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"A brutally practical guide for factories and warehouses that just want to run better."

Most operations books are written with multinationals in mind:  full programs, big budgets, specialist teams.

Smooth Operations was written to fill the gap for everyone else.  If you lead a mid-sized or smaller operation, you know the reality:

Your operation runs, but with more stress and effort than it should.

You also know where it could be: steady, organized, and reliable.
Getting there is the real challenge.

Your teams are working hard – that’s not the issue. 
It’s what they’re working on: urgent fixes, instead of lasting improvements.

Likely, the right structure isn’t there yet:

  • inconsistent routines and ownership,
  • unclear standards and objectives,
  • suboptimal communication, and
  • improvements that fade the moment the pressure is up.
This book helps you change that, with clear, practical ways to stabilize daily work and create the foundation and the capacity for improvement.

Smooth Operations gives you the structure, methods, and tools to run more reliable, less reactive operations  –  step by step, at your own scale.

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"Too many operations books overhype the theoretical. When it comes to operations, it’s reality that matters. Bernhard gets to the heart of the topic in a clear, no-BS manner. A must-read for anyone aiming to improve operational performance.”
James Michael LaffertyFormer CEO in Procter and Gamble, Coca-Cola, and BAT
James Michael Lafferty
“This is the practical, low-jargon guide that mid-sized operations have been missing, moving past the unnecessarily complex models. It cuts straight to the foundations – daily structure, standards, and ownership – that make sustainable improvement efforts actually stick.”
Vineet KhannaFormer Global Head of Supply Chain, Nestlé
Vineet Khanna
"The title of this book, Smooth Operations, is an aspiration which seems increasingly difficult to achieve in these turbulent times. Yet, this book takes up the challenge, and sets out a clear roadmap to navigate through the maze. The coverage is comprehensive and practical. It's a must-read for top management.”
Dr John GattornaGlobal supply chain thought leader and author
Dr John Gattorna
"A practical, no-nonsense guide for operational leaders. Smooth Operations distills what truly drives sustainable results – clarity, structure, and disciplined execution. Essential reading for anyone transforming supply chains at any scale, but especially for resource-constrained enterprises, balancing digital ambition with operational fundamentals, and delivering real-world impact across global networks."
Graeme CarterChief Supply Chain Officer, Coty
Graeme Carter
“Because what I want is a line where the operator is king (or queen). A line that only stops when we want it to stop. A line that does not need cleaning because it is always clean. If this is what you want too, this is the book to read, to learn from, and to put into practice.”
Maria Pia De CaroEVP Global Operations and Sustainability
Maria Pia De Caro
“Smooth Operations is a sharp and smart playbook to open and broaden the fields of improvement opportunities. Surely a breakthrough tool for smaller-sized organizations, offering all the key takeaways when engaging in such an exciting journey. Very well done!”
Marc CugliettaFMCG & Automotive Global Operational Excellence leader
Marc Cuglietta
"Visionary yet refreshingly practical, Smooth Operations is a true roadmap to operational excellence for SMEs. Unlike most guides, it offers an end-to-end view, connecting foundational routines, people, methods, and resilience in a way that’s actionable from day one. Its realistic, tool-driven approach makes world-class practices accessible without big budgets. A must-read for leaders seeking real, sustainable improvement."
Sergio BassoliCOO
Sergio Bassoli
"Bernhard has provided a well-structured, easy to read but, more importantly easy and quick to apply, practical no-nonsense guide for smaller operations – pick up and go!
Simplifying, and structuring for implementation, proven methodologies that are often over complexified, the book is ideal for those who simply want to leverage the learning and gains from tested OpEx practices without elongated or expensive implementations."
Gary Horsfield Chief Supply Chain Officer, BIC
Gary Horsfield

 A few of the things you’ll learn how to do: 

•  Replace chasing and reminders with clear, fast daily routines

•  Strengthen skills, team communication, and day-to-day ownership

•  Cut losses: downtime, changeovers, scrap, energy, wasted labor

•  Spot the highest-value improvements and act on them quickly

•  Decide what to automate, when to automate, and what to avoid

•  Implement changes in the right order using the included roadmaps

 A few of the things you’ll learn how to do: 

• Replace chasing and reminders with clear, fast daily routines

• Strengthen skills, team communication, and day-to-day ownership

• Cut losses: downtime, changeovers, scrap, energy, wasted labor

• Spot the highest-value improvements and act on them quickly

• Decide what to automate, when to automate, and what to avoid

• Implement changes in the right order using the included roadmaps

Available on Amazon in paperback and hardcover

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Includes more than 70 tools, downloadable templates and resources to help you start implementing immediately.

Who this book is for:

  • Leaders in mid-sized factories and logistics operations
  • Plant managers, operations leaders, OpEx leaders, and supply chain managers
  • CI, Lean, TPM, or maintenance leads
  • Anyone responsible for daily performance without big teams or budgets

Not for readers looking for:

  • one-off “quick wins” without changing daily habits.
  • theory-heavy Lean/Six Sigma textbooks

Table of Contents


Introduction


I        Groundwork
  1. Where do you really stand?
  2. Effective teams
  3. SOPs that people actually use
  4. Set KPIs that drive performance
II       People & Culture
  1. Check in, don’t just check up
  2. Retention and critical skills
  3. Build a culture

III     Use practical methods that work

  1. Continuous Improvement
  2. Total Productive Maintenance
  3. Lean
  4. Six Sigma
  5. Agile

IV   Performance improvements

  1. High-impact areas for cost reduction
  2. Choosing the right maintenance strategy
  3. Optimize before you Digitize
  4. Automation

V     Resilience

  1. Risk management
  2. Business Continuity Planning
  3. Supplier relationships

VI    Borrow from the Best

  1. The key benefits from P&G’s IWS
  2. Five warehouse innovations from Amazon
  3. Learnings from Apple’s launch mastery

VII   Implementation

  1. Roadmaps
  2. Tools
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About the author, and Delft Consulting

Smooth Operations is written by Bernhard de Pauw Gerlings, a field-tested professional with 25+ years experience in companies with highly optimized operations like P&G, Mondelēz and Amazon, and several smaller operations. Bernhard is also founder of Delft Consulting: an independent advisory practice helping manufacturers and logistics providers improve reliability, flow, and performance. The book reflects the same hands-on, field-based approach used in his client work.

If you’d like support with applying the ideas and tools from the book in your own operation, just get in touch or find out more about Delft Consulting here:

 

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Delft Consulting
photo of Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 and Masters report

Gartner®’s Supply Chain Top 25 continues to recognize sustained world-class supply chain performance via the “Masters” category.

To be considered as “Masters”, companies must have attained global Top 5 scores for at least 7 out of the last 10 years.
Only P&G, Amazon, Apple and Unilever qualified for the category in 2024.