Specialty chemicals
Findings

Specialty chemicals formulator · 2 sites near Lyon · 160 employeesThis War Map shows how we turn an operational review into an implementation plan. The dates show a possible sequence; the scope and schedule of a real engagement are agreed with you.

Findings

Where work gets held up, who has to step in, and what it costs in this example.

Regulatory queue

About 85 customer document requests a week and 32 supplier SDS updates a month go through one regulatory head. Customers wait 6.5 working days; 61 supplier updates wait longer.

Batches held after passing

Batches wait 1.6 days on average between their last result and release. In six months, 31 trucks left without at least one planned batch.

Margin arrives late

Raw materials are about 62% of cost of goods. Increases reach indexed invoices nine weeks after the supplier notice, and most of that gap cannot be billed back.

Dangerous goods by hand

About 170 ADR shipments a week are prepared by retyping SDS data. One certified adviser checks them all, with no trained backup.

Illustrative time allocation for 11 interview roles

Searching and retyping documents
29%
Answering routine requests
22%
Technical and regulatory expertise
21%
Checks and sign-offs
16%
Planning and decisions
12%

These scenario percentages total 100%. They describe the 11 interview roles only, without extrapolating to all 160 employees.

51% of the time goes to searching and retyping documents and answering routine requests. Checks and sign-offs take 16%. 33% remains for expert work and decisions.

Key Insight: Part of the 16% spent on checks is required by regulation or by customers and stays with people. The target is the 51% spent finding, copying and resending information that already exists in a system.

SOP vs. Reality

Customer Regulatory DocumentsSOP: 4 steps → The Reality: 10 steps, 3 handoffs
The SOP
Request received in regulatory mailbox
Document generated from SDS tool
Regulatory check
Sent to customer
4 steps, linear
The Reality
10
Steps
3
Handoffs
6.5 working days on average
Cycle time
~85 requests/week
Volume

Requests arrive through three mailboxes and often quote the customer's own article code. Nadia rebuilds the context for each one: which product, which version, which language. The answer is correct, but it leaves no trace of what was sent to whom.

The Gap
About 1 request in 5 uses a customer article code. The cross-reference lives in an Excel file with three copies.
SharePoint PDFs and the SDS tool disagree on the current version for some products. Nadia checks both every time.
22% of requests get a customer reminder before the answer goes out. Some customers block orders until the SDS arrives.
No log of which customer received which SDS version. Redistribution after an update depends on memory and sales history.
Batch Release and Certificate of AnalysisSOP: 5 steps → The Reality: 11 steps, 4 handoffs
The SOP
Batch sampled
Tests run in LIMS
Results checked against specification
Batch released in Sage X3
Certificate sent with delivery
5 steps, linear
The Reality
11
Steps
4
Handoffs
1.6-day release wait
Cycle time
~60 batches/week, ~120 certificates/week
Volume

Testing is quick and well run. The wait comes after it: one lab manager compares each result with two sets of limits, keys the release, and the certificate is then retyped by hand. A typing error found at the customer's goods-in sends the whole delivery back into question.

The Gap
The LIMS and Sage X3 do not exchange data. Release status and results are keyed twice.
340 customer specifications exist as PDFs. Limits are read and compared by eye for each batch.
About 4% of certificates are corrected after sending, mostly batch numbers and missing parameters.
Julien covers both sites. When he is in an audit or on leave, passed batches stay in quarantine.
Dangerous Goods Shipment (ADR)SOP: 4 steps → The Reality: 9 steps, 2 handoffs
The SOP
Delivery note created in Sage X3
ADR data printed on transport document
Adviser check
Carrier pickup
4 steps, linear
The Reality
9
Steps
2
Handoffs
~5 min per shipment, longer for mixed loads
Cycle time
~170 ADR shipments/week
Volume

Most products are corrosive or flammable, so most shipments need ADR paperwork. Where Sage X3 lacks the data, Karim takes it from the SDS and types it twice, once in Excel and once in the carrier portal. He is the only person on site who can check a mixed load with confidence.

