Food

Visit our dedicated food site, Food Manufacturing Consultancy - click here.

Overview
In addition to consumer demand for higher quality, healthier products, greater choice and better value for money, Food Manufacturers face many operational challenges. These include: a continuing rise in the cost of raw materials, inefficiencies throughout the supply chain, rising distribution costs, retailer dominance, the impact of new legislation and regulation – and, of course, challenging trading conditions.

Increasingly, manufacturers are looking to experienced interim executives to help them develop and implement realistic strategies for improving operational efficiency – to reduce costs, while improving product quality and delivery standards – in this continuously changing and ever-more competitive business environment.

The Food Manufacturing Consultancy (FMC) provides the flexible resources that enable companies to adapt and respond to today's needs: professional, technically qualified interim managers – with relevant experience and expertise (embracing, chilled, frozen, ambient and fresh products), and proven track records.

We have a deep understanding of the industry, its drivers, and the dynamics of the sector, and have an unrivalled ability to meet both its strategic, day-to-day and emergency needs – at all levels from Shift Production Manager up to Chief Executive – via our Register of carefully selected and fully-vetted interim executives.

A dedicated resource for the Food Manufacturing sector
Our key people are well known in the sector having worked on and with the majority of UK Food Manufacturing sites. A dedicated team is headed-up by:

Lorraine Coates
Lorraine started her consultancy career working in productivity, helping her clients design and implement performance improvement processes. For the past ten years, she has worked specifically as a Food sector specialist, providing short and long term interim management services to most of the UK's Food Manufacturing Groups.

Roger Walker
Roger is a qualified Engineer with over 15 years of food manufacturing management consultancy experience, and spent many years improving food manufacturing performance, before co-founding the Food Manufacturing Consultancy ten years ago. Since then, he has been identifying solutions and resources to help our Food Manufacturing clients compete more effectively in a Global marketplace.

Food sector experience
Typical interim assignments we are regularly asked to undertake, include:

  • General Manager/Director
  • Technical Director/Manager
  • Operations Manager/Director
  • NPD Manager/ Technical Manager
  • Factory/Manufacturing Manager
  • Health & Safety
  • Supply Chain Director/Manager
  • QA and QC Manager
  • Purchasing Director/Manager
  • Marketing Director/Manager
  • Warehousing and Distribution
  • Productivity Engineers
  • Engineering Managers
  • HR and Finance Director/Manager
  • Production Managers
  • Project & Programme Managers
  • Materials Manager
  • System Managers

In addition, our clients use us in a wide range of crisis management scenarios: where, for example, a senior executive resigns from an organisation and a suitably experienced professional is needed to hold the fort at very short notice; or where a project is failing and an entire new team is required to get back on track and meet delivery targets.

Through members of the Walker-Cox Consortium, we are also able to provide professional consultancy solutions – a service used by many major management consultancies to find and field the best people with specific sector expertise.

Engaging Walker-Cox
Simplifying the procurement/recruitment process, and ensuring our Public Sector clients can be confident of receiving high quality and cost-effective service, Walker-Cox has a Catalist framework agreement with the OGC.

Opportunities with Walker-Cox
To enable us to maintain a high level of service delivery, we are always interested to hear from professionals with relevant industry experience seeking interim management opportunities, and organisations interested in becoming members of the Walker-Cox Consortium.