Situation
Hunter Stockfeeds (also known as Hunter Premium Produce) is a Victorian, family-owned business based in Elmore that produces, cleans, grades, bags, and distributes animal feeds, grains, bird and poultry mixes, hay, straw, and chaff. The company is both export- and organic-certified, HACCP food-safe, and services a wide reseller network with both retail and wholesale products.
Hunter Stockfeeds operates with significant capacity — 4,500 tonnes of raw grain storage, more than 90,000 bales on site, over 1,000 tonnes of palletised bagged product, and automated packing and blending lines. The business is a trusted supplier of high-quality animal feeds and food & beverage product inputs, with strong year-on-year growth expected to continue.
Owner Craig Worme recognised that in order to double or triple the business over the medium term, operations would need to become more systematic and efficient. Without change, further growth could increase complexity and reduce profitability if managed in an ad hoc manner.
Challenge
Hunter Stockfeeds’ leadership wanted to set the business up for sustained, profitable growth by improving systems, processes, and staff capability. Management recognised that while the business was successful, operations were run largely through the owner’s close oversight, and this was becoming a limiting factor.
The key challenges identified were:
- End-to-End Process Efficiency: Many tasks were still manual and unstandardised, relying on handwritten notes, verbal communication, and constant problem-solving on the fly. Recurring issues were not addressed at the root cause, leading to firefighting in daily operations.
- Investment Prioritisation: With limited cashflow, management wanted to be certain that any investment in new equipment (e.g., an end-of-line packing robot, extra warehousing capacity) would deliver tangible productivity improvements before committing.
- Production Planning & Stock Management: The majority of production was make-to-order (MTO), which introduced high variability, frequent changeovers, and efficiency losses. As order volume and customer count grew, this variation threatened to worsen, impacting throughput and material yield.
Another constraint was the owner’s time and expertise. Having built the business from the ground up, Craig recognised he did not have all the answers and sought OE Partners’ Lean process engineering expertise to provide a fresh, objective perspective and structured approach.
Action
OE Partners partnered with Craig and the Hunter Stockfeeds team to transform the way operations were managed, introducing Lean principles, visual controls, and structured planning processes.
1. Current State and Future State Design
The engagement began with a current state value stream map of the entire operation, from raw grain intake through production, packing, warehousing, and distribution. This exercise created a shared understanding of how work currently flowed and highlighted waste, delays, and bottlenecks.
A future state design was then developed collaboratively with Craig and the shop floor team, setting clear improvement targets and prioritising key projects that would deliver measurable impact.
2. Time & Motion Study
OE Partners conducted detailed time-and-motion analysis, quantifying cycle times, waiting times, and handling steps across key processes. This data formed the baseline for improvement and allowed OE Partners to model the benefits of proposed changes, supporting better investment decisions.
3. Key Process Improvements
With the analysis complete, OE Partners coached the Hunter Stockfeeds team through implementation of several high-impact changes:
Warehouse Reorganisation & Visual Management: Storage areas were reorganised for optimal flow, reducing search time and handling waste. A visual management system was put in place, allowing staff to quickly see stock levels, priorities, and workflow status.
Kanban Stock Ordering & Production Planning: Kanban cards and standardised planning processes were introduced, reducing variability and ensuring that production ran to a clear, prioritised schedule.
Make-to-Stock (MTS) Order Picking: A shift was made from purely MTO to a hybrid model, with selected high-volume SKUs produced in advance. This reduced changeovers, stabilised production schedules, and improved delivery lead times. Throughout the engagement, OE Partners provided hands-on coaching and project management support, ensuring changes were properly embedded and results were achieved.
3. Capability Building: Green Belt Training
OE Partners trained 10 key leaders through Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. Participants learned to apply practical tools such as root cause analysis, value stream mapping, and statistical problem solving. Importantly, they were required to implement real projects as part of their certification, ensuring that learning translated into action.
4. Team Engagement & Capability Building
Initially, the production team was unaccustomed to altering their processes and had relied heavily on Craig for daily direction. OE Partners worked closely with both leadership and shop floor operators to build understanding of why changes were necessary and to develop confidence in the new systems.
Firm leadership from Craig, combined with consistent coaching support, gradually shifted the culture from reactive firefighting to proactive problem-solving.
Results
The transformation delivered significant operational and leadership benefits:
Faster Order Fulfilment: Average order completion time dropped from three days to just two — a 33% improvement — increasing throughput and customer responsiveness.
Improved Process Control: Visual management and standardised planning created a predictable, repeatable system for the production team to follow. This reduced reliance on the owner for daily decision-making and ensured consistency of output.
Leadership Capacity Freed: With a system in place, Craig was able to step back from day-to-day firefighting and focus more of his time on business growth, strategy, and customer development.
Perhaps the most important result was the cultural shift: the production team moved from waiting for instructions to taking ownership of managing their work, supported by clear processes and metrics.
A project to apply lean layout principles to laboratories reduced transport and motion by 72%
Client Perspective
Craig Worme, the owner of Hunter Stockfeeds, reflected on the engagement:
“I recommend OE Partners because what they gave us to start off with exceeded my expectations and they are a very talented team.”
This testimonial highlights not only the quality of the solution but also the confidence Craig gained in the future of his business now that it has a stronger operational foundation.
Conclusion
Hunter Stockfeeds’ partnership with OE Partners delivered a leaner, more resilient operation, freeing leadership to focus on scaling the business and serving a growing customer base.
By mapping and redesigning the end-to-end process, introducing visual management, and standardising planning and stock management, the business gained control over its operations, improved efficiency, and positioned itself for sustainable, profitable growth.
Most importantly, the engagement empowered Craig’s team to take charge of daily operations, giving him the capacity to work on — rather than in — the business.
