McKinsey’s Operations experts help high-tech companies remove inefficiencies and costs from all stages of the production cycle to improve profitability and better match demand and supply. We provide high-tech clients with unique expertise, diagnostics, and models that help identify and rationalize operational investments to improve margins and process efficiency. We provide direct support to client process teams to enhance and deepen the capabilities that will deliver sustainable, significant value for their own organizations, their business partners, and their customers
Our teams work with high-tech clients from the front to the back end of operations. A significant portion of our operations work for high-tech companies entails redesigning global supply chains and supplier networks to simplify processes and optimize cost basis. We also reconfigure assembly and test facilities to improve throughput and quality.
Our manufacturing work aims to improve high-tech organizations’ shop-floor production efficiency using lean manufacturing methods, and developing and deploying optimal process models in single facilities and global networks of manufacturing plants. Teams working with high-tech clients in operations engagements achieve real, substantial business impact.
Examples of our work:
- Reduced customer order lead time by an average of 50 percent and late deliveries by over 60 percent for a global PC and consumer electronics manufacturer through improved forecasting and manufacturing planning
- Identified and launched a cost-savings initiative at a global telecom-equipment provider to capture over $500 million, after process capability diagnostics and financial modeling revealed disparities between in-house, outsourced, and best practice in procurement and other shared functions
- Shaved 8 percent of total supply-chain cost and 70 percent of supplier lead time over 2 years and doubling inventory turns for a high-performing consumer-electronics company whose rapid pace of product introductions resulted in ongoing supply and channel mismatches
Proprietary tools and insights
McKinsey’s ongoing investments in operations research include development of an operational benchmarking database reflecting participation of over 100 high-tech companies, from front-end fabs to back-end assembly plants. This research effort allows us to fine-tune our operating diagnostics used by high-tech companies to improve their overall operating model or focus on discrete processes.
Additional details about our Operations capabilities
For more details about our expertise in this area, please visit the Operations Practice section.
For access to our exclusive insights into the latest operations trends across all industries and a members list to help you to get in touch with industry experts, you can apply for free access to our Operations extranet.