Saved £12,400 monthly for a Leeds textile plant
We audited their supply chain and found 3 redundant logistics layers. By moving to direct sourcing for raw materials, we cut their monthly burn by 14% without firing a single person.
Northmark Weaving Ltd was bleeding cash through a messy supply chain. We stepped in to stop the bleed and found three layers of middlemen that didn't need to be there. This project focused on raw material costs and logistics efficiency in their Leeds facility.
The challenge
The plant had been running since 2016 but hit a wall in mid-2024. Their shipping costs spiked, and energy bills ate 22% of their total margin. They were managing 47 different suppliers for yarn and dyes, which was too much for their 3-person admin team.
Invoices were often 12 days late. This led to monthly late fees of about £430. The owner was worried they would have to cut staff to keep the lights on. They needed to find hidden cash fast before the winter season started.
Our approach
We sent a team of 3 analysts to the factory floor for 11 days in August 2024. We tracked every pallet from the Liverpool docks to the Leeds warehouse. We didn't just look at spreadsheets; we talked to the drivers and the floor managers.
Honestly, the paperwork was a mess when we arrived. We identified that their main logistics firm was adding a 14.2% markup just for holding yarn for 48 hours in a transit shed. We decided to hold the line and cut these redundant links to protect the company's oxygen—their cash flow.
The solution
We moved Northmark Weaving to a direct sourcing model for 83% of their raw cotton and wool. We cut out the transit sheds and moved to a 'just-in-time' delivery schedule that saved 3.2 hours of handling time per shipment.
We also consolidated 12 small dye vendors into 3 reliable partners. This gave the plant more buying power and fixed 90-day pricing. Finally, we set up a simple inventory sheet that flags delivery delays in under 4 hours, so the finance team can fix issues before late fees kick in.
Results
The factory stayed fully staffed and reached its highest efficiency levels since 2019. By removing the middleman markups, the business recovered enough capital to upgrade two of their older looms by December.
Timeline
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August 2024On-site audit of 47 vendor contracts and logistics routes.
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September 2024Negotiation with direct raw material sources in Egypt and India.
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October 2024Implementation of the new 3-vendor dye procurement system.
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November 2024First full month of P&L review showing the £12,400 recovery.
"I was sceptical because other consultants usually just suggest firing people. Tiger Faction did the opposite. They found the waste in our shipping routes. It wasn't the cheapest service, but the savings covered their fee in six weeks."