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Editorial: Think Lean? Think Big! - Lean manufacturing Article
The article entitled: "Editorial: Think Lean? Think Big!" is in the Lean manufacturing Articles section of Operations Management Papers area...
ARTICLE DESCRIPTION: Once again it’s good to see many more members are getting involved at Branch level.
MORE INFO: Editorial: Think Lean? Think Big! Once again it’s good to see many more members are getting involved at Branch level. From reports in this issue it seems that there’s a lot of fun to be had, a lot of new people to network with and a lot of knowledge to be gained from joining in these activities. So come on - get involved - reap more of the benefits of being an active Institute member. If you would like to share your ideas with your colleagues please let us know. Remember, 50-1000 words - we’re always listening! Just call us. Think Lean? Think Big! Tim Waddington, MIOM, V2C Limited If we were lying on a psychiatrist’s couch being asked the classic question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think of…’ what would be the image when we thought of Lean? I’m sure for many of us the image would be one of Kaizen Blitz workshops and impressive 5S transformations. These have been the bread and butter of Kaizen engineers and Lean consultants since time immemorial it seems! There is no doubting that they can result in some impressive figures, but it is when we ask some bigger questions about the business as a whole that the impact is often less noticeable. Have our sales increased? Are our order to delivery times significantly shorter than they were? Have our costs reduced in the business as a whole? I would not deny that there are examples of results on this scale around, but for most of us it is now time to lift our eyes to look at Lean at this higher level. As we think about increasing sales it is vital to think about the value that we are offering to customers when they buy our products. Often Value Stream Mapping can focus more on mapping out the processes and little on the value of the product package and how it can be improved. When most people buy our products they are also buying a host of associated services and benefits; our reputation, responsiveness or after service for example, which we find difficult to appreciate on our Value Stream Analyses. When we map, how often do we actually talk to the end customer about their perception of the value offered and how it could be improved? There are often things that our customers value that we are not even aware of! Also in Value Stream Mapping we are looking only at one product family at a time. A key step is to look first at the ‘big picture’, ie. at the value that is being offered across the product range as a whole, before diving in to concentrate on one particular family. In order to effectively improve that value, it is vital that Sales/Marketing, Operations and Design work together. All too often the three are pulling in different directions with different agendas. Difficult as it may be, the three have to be harnessed together to offer and deliver a winning value proposition. If Marketing see that shorter lead times could allow them to charge higher prices then they need to plan in an alliance with Operations to achieve it. Similarly if it were the product features that are the key feature to customers then they need to work with closely with Design. Another area to look at the big picture is with demand patterns for our products. It has sometimes been the case that production cells have been created that match precisely the customer Takt time. They may show X% productivity improvement over the previous version, but are then hamstrung when order levels change and more volume is required. Analysis of historical and forecast demand patterns is a vital step to planning cell design. Lean also can be applied along the supply chain between businesses. This also includes the wider impact of outsourcing – on responsiveness and inventories and ultimately value and sales. It is vital to look at the impact on total supply chain costs and not just one part of them, such as in product and logistics cost comparisons. A final area to look at the big picture is in how reduced waste and increased responsiveness should be used to improve our value proposition, and hence increase sales; both in volume and in the price we can charge. The focus of Lean needs to move up from an operations improvement methodology to one that can and should transform the whole business and supply chain. It needs also to be on sales improvement rather than simply on cost reduction. This needs Sales/Marketing, Operations and Design to work together and look at the big picture before jumping in with small scale, operations-driven initiatives. If together a clear assessment can be made of markets, processes and products across the whole business it will clarify which of the tools in the Lean/Agile toolbox to apply and where to apply them to have the greatest business impact. Think Lean? Think Big!
PUBLISHER: Institute of Operations Management
Page number: 4 Word count: 650
Vol 30 - No 04 June 2004
The article can be downloaded in full from the publisher's site i.e. the Institute of Operations Management.
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