Rhino Foods measures everything it does. Employees work to a goal and are rewarded when they meet the targets. Management’s reward is a smooth-running organization that fulfills customers’ needs.
A manufacturing facility is like a living organism. Think of production, purchasing, warehousing and quality assurance as cells. Each of these departments has a job to do that in some way touches the other functions. Each has to communicate with the others so that the whole enterprise runs smoothly. The corporate culture is the DNA and it must be in every cell. If the culture is one of teamwork and communication, then the manufacturing process is healthy and will run smoothly. But if one department breaks down, the impact will ripple throughout the manufacturing process.
Teamwork is the DNA of Rhino Foods, Burlington, Vt. The company is big on communications. It needs to be because it is a multitasker. Besides making ice cream sandwiches, Rhino Foods bakes cheesecakes, brownies and cake pieces, and it extrudes cookie dough for use in ice cream.