Operations Transition Consultancy at Tetrad (2026-04 – 2026-05)
Appointed during the administration period to manage the operational transition of necessary work from Westbridge into Tetrad.
- Coordinating stock transportation, organisation and reconciliation.
- Translating product specifications into formats usable by Tetrad.
- Integrating new manufacturing requirements into existing production without disrupting day-to-day operations.
- Liaising with customer facing teams to convert customer requirements into realistic delivery roadmaps.
- Ensuring the successful fulfilment of the first customer orders under the new structure.
- Supporting the Operations Director with product analysis.
Operational Planning Manager at Westbridge Furniture Designs Ltd (Part of the Belfield Group) (2020-08 – 2026-04)
Founded in 2004, Westbridge is one of the UK's largest manufacturers of own-brand sofas and chairs. The company forms part of the Belfield Group, an £80 million organisation with operations across the UK and Romania. Westbridge is a key supplier to major retailers including DFS, Loaf, Next, John Lewis, Sofology, Dunelm, Argos, Ercol, as well as leading independent furniture stores throughout the UK.
All furniture is designed and manufactured at a single, fully integrated facility in North Wales, supported by a dedicated cut-and-sew operation in Romania that produces the sewn covers. With a weekly output of 1,750 pieces of furniture and more than 120,000 possible product variations, Westbridge offers one of the broadest and most flexible ranges in the industry.
- Reporting directly to the Group Chief Operating Officer.
- Served as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) within Westbridge.
- Accountable for full end-to-end orderbook management, including order creation, manufacturing planning, and delivery scheduling for the Westbridge business.
- Successfully managed operational planning across three UK manufacturing sites at peak capacity, overseeing the production of approximately 5,000 fully upholstered units per week and supporting an annualised turnover exceeding £120m.
- Responsible for producing and analysing critical business metrics used to assess performance and drive operational improvements, including delivery OTIF, live orderbook OTIF analysis (identifying blockers and trends affecting customer fulfilment), quality performance such as right-first-time and final inspection audit results, and detailed sales analysis to track forecast accuracy and real-time impacts on production flow and cash management.
- Highly proficient in managing internal stakeholders to achieve weekly operational and commercial targets.
- Experienced in maintaining effective communication channels between the business and external clients.
- Accountable for forecasting annual sales despatch volumes based on sales budgets, operational capacity, and strategic business objectives.
- Responsible for providing accurate customer and SKU-level lead times, taking into account orderbook position, factory capacity, and material availability.
- Managed headcount forecasting across all operational departments, ensuring resource alignment with demand and capacity requirements.
- Collaborated closely with operational and commercial leaders to introduce and oversee new product launches, monitoring progress, providing support or challenge where required, and ensuring projects were delivered on time and in full.
- Played a key role in stabilising the organisation after its transition through administration and a subsequent Pre-Pack buyout.
Assistant Factory Manager at Westbridge Furniture Designs Ltd (Part of the Belfield Group) (2016-07 – 2020-08)
- Report directly to the Operations Director.
- Serve as a key member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) within Westbridge.
- Provide leadership and oversight for more than 250 employees, including all departmental managers.
- Accountable for site-wide production performance, with a primary focus on achieving KPIs across safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people within the Westbridge 3 facility, producing over 2,000 units per week (£35m annually).
- Collaborate closely with the Planning Department on capacity management and plan attainment.
- Managed the Procurement function within the factory, ensuring alignment of component stock levels and deliveries with production capacity and scheduled customer requirements for major clients such as M&S and IKEA. Improved OTIF performance by 15%.
- Successfully implemented FIFO stock management processes across the warehouse for both finished goods and inbound materials, overseeing more than 2,000 pallet spaces in partnership with the Warehouse Manager and team leaders.
- Lead regular GEMBA site walks with managers and shop-floor teams to identify opportunities for workflow optimisation and enhanced safety standards.
Foam Plant Manager at Westbridge Furniture Designs Ltd (Part of the Belfield Group) (2014-07 – 2016-07)
- Report directly to the Factory General Manager.
- Serve as part of the departmental management structure within Westbridge 3.
- Lead a team of over 35 employees, overseeing all aspects of foam conversion operations.
- Developed MRP-based stock control systems for block foam and associated components used in the conversion process.
- Designed and implemented MRP-driven production planning tools, contributing to a departmental OTIF performance of 99.5%.
- Produce all DXF drawings and block programming using Baumer Wincap and Fecken Kirfel CAD software, continuously optimising nesting structures and cutting programs to improve block utilisation and reduce cutting time.
- Manage all in-house costings for foam conversion, maintaining a master costing file to enable efficient updates in line with material price fluctuations.
- Introduced KANBAN stock control processes for high-volume products manufactured from block off-cuts.
- Reduced foam waste from 35% to 19%, delivering material cost savings of approximately £4k per week.
- Increased output by 50% through the implementation of an additional shift to supply foam components to a sister facility, generating weekly savings of approximately £5k compared to external procurement.
- Successfully established Westbridge's first foam conversion department, building the operation from the ground up—an achievement that stands as a defining milestone in my professional career.
