Walkaroo International Pvt Ltd

Walkaroo

Manufacturing and Supply Chain

New Product Development

Walkaroo International Pvt Ltd, a ₹2000 crore footwear manufacturer, is one of the pioneers in PU-based footwear in India. The company aspired to become the most preferred footwear brand by consistently being the first to introduce new designs at affordable prices. To emerge as a leading brand in the fast-fashion footwear business, Walkaroo International needed to shorten the Time-to-Market (TTM) of its products, from concept to final design. Further, new designs had to be manufactured quickly and made available to consumers in multiple sizes across its vast dealer network. However, with multiple projects running concurrently in New Product Development (NPD) involving teams across design, manufacturing, and procurement functions, there were problems of mismatched priorities and coordination gaps. Consequently, project delays, rework, and capacity wastage across teams, making longer lead times to launch the norm. Moreover, a forecast-based manufacturing and distribution system led to frequent inventory shortages and surpluses in its warehouses. This resulted in lower availability and lost sales for the company. Walkaroo International partnered with Vector Consulting Group and transitioned from ‘batch processing’ approach to a ‘single design flow’ method in the NPD. This shift enabled the company to break free from vicious delays and capacity wastage across functions, significantly improve its new product output. At the same time, its manufacturing and distribution teams deployed a rapid replenishment process in collaboration with suppliers, manufacturing units, and the broader supply chain to ensure the continuous availability of products across its network of depots. The following results were realised, within a year of implementation of these new processes in NPD and operations:&nbsp;&nbsp;

Walkaroo International Pvt Ltd, a ₹2000 crore footwear manufacturer, is one of the pioneers in PU-based footwear in India. The company aspired to become the most preferred footwear brand by consistently being the first to introduce new designs at affordable prices. To emerge as a leading brand in the fast-fashion footwear business, Walkaroo International needed to shorten the Time-to-Market (TTM) of its products, from concept to final design. Further, new designs had to be manufactured quickly and made available to consumers in multiple sizes across its vast dealer network. However, with multiple projects running concurrently in New Product Development (NPD) involving teams across design, manufacturing, and procurement functions, there were problems of mismatched priorities and coordination gaps. Consequently, project delays, rework, and capacity wastage across teams, making longer lead times to launch the norm. Moreover, a forecast-based manufacturing and distribution system led to frequent inventory shortages and surpluses in its warehouses. This resulted in lower availability and lost sales for the company. Walkaroo International partnered with Vector Consulting Group and transitioned from ‘batch processing’ approach to a ‘single design flow’ method in the NPD. This shift enabled the company to break free from vicious delays and capacity wastage across functions, significantly improve its new product output. At the same time, its manufacturing and distribution teams deployed a rapid replenishment process in collaboration with suppliers, manufacturing units, and the broader supply chain to ensure the continuous availability of products across its network of depots. The following results were realised, within a year of implementation of these new processes in NPD and operations:&nbsp;

Walkaroo cut concept-to-development lead time by 50% through a single design flow approach, enabling faster launches, better collaboration, and improved market responsiveness.

Discover how Walkaroo International improved new product development with a single design flow approach, increasing confirmed designs by 75%, reducing development time by 50%, and improving depot availability by 47%.