The Gap
ADR master data is incomplete in Sage X3 for 30% of items. The SDS holds the data, but nothing links the two.
Exemption points for each transport unit are calculated by hand in Excel.
The backup trained in 2019 has left. When Karim is away, shipments of classified goods wait.
Errors found by drivers are fixed at the dock, which delays loading for the next truck.
Raw-Material Cost to Customer PriceSOP: 5 steps → The Reality: 9 steps, 4 handoffs
The SOP
Supplier price notice received
Standard cost updated in Sage X3
Indexed contracts recalculated
Price change approved
Customers notified
5 steps, linear
The Reality
9
Steps
4
Handoffs
9-week average lag to invoice
Cycle time
~40 price notices/month, 38 indexed contracts
Volume

Purchasing sees a price change the day it arrives. Sage X3 sees it at the next quarterly cost update, and indexed customers see it after finance recalculates their contracts. The decision itself is quick; the preparation around it is slow.

The Gap
Standard costs lag supplier prices by up to a quarter, so margin reports look better than reality during increases.
38 index clauses use different reference periods. Each is recalculated by hand.
Most index clauses apply from the next invoice, so a late update is margin lost rather than cash delayed.
No single view of margin by customer after a raw-material move. Each review starts from new exports.
Key Insight: The four sample comparisons show 150%, 120%, 125% and 80% more steps, respectively: (actual ÷ documented − 1) × 100. Some extra steps are required checks; others exist only because systems do not share data.

Work that needs attention

RegulatoryCustomer document requests: ~85/week × 12 min to identify the product, find the current version and send it17h
RegulatorySupplier SDS updates: 32/month × 2 h where-used and classification check = 64 h/month; 64 × 12 ÷ 52 = 14.8 h/week14.8h
Quality ControlCertificates of analysis retyped from LIMS into Excel templates: ~120/week × 6 min12h
Quality ControlRelease check by eye against internal and customer limits: ~60 batches/week × 6 min; excludes certificate retyping6h
LogisticsADR transport documents retyped from SDS section 14: ~170 shipments/week × 5 min14.2h
Technical ServiceSearching past trial reports for customer questions: ~45/week × 20 min; excludes the chemist's answer itself15h
Purchasing + FinancePrice notices logged in Excel and indexed contracts recalculated by hand, averaged over the quarter6.5h
AllNo record of which customer received which SDS version, so redistribution after an update relies on memoryongoing
85.5 person-hours/week across 7 quantified rows; 1 unquantified risk85.5 h
Key Insight: Supplier SDS work is converted from 64 hours a month to 14.8 hours a week. Other rows are person-hours per week. The release row counts only the comparison against limits, separate from certificate retyping. Rows are scoped to avoid double counting, and part of this time stays with people because the checks are required.

Risk Register

Single Point of FailureCritical
Nadia Benali, Regulatory
The only person who can assess how a supplier SDS change affects CLP classification. 61 updates are waiting. Her assistant handles formatting only.
Regulatory ComplianceCritical
Updated SDS not redistributed
REACH requires updated SDS to reach customers supplied in the previous 12 months. Without a version log, the company cannot show who received what.
Single Point of FailureHigh
Karim Haddad, ADR
Sole certified safety adviser on site and the only person preparing mixed loads. The trained backup left in 2023.
Single Point of FailureHigh
Julien Roux, Lab Release
Signs every release on both sites. Audits and leave translate directly into batches held in quarantine.
MarginHigh
Indexation applied late
38 indexed contracts, about €11M of sales, updated nine weeks after supplier increases on average. Unlike late invoicing, most of this gap cannot be recovered afterwards.
System FragmentationHigh
LIMS isolated from Sage X3
Results, release status and certificates are keyed in three places. Each copy is a chance for a batch number error.
Data IntegrityMedium
Customer codes not mapped
About 1 request in 5 uses a customer article code. The cross-reference exists in three Excel copies that disagree.
Knowledge LossMedium
2,300 trial reports hard to search
Formulation know-how sits in folders sorted by year and customer. Two of the three application chemists joined less than two years ago.
Next Chapter
Implementation plan

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A real engagement is scoped in the Strategy Session and may begin with a War Map or a bounded Feasibility Sprint.

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