Sample War Map
Precision machining and industrial components War Map
Precision machining subcontractor · 1 site, 42 CNC machines · 140 employees
New-part quotes take six days because one methods manager estimates every drawing from memory, and buyers have often decided by then. The map follows a part from RFQ to first-article approval and shows where estimating, scheduling and inspection wait on the same few people.
A War Map is an operating map built from real cases and expert interviews. It shows where the business is fragile, what that costs, and what to fix first.
What you receive
- 01Operational Reality
How the work really runs: people, systems, handoffs and exceptions.
- 02Findings
What it costs: quantified problems, process gaps and key-person risks.
- 03Implementation plan
What to fix first: prioritized systems, timeline and value drivers.
30 minutes. We recommend the right starting point.
Precision machining subcontractor · 1 site, 42 CNC machines · 140 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.
Operational Reality
This is what we deliver: a map of where the business is fragile, what it costs, what to automate first, and which systems should exist so leadership can stop carrying the operation by hand.
Illustrative five-week work plan, June 1 to July 3, 2026: ten interview roles across seven departments, seven systems and two product families traced from RFQ to delivery, with the final week used for synthesis and handover.
Five-week sample timeline · five work blocks
One row per week. Open a week to see each working day.
- Week 1Jun 1 to Jun 5
Quoting and order intake
Scope set. RFQ intake, estimating, supplier pricing and quote approval shadowed.
People: François Lambert, Hélène Joly, Delphine Rousseau, Patrick Meunier, Martine Gauthier
Daily detail · 5 days
Jun 1Kickoff and scopeAgreed scope: from RFQ to delivered part, including first-article inspection and non-conformities. Chose two product families to trace: aerospace brackets and rail housings.
François Lambert · CEOSilogExcelJun 2RFQ intake and quote follow-upReviewed the RFQ tracker: about 25 RFQs a week. In the last quarter, 41% were declined for lack of time or sent after the buyer's deadline.
Delphine Rousseau · Sales and Customer Service ManagerOutlookExcelOEM portalsJun 3Estimating shadowFollowed 4 estimates. Most of the time went on finding similar past parts and their real cycle times, before any estimating started.
Patrick Meunier · Methods ManagerTopSolidSilogExcelJun 4Material and treatment pricesEach quote line needs a material price and often an anodising or heat-treatment price. Requests go to three suppliers by email; replies take 2 to 3 days.
Martine Gauthier · Purchasing ManagerOutlookExcelSilogJun 5Owner view on pricing and marginFrançois approves every quote above €20K. Actual hours are recorded in Silog but never compared with the hours quoted.
François Lambert · CEOSilogExcel - Week 2Jun 8 to Jun 12
Shop floor and quality
Scheduling, job starts, first-article inspection, non-conformities and customer portals mapped.
People: Guillaume Renard, Sébastien Collin, Kevin Moulin, Antoine Picard, Élodie Barbier, Delphine Rousseau
Daily detail · 5 days
Jun 8Shop schedulingThe Excel board is rebuilt every morning from Silog and a walk round the shop. Silog load dates are ignored.
Guillaume Renard · Production PlannerSilogExcelJun 9Job starts at the machineObserved 7 job starts. Setters confirmed drawing revision, program, tools and material by asking the office, about 15 minutes each.
Sébastien Collin · Machining Workshop ManagerTopSolidSilogJun 10First article inspectionFollowed an AS9102 FAI on an aerospace bracket: 112 characteristics, ballooned by hand, each result copied from the CMM report into the form.
Antoine Picard · Metrology TechnicianCMMQMSJun 11Non-conformities and 8D reportsReviewed 6 months of NCs: about 7 a week. Scrap and rework cost is missing for most of them, and customer 8D reports are often late.
Élodie Barbier · Quality ManagerQMSExcelJun 12Customer portals and delivery datesUpdated the four OEM portals alongside Delphine. Two customers rate on-time delivery at 78% against a 95% target.
Delphine Rousseau · Sales and Customer Service ManagerOEM portalsSilog - Week 3Jun 15 to Jun 19
Evidence and analysis
Quote history, revision flow, quoted versus actual hours and delivery performance analysed.
People: Kevin Moulin, Patrick Meunier
Daily detail · 5 days
Jun 15Quote history sampleTraced 60 quotes from the last 6 months: 6.2 days on average to send. Hit rate 18% overall, about 30% on quotes sent within 3 days.
ExcelSilogJun 16Drawing revision flowTraced how a customer revision reaches the machine: email to sales, forwarded to methods, program updated, paper drawing swapped by hand. Two jobs this year started on the old revision.
Kevin Moulin · 5-axis Cell LeadTopSolidOutlookJun 17Quoted versus actual hoursCompared quoted and actual hours on 140 repeat orders. 22% of part numbers ran more than 25% over the quoted time.
SilogExcelJun 18Delivery performanceRebuilt on-time delivery from Silog and portal data: 78% over 6 months. Main causes: late material, schedule bumps, parts waiting for FAI.
SilogOEM portalsJun 19Time allocation and friction registerBuilt the time allocation for the 10 roles and the friction register, separating skilled estimating from the search around it.
- Week 4Jun 22 to Jun 26
Internal analysis
8 initiatives scored, sign-off owners named, roadmap and value model drafted.
People: No interviews this week
Daily detail · 5 days
Jun 22Opportunity scoringScored 8 initiatives by effort, value and dependency. The delivery-date promise needs the capacity view first.
Jun 23Human decision pointsPrices set by the methods manager and approved by the CEO above €20K; FAI and NC dispositions signed by quality; delivery dates committed by sales.
Jun 24Roadmap designQuote preparation and supplier price requests come first, because unanswered RFQs are the largest cost in the map.
Jun 25Value modelKept margin on additional won work, staff time, scrap and rework, and delivery penalties on separate lines.
Jun 26Internal QAChecked every figure against interview notes, the quote sample and Silog data.
- Week 5 · HandoverJun 29 to Jul 3
Synthesis and handover
Findings validated with methods, planning and quality. War Map delivered.
People: Patrick Meunier, Guillaume Renard, Élodie Barbier, François Lambert, Delphine Rousseau, Hélène Joly, Sébastien Collin
Daily detail · 5 days
Jun 29Deliverable assemblyAssembled the three chapters: operational reality, findings, implementation plan.
Jun 30Validation with team leadsReviewed process maps and the register line by line. One correction: FAIs average 10 a month, below the 12 first counted.
Patrick Meunier · Methods ManagerJul 1Final QAFinal check of numbers, dependencies and sign-off owners.
Jul 2Pre-handover reviewWalked through findings and value assumptions. Agreed to start with quoting and supplier price requests.
François Lambert · CEOJul 3War Map handoverDelivered the War Map and the 16-week plan, with a named owner for each initiative.
François Lambert · CEO
What We Heard
“I look at a drawing and remember we made something like it in 2019. Then I spend twenty minutes finding which order it was.”
“The buyer gave us three days. We sent the quote on day six, and they had already placed the part elsewhere.”
“Silog says the machine is free. Sébastien says it isn't. I believe Sébastien and fix the Excel.”
“An FAI is half a day of copying numbers from the CMM report into a form. I still read every line before I sign.”
“Before I start a job I check the drawing revision with the office. Twice this year the program was on the old one.”
Team Members Interviewed
Systems Accessed
Strategy Session · 30 min
A real engagement is scoped in the Strategy Session and may begin with a War Map or a bounded Feasibility Sprint.