An Italian designer and manufacturer of telecommunications equipment for both civil and military markets, this company employed 3,000 at a number of manufacturing operations in Italy.  Although the company's business was buoyant, it wanted to take action to better position itself for expansion, as well as further increase customer service and profitability levels.  Explicit objectives for the company's manufacturing operations were to cut costs, inventories, and lead times, and to improve quality and delivery.   One of our people led an express review of the company's manufacturing operations in Italy.  The review included: an operations appraisal and benchmarking for each site, recommendations for quick-win savings, the development of a top level manufacturing architecture based on lean manufacturing principles, and performance improvement targets.  The work revealed major opportunities to cut lead times, inventories, and costs by moving away from make to forecast, to an assemble to order architecture.  Targeted benefits included slashing lead times by 75%, and increasing inventory turns by 400%.  The consultant continued to work with the company to lead the implementation programme and realise the benefits identified