Optimizing Facility Space and Material Flow to Support Future Growth

Fuchs North America (Fuchs NA) is a leading U.S. producer of seasonings and spices, and a part of the Fuchs Group, the world’s largest privately-held seasoning and spice company, with operations on four continents. These worldwide capabilities support local as well as global resourcing, giving customers maximum flexibility. Fuchs offers a comprehensive ingredient portfolio of custom as well as ready-made options and solutions ranging from seasonings and spices to organic, gluten-free and non-GMO products. Their arsenal of more than 50,000 Fuchs-proprietary seasoning formulas speeds the custom product development process. They have the capabilities to “duplicate” existing formulas, reconstruct a particular taste, or create completely new custom blends to meet a customer’s special flavor branding or product requirements.

Supply chain disruptions and an increase in sales forced Fuchs to increase the amount of inventory and materials they have on hand, leaving warehouse capacity at Fuchs’ Hampstead facility at >95%. Not only did this cause Fuchs to quickly run out of space, but this also uncovered opportunities to improve the efficiency of the processes surrounding the movement and organization of materials.

Maryland MEP, part of the MEP National Network™, provided assistance through the Maryland Supply Chain Resiliency Program to support a storage & flow optimization effort with the goal of providing recommendations to increase on-site storage capacity and flow efficiency. Maryland MEP, in partnership with experts from the St. Onge Supply Chain Engineering Company, conducted an assessment of Fuchs’ current space, layout and equipment to maximize on-site footprint, identify efficiencies to increase throughput and better understand current and future storage requirements. The final deliverable included on-site findings & observations, data analysis results and design criteria, layout alternatives, potential technology applications, a prioritized roadmap, and an approach forward.

The recommendations provided by this analysis will mitigate the issues and risks brought on by the current supply chain challenges and will support the future growth of the company. Benefits include maximizing storage capacity, reducing operating costs, improving productivity, and optimizing product flow. Once implemented these benefits will allow Fuchs to capitalize on the increasing demand for its products and strengthen the supply chain of the food manufacturing industry.