Hewitt: Building a National Manufacturing Network for Scale

Scaling | Network Optimization | New Product Innovation

A 12×12 sprint: Audited 12 co-manufacturers in 12 weeks and delivered the blueprint for an optimal, regionally distributed U.S. network.

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Key Focus Areas:

• Cost Benchmarking

• Freight Optimization

• Supplier Partnerships

• New Product Innovation

• Contract Manufacturing

Challenge

Hewitt’s rapid U.S. retail growth outpaced a manufacturing network that had been assembled quickly to meet demand. Core pain points emerged: high tolling costs, long-haul freight into distant DCs, and limited redundancy/capacity, all creating margin pressure and operational risk as volumes expanded.

Approach

Leveraging my industry network, I sourced and vetted strategic manufacturing partners to support a nationally distributed footprint across the US. Throughout the project, I visited facilities and collected data to assess capacity, QA programs, automation, packaging capabilities, and MOQs, then negotiated costs to align with industry benchmarks. The resulting design compressed freight lanes, strengthened service levels, and added true supply redundancy.

Results

• Recommended projections yielded $2.5M in annual product COGS savings

• Set up a national production model to deliver >$1M in freight savings

• Added redundant capacity to support new product development and volume growth without single-site dependency

• Positioned the company for scalable, profitable expansion