Case Study · 3D Systems · Buyer/Planner era
The plant closure nobody could know about
The assignment
A publicly traded company had decided to close a Massachusetts plant — a decision that was material, non-public information. Very few people knew, and the people whose jobs depended on the plant weren't among them. My cover: I was there as a temporary backfill for a role HR wouldn't fill until the next fiscal year.
My actual job, over three months living on-site: document the plant's entire supply chain, build the plan to relocate all inventory, and redirect every inbound material stream to the company's main plant in Rock Hill, South Carolina — all without tipping off the plant, suppliers, or the market.
The execution
Working the transfer in three phases: first, mapping every part, supplier relationship, open order, and material flow the plant depended on. Second, orchestrating the physical move — relocating inventory and cutting over inbound supply mid-stream so material stopped arriving at a plant that would no longer exist. Third, the part nobody plans for: the transferred 3D-printer production line ran its procurement signaling on a physical kanban card system. Rock Hill ran MRP. I converted the line — rebuilding system flags and Bills of Materials until MRP could actually plan it.
The three moving pieces: document the network, redirect it mid-stream, and convert the landing line from kanban cards to MRP.
Why it mattered
Every part of this had to work the first time, quietly. A leak risked the workforce, supplier relationships, and disclosure obligations; a botched transfer risked the production line itself. It worked — the line transferred, inbound material never missed, and the conversion held.
The success of this assignment is what earned my promotion to Senior Supply Chain Analyst. It's also the experience I point to when someone asks whether I can be trusted with things that can't leave the room.