Operating model design for manufacturing businesses focuses on resolving the accountability gap between production and commercial functions — the structural problem that drives margin erosion and scheduling conflicts in most manufacturers.
Designing an operating model for a manufacturing business requires resolving the accountability gap between production and commercial functions.
In most manufacturing businesses, production and commercial functions operate with separate accountability. When customer commitments conflict with production capacity, when inventory decisions create cost, when quality problems affect delivery — neither function owns the outcome. The result is the organisational friction that slows decision-making and erodes margin.
Loop Consulting Group designs accountability structures that close the gap between production and commercial functions. In manufacturing, this means:
Integrated planning accountability. The operating model needs to define how production planning, procurement and commercial commitments are made as an integrated process — with clear accountability for the trade-offs between capacity, cost and customer commitments.
Plant management structure. As manufacturing businesses grow, plant management structures need to be redesigned to match the business's scale. The spans and layers that worked at one site become inadequate at three sites.
Workforce capability frameworks. Manufacturing businesses depend on skilled trades and technical staff who are increasingly difficult to recruit and retain. The operating model needs to include the capability framework that defines what skills are required at each level and how those skills are developed.
Contact Loop Consulting Group at [loopbc.com.au](https://www.loopbc.com.au) to discuss operating model design for your manufacturing business.
Loop Consulting Group works with Australian businesses scaling from $5M to $50M. If this question reflects a challenge you're facing, let's talk.