Kraft Foods: High Performance Work System

Since 1995, Kraft has spent time and effort divesting of businesses, acquiring more profitable businesses, and organizing into one operating company. This new approach led to the current Kraft vision to become the undisputed leader in the food industry by the year 2001. In order to contribute toward the 2001 vision, the Operations Division in particular had to reduce manufacturing and distribution costs, increase productivity, and integrate many change initiatives to streamline processes and reduce waste. After research and a proven track record, the Operations Division chose HPWS as the best way to include all necessary elements that would contribute to the vision of undisputed leadership. Kraft opened three “greenfield” or start-up plants and chose to implement an HPWS design at these locations from the beginning. This method proved to be very successful. The focus now turned to the existing plants and how to help them become just as successful. The major issues impeding their su...