Background: An Agile Manufacturing case study

In the face of increasing market volatility and rising customer expectations, a leading dairy company in Southeast Asia embarked on a strategy to grow its profitability and optimise processes and investments. The goal was to fix the house while exploring new boundaries in a rapidly changing environment. This initiative was driven by senior management’s vision to stay closer to customers and respond more effectively to local and global market dynamics.

The urgency for this transformation was heightened by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which underscored the need for agility, adaptability, and a stronger customer focus. To address these challenges, the company engaged Ekipa Consultancy Malaysia to enable its strategy with agile ways of working. Under the guidance of Ekipa coaches, the company used Scrum to execute small, focused projects aimed at experimenting with innovative approaches, understanding customer needs, and delivering superior value quickly. At the same time, Lean and Kanban approaches were deployed to increase efficiency in routine work to reduce wastage and optimise costs. 

Although Agile concepts had been introduced within the organisation over the past year, the key challenge was implementing these methods and practices efficiently, with minimal disruption to ongoing business operations.

The Challenges We Helped Overcome:

The Agile transformation was centered around several key objectives:

• Enhance team collaboration: Foster a culture of self-organised, empowered teams capable of working together more effectively to deliver enhanced customer service.
• Optimise processes:  Implement Agile practices to streamline operations, reduce inefficiencies, and optimise costs, ultimately boosting profitability.
• Boost market responsiveness: Empower teams to make faster, data-driven decisions, allowing the company to adapt quickly to market changes.
• Build an Agile culture: Develop internal Agile capabilities and create an ecosystem that supports Agile thinking and continuous improvement.

These objectives were encapsulated within a strategic framework known as the “9 Grids.” This internal strategy focused on aligning operational processes with business value, with each member of the Management Team (MT) taking ownership of a specific Grid, supported by Grid Leads and cross-functional teams.

The Solution: Agile Implementation

1. Adopting Agile for the 9 Grids

The 9 Grids framework translated the company’s strategic vision into actionable goals through a combination of operational tasks and project-based initiatives. Each Grid was managed by a Grid Owner and supported by Grid Leads who collaborated with cross-functional squads. These squads prioritised initiatives based on urgent business needs, opportunities for efficiency gains, and competitive strategies.

Key Agile Ways of Working included:

• Cross Functional Scrum Projects: These were short, targeted projects designed to quickly test new ideas and respond to customer feedback. Results and learnings from these experiments were shared in regular Business Performance Team (BPT) meetings, promoting transparency and continuous learning.
• Backlog management:  Grid Owners and Leads developed prioritised backlogs to drive Grid outcomes, ensuring that the most impactful initiatives were tackled first.
• Support from Agile coaches: Agile Coaches played a critical role, providing ongoing support, training, and hands-on guidance to teams as they adopted new ways of working.

2. Building Internal Agile Capabilities with Ekipa 

The company partnered with Ekipa to bring Agile methodologies to life through a structured, phased rollout:

Track 1: Build Agile Awareness and Skills

• The initial phase focused on equipping pilot project teams with Agile fundamentals, covering core principles, team roles, and popular frameworks.
• 20 selected team members, including future Agile Coaches, underwent intensive training, followed by Agile squad kick-offs for project planning.
• Over the next six months, an additional 180 employees were scheduled to receive Agile training. Selected key HR personnel were coached by Ekipa’s Head Coach, and the HR team received event-based coaching. 

Track 2: Piloting Agile Practices with Selected Teams

• Weekly Agile coaching sessions supported six cross-functional teams tasked with delivering on the missions from their respective Grids, helping them apply Agile methods and practices effectively. These sessions emphasised iterative sprints, real-time feedback loops, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Core members from these six Agile squads then evolved into becoming the backbone of a further transformation known as ‘Our Ways of Working’, focused on building a sustainable agile culture, while ensuring the transition for employees returning to work post-pandemic lockdown were properly managed.  

Results

The company’s Agile transformation initiative led to several significant outcomes:

• Improved cross-functional collaboration: Agile practices broke down silos across departments, resulting in smoother handovers and more cohesive product development processes. Cross-functional squads worked together to eliminate bottlenecks, enhancing overall team performance.
• Enhanced market responsiveness: The iterative nature of Agile allowed the company to respond faster to consumer trends and market demands. The scrum projects enabled quick experimentation, helping the company innovate and adapt its product offerings to meet evolving customer preferences.
• Higher employee engagement: Empowering teams with autonomy and decentralised decision-making increased employee satisfaction. Team members were able to see the direct impact of their contributions, resulting in higher motivation and commitment.
• Accelerated project delivery: By adopting Agile, the company was able to prioritise high-impact initiatives, speeding up the delivery of value to customers and stakeholders.

Key Takeaways

1. Agility as a competitive advantage: The company’s adoption of Agile has positioned the company to better adapt to market changes, thereby gaining a competitive edge in the consumer dairy industry.
2. Empowered teams, better results: By promoting self-organisation and cross-functional collaboration, the company enhanced team performance and accelerated project outcomes.
3. Strategic investment in Agile capabilities: The strategic investment in Agile training and coaching not only improved project efficiency but also set a strong foundation for enterprise-wide Agile adoption.
4. Scrum-based projects as a catalyst for innovation: The use of Scrum enabled the company to quickly experiment and pivot, ensuring that they remained aligned with customer needs in a dynamic market landscape.

When Ekipa finished our engagement with the company, their Agile transformation journey was ongoing, with plans to scale successful pilot practices across the organisation, continuing their pursuit of operational excellence and customer-centric innovation.