Lee Stout

Most operational problems are not software problems. They are business problems that eventually show up in the numbers.

I have spent 25 years inside manufacturing operations, plus ERP support from the I.T. side since 2014, working through planning failures, inventory issues, weak controls, bad data, broken handoffs, and the daily friction that quietly drains cash, margin, and trust.

What I see repeatedly: inaccurate BOMs driving bad planning. Inventory nobody fully trusts. Engineering, purchasing, production, service, and accounting all working from different versions of reality. Leaders making important decisions without clear visibility into what is actually happening inside their own business.

That is when workarounds take over. Firefighting becomes normal. Cash gets tied up, margins thin out, and confidence in the operation erodes.

I advise owners, CFOs, COOs, and operating leaders on what is actually broken, where the risk is coming from, and what has to change to restore control and decision confidence. No software agenda. No implementation agenda. No sales pitch.

How I find it: managers and supervisors know what the process is supposed to be. Operators know what is actually happening. They tell me because I have held their position — and that is where I start every engagement, in a method I call the Ground Truth Sequence.

This industry was part of my life long before it became my profession. That gives me a practical understanding of manufacturing that is hard to fake and harder to replace.

If this sounds familiar, we should talk.