Seacoast Electric is a specialty distributor of cable and associated electrical and electronic products for the marine industry located in Chesapeake, VA. Seacoast has been servicing shipbuilders, the Navy, and defense contractors, for over 60 years. They maintain one of the broadest and most complete inventories of shipboard cable, electrical equipment, and fiber optic network products in the industry.   Seacoast has provided Just-In-Time delivery programs tailored to the individual needs of their clients for over twenty years. These programs include dedicated inventory, special product storage, custom cutting, tagging, packaging, and delivery services.

Since 2003 the Virginia Applied Technology & Professional Development Center (VATPDC) has managed the integration of a Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM) project in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.  This program involves working with a select group of suppliers, identified by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding as being strategic to their on-going success, implementing Lean concepts.  Being one of these key suppliers, Seacoast was selected to participate in the LSCM program. 

Initially, this Lean Implementation Project involved an assessment conducted by VATPDC to determine the knowledge and level of application of Lean practices currently realized within the Seacoast organization. This assessment helped to identify improvement opportunities to implement Lean practices so as to close the gap between current and desired performance levels.  Next a Lean implementation team and a Lean Champion were identified, from within the Seacoast organization, to participate in the change efforts.  This group was exposed to training, conducted by VATPDC, consisting of Lean Principles and Value Stream Mapping (VSM).  At this point a gap analysis was completed generating a list of action items to guide the transformation team through the change efforts.  Initially this transformation effort focused on the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding warehousing and supplier managed inventory portion  of the Seacoast business.

Seacoast quickly realized the potential benefits to be realized by embracing the Lean concepts and methodology and the decision was made to move forward to expand the scope of their transformation efforts to include all aspects of Seacoast’s organization.  This expanded focus was directed toward the achievement of a “Certified Lean Enterprise” status.  This program was created by VATPDC and the level of achievement is accredited by the College of Engineering at ODU.

Resulting from this expanded scope the efforts now focused on improvements across all aspects of Seacoast’s business.  Several of the transformation techniques employed were; visual management in the warehousing operation focused on daily sequencing or work, 5S activity, better techniques to identify custom cable cuts for customers, warehouse rearrangements, visual management techniques for warehouse location, visual standard work documents, visual management for shipping and receiving operations, and specific personnel skills management techniques.    As changes were incorporated into the Seacoast environment, the magnitude of their impact was quickly realized. 

In May of 2007 Seacoast was recognized by VATPDC as having achieved the requirements necessary, and was awarded the “Certified Lean Enterprise” status.   Actual positive impacts to the Seacoast business were realized in the areas of;  increased sales, retention of existing sales that may have been lost, improved inventory management and identification, waste elimination resulting in overall cost savings,  increased order fill accuracy, standardization of work practices across all segment of the business, and reduction of redundant office practices.  

“Seacoast Electric has always been a highly successful distributor operating to MIL standards for cable handling, and for those reasons we began our association with VATPDC, at the request of Northrop Grumman, somewhat reluctantly. As a small distributor with 45 employees, we felt that we communicated well and had established good processes and procedures. We also thought that this type of program was tailored more for large manufacturing firms.

Despite our reservation, we moved forward with the program and after just a couple of meetings we were pleasantly surprised with the applications of the program and with the help and understanding of the VATPDC representatives. The initial program went very well, identifying a number of opportunities to streamline procedures and apply visual aids which quickly improved our ability to move resources in and out of different processes.

As a result of the successes experienced with that first effort, we quickly sought VATPDC’s help to become both ISO certified, and a Certified Lean Enterprise. I can’t say enough about the help we received from VATPDC and I have long considered Mike Cory, Steve Demos, Dean Young, and Ellen Diggs a valuable resource for our company”.  Barry Barber VP Operation & Regional Sales Seacoast Electric Co.