

The assessment revealed several interconnected issues limiting production capacity and disrupting the flow of work across the factory.

Mismatch between production technology and product portfolio: The manufacturing process had originally been designed for low-mix, high-volume production, while the product portfolio had gradually shifted towards high-mix, low-volume manufacturing. As a result, equipment designed for large production batches, including multi-layer fabric cutting machines, was inherently underutilized under the new production requirements.

Production bottlenecks: The gluing department was consistently overloaded, restricting overall throughput while other production areas had available capacity.

Ineffective equipment allocation: Advanced machinery was assigned to relatively simple operations, while fully automated equipment remained idle due to inefficient task allocation and production planning.

Inefficient workflows: Unnecessary processing steps, excessive material movement and poor coordination between departments increased production time and reduced operational efficiency.

The Work

The three-week on-site assessment involved a detailed review of the entire upholstery manufacturing process, working directly with production teams to observe operations, measure workstation performance and examine equipment utilization.

Value stream mapping was used to trace material flow, identify bottlenecks and evaluate workload distribution between departments. Particular attention was given to the overloaded gluing area, where production sequences, task allocation and opportunities to redistribute work were examined.

A technical review of the machinery and product portfolio assessed the suitability of existing equipment for high-mix, low-volume production. This included analyzing batch sizes, cutting technology, machine utilization and opportunities to reorganize operations around actual production requirements.

Fabric consumption, material handling, quality control and workplace safety were also examined. Practical solutions were developed to reduce waste, simplify workflows and address identified operational risks.

The assessment concluded with a detailed report containing proposed workflow redesigns, equipment allocation changes and a prioritized implementation plan, outlining specific actions to improve production flow and resource efficiency.