Mark in Action Winners’ Stories: Steve Thomas

At the latest Mark in Action ceremony UL Honeybourne Operations Manager Steve Thomas was awarded an incredible third Mark in Action Award from a twenty seven year career in Unipart for leading significant improvements on the JLR Worn Core contract.

Under the Worn Core contract Unipart receive, sort and store end of life parts such as gear boxes and engines at Honeybourne before they are sent for re-manufacture as part of our Logistics and Transportation offering for JLR.

The worn core business was experiencing some challenges at Honeybourne with limited storage space and stock visibility contributing to increased lead times for the customer. Thinking with a growth mindset, Steve used the tools of The Unipart Way to deeply understand processes and customer needs. He worked with his experienced team, engaging and involving them in coming up with improvements through OCCs and other Creative Problem Solving tools.

He moved the worn core processing area resulting in more efficient use of the space and an improved working environment for the team in much warmer conditions.

Steve worked on improved product flows which freed up resources to focus on additional key areas like scrapping and continued product relocation to further improve space.

He also reviewed reporting standards, understanding the data and implementing digital solutions to improve reporting and drive data insights through easy to view dashboards.

The work done by Steve and his team resulted in reduced Inbound and Outbound delivery times for the customer, creating a much smoother supply chain process for all stakeholders including third party carriers, and resulted in a significant reduction in WIP.

Steve’s work has also had a huge impact on improving the working environment for colleagues and has driven team engagement at Honeybourne.

Nominator Kevin Phillips said, “I’m very grateful to Steve for the work he did and the improvements this has brought about in the operation.”

Steve said, “It has been a privilege and a great opportunity to work on this project with the wider team and with the customer. It was a proud moment to receive my award from John Neill at his final Mark in Action Award ceremony.”

The Next Mark in Action ceremony will take place Wednesday 26th February 2025. If there is an individual or group in your team who you think deserves recognition then please send in your nomination by using the form here. If you aren't sure whether your story is a Mark in Action or not, just contact Katie Geddes Mark in Action Manager, who is happy to advise and support you through the process. You can find out more about Mark in Action awards here.