Zebulon Solutions provides strategic operations consulting services, ranging from fractional / interim executives to outsourcing strategy and risk analysis. As independent experts, we can provide balanced advice unencumbered by internal biases. We’re data-driven, innovative and passionate, but unlike typical management consulting firms, our executives are industry veterans with decades of hands-on experience, not freshly-minted MBAs.

We’ve put hundreds of products into manufacturing. Trust us to develop a strategy for yours.

From new product introduction to end of life, Zebulon Solutions will help you lower product costs and improve manufacturing efficiency, no matter where you are on scaling your operation.

We integrate operations, manufacturing and engineering management with technical and business analysis and professional project management. Decades of experience on factory floors combined with experience managing large, complex teams allows us to help you make the right data-driven decisions.

Specific Operations Consulting Services

Fractional / Interim Executives

For small to mid-sized companies ramping up their internal or outsourced manufacturing, hiring experienced, visionary leaders can be a daunting challenge. Zebulon Solutions provides operations and engineering executives to select customers around the globe on a fractional and / or interim basis. We start fast, bring decades of experience immediately to both your board room and your manufacturing floor, and even help you hire our replacement when the time is right.

  • Operations executives: COO, VP Operations, etc.
  • Engineering executives: CTO, VP Engineering, etc.

Outsourcing Strategy

Outsourcing is complicated. Finding the right partner, negotiating favorable terms, not to mention getting the best pricing, setting up processes and quality loops, all this can tax experienced teams and overwhelm emerging companies. We’ve worked on all sides, as executives at multinational contract manufacturers, as entrepreneurs seeking a local, highly flexible shop, as supply chain analysts. Zebulon Solutions knows outsourcing.

  • Independent outsourcing strategy assessment
  • Development of an optimized strategy that fits your unique needs
  • Global location assessment
  • Insource vs outsource analysis

Cost Reduction Strategy

Zebulon Solutions loves cost reductions. While sometimes it is as easy as just leveraging volumes or getting competitive quotes (we do that—see our Supply Chain services) or redesigning a product for lower costs (we do that too—see our Product Design services), oftentimes there are complicated tradeoffs. Contractual obligations, inventory stock, tariffs, technical and reliability risks, and the like need to be analyzed; risks need to be weighed. Zebulon Solutions will dig into these details and help you find the best solution.

  • Total cost of goods sold analysis (COGS)
  • Redesign opportunities investigation
  • Onshoring vs offshoring analysis
  • Build vs buy analysis

High Volume Readiness Planning

Aggressive volume ramps present unique challenges, but Zebulon Solutions’ team has done this many times. At high volumes, everything matters—every labor second, every tenth of a cent, every day of inventory—and that’s when you get to steady state; it’s ten times worse during the ramp. Zebulon Solutions can help you not only drive costs down as your volumes ramp up, but also help you manage inventory, improve cash flow, and maintain quality.

  • High volume readiness planning
  • High volume ramp management
  • Searches for high volume ready suppliers and CMs

Contract Negotiation

Working up a master services agreement with your contract manufacturer? We can help. At a fraction of the cost of a good manufacturing attorney (which we are not—you do need that too), Zebulon Solutions can help you negotiate terms and conditions, price and delivery, indemnification and excess inventory clauses that fit your needs. We’ve been on both sides of these negotiations over many years, so we can help you get an equitable deal.

  • Review of existing contract terms and conditions (Ts&Cs)
  • Support in negotiating new Ts&Cs
  • Contract negotiation support

Risk Analysis

Which risks to take, which to hedge, which to avoid? Product development and manufacturing are fraught with risks, from performance to schedule, regulatory to cost. Zebulon Solutions has the experience and expertise to analyze your risk profile and help you craft a balanced, data-driven solution.

  • Risk analysis
  • Risk abatement solutioning

Due Diligence

For potential investors or customers looking to evaluate a product or technology before committing, Zebulon Solutions can provide an independent assessment of costs, strategy, and manufacturability. We can help you gather and analyze data so that you can make data-driven decisions.

  • Technical due diligence
  • Operations due diligence
  • Volume cost estimating
  • Risk assessment

Project Management

Projects of all sizes require skilled project management. Zebulon Solutions not only includes project management in its own projects, we can provide skilled project and program managers to help you manage your complex product development or operations readiness projects.

  • Project management
  • Program management
  • Detailed schedule development and tracking
  • Program management office setup and consulting

Operations Case Study

Manufacturing Ramp Up

Zebulon Solutions has been supporting a leading supplier of intelligent devices for the electrical power industry since 2015. During this period, our customer has introduced a major new product line and ramped their manufacturing significantly. Anchored by a three-year engagement as a fractional vice president of operations, we have supported many aspects of their rapidly-growing operation. Our supply chain specialists have sourced key subsystems, conducted contract manufacturer searches, evaluated vendors, helped with regulatory compliance, and scrubbed BOMs. On the strategic side, Zebulon Solutions has done extensive business analysis, modelled numerous production scenarios, and developed high volume ramp plans. Working with their legal and executive team, we have provided extensive manufacturing contract support, diving deep into terms and conditions as well as negotiating strategies.

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