For CEOs, boards & investors of product companies
Grab share.
Maximize free cash flow.
We realign supply chain operations with product strategy — so the plan you commit to each quarter is the plan you deliver, and the cash shows up on the balance sheet.
$275M+
supply chain savings at Logitech
$400M
inventory reduction while sales grew 15%
3
back-to-back black-swan crises led as a Section 16 officer
3X
sales at PE exit after an advisory-led growth strategy
Operating leadership at Hewlett-Packard · Motorola · AMD · 3Com · Logitech · Oclaro · Quantum-Si
Our approach
Assess. Strategize. Execute.
Every engagement follows the same three steps, measured against the same four-quadrant model — so you always know where you stand, where you’re headed, and what it’s worth.
01
Assess
Bring new insight to your business.
An operational diagnostic scored against the four quadrants of the Supply Chain Operations Management Model — predictability, responsiveness, cost structure and cash.
- Quadrant scorecard and maturity baseline
- Cost, inventory and cash-to-cash baseline
- The few constraints that matter most
02
Strategize
Set a pathway to performance excellence.
A roadmap that aligns your supply chain network with your product strategy and ties every operating target to the quarterly business plan.
- Prioritized roadmap with a financial bridge to free cash flow
- S&OP design and operating cadence
- Supplier, network and delivery-model strategy
03
Execute
Get great results immediately.
Hands-on leadership to deliver the plan — as an interim executive, an embedded advisor, or a guide to your own team.
- S&OP installed and running monthly
- Contract-manufacturer and supplier renegotiation
- Results reported against the quarterly plan
Proprietary framework
The Supply Chain Operations Management Model™
One picture that holds both outputs of an operating company in view at once: the customer’s experience and the financial result. Four quadrants, one optimization point at the center.
The Supply Chain Operations Management Model™ — © Productivity Specialists LLC · Click the graphic to view full size.
Services
Senior operating judgment, from the boardroom to the factory floor.
Board & Investor Advisory
Supply chain risk oversight, operational due diligence, advisory-board formation and value creation through exit — from a former corporate officer of two Nasdaq-listed companies.
Crisis & Turnaround
Stabilize supply, protect customers and revenue, and brief the board through it — then rebuild a supply chain that is cheaper, faster and more resilient than before.
ERP Rx
Make systems useful and used: ERP, PLM and QMS selection, implementation and recovery — integrated with S&OP rather than bolted on.
Interim Executive Leadership
COO, VP Operations, VP Supply Chain & Manufacturing, Head of Supply Chain — including building operations, quality and supply chain from scratch for a commercial launch.
Product & Supply Chain Strategy
Product and SKU rationalization, design-for-cost, BOM and supplier strategy, and supply chain delivery models differentiated by market segment.
Leadership Development
Coaching operations leaders on the five capabilities of the modern COO — drawn from the forthcoming Leadership Playbook.
Selected results
Measured in market share and free cash flow.
Client engagement · Medical QA & dosimetry
−40% 98%
Contract-manufacturing cost reduction, with on-time delivery raised to 98%.
Client engagement · Hi-tech tool manufacturer
−30% 4X
Bill-of-materials cost reduction, and four times the inventory turns.
Advisory board · Sun Nuclear
15% CAGR 3X
Formed the company’s first advisory board; the growth strategy preceded a PE acquisition at three times sales.
Executive role · Oclaro
+200 bps −45% SKUs
Gross margin gained through product rationalization, while steering through the Japan tsunami, Bangkok flood and Shenzhen strike.
Executive role · Logitech
$275M+ <8.5%
Saved over eight years; supply chain cost cut from more than 14% of revenue to under 8.5%.
Executive role · Quantum-Si
0 → launch
Built S&OP, manufacturing, supply chain and quality from scratch for the Q1 2023 commercial launch of the Platinum platform.
Forthcoming books
The framework, and the leader who runs it.
The Supply Chain Operations Management Model
Optimizing Customer Satisfaction and Financial Results
A practitioner’s guide to the four-quadrant framework, quarterly execution, and the S&OP process that drives both.
The COO / Supply Chain Operations Leadership Playbook
Five capabilities of the modern operations leader
Core process expert · critical thinker · “CFO Jr.” · proactive collaborator · transformational change agent — with practices to install in the next 60 days.
About
Gray Williams, President
A global operations executive whose career spans Fortune 50 corporations to venture-backed start-ups — consumer electronics, telecom and datacom, semiconductors, aerospace, energy and medical/biotech. CEOs and boards bring Gray in when operations must scale, recover or transform.
- Former corporate officer, Logitech & Oclaro (Nasdaq)
- NACD Continuing Board Education credential
- Malcolm Baldrige Senior Examiner
- Purdue, Phi Beta Kappa · CPIM · C.P.M.
- Available for independent director roles
Let’s talk about your next quarter.
Tell us what’s at stake — a missed plan, a launch, a cash squeeze, a board question — and we’ll tell you candidly whether we can help.