Lean Enterprise Solutions

Whether you’re in retail, service or manufacturing, it is all about CASH! As much as things change… the one constant measurement of a successful business is the amount of positive cash flow generated. The traditional cost model has changed… no longer is it acceptable for a business to look at their costs and add a desired profit margin to determine a selling price. Today your primary source of profit is reducing your costs while providing a competitive price. This is where Lean Thinking gets applied.

A Lean journey begins with an ability to recognize waste and a full comprehension of its causes

You must constantly look at your product or service and ask what would the consumer be willing to pay for, if there was no waste involved in the process. In Lean Thinking waste is defined as anything in the process that does not add value in the eyes of the customer. Learning how to define and identify the traditional wastes is the first step in reducing your costs. Typically the wastes have been defined into 9 categories such as the following;

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE CUSTOMER …Your customer has choices and your competitor is no longer just located down the street or in the next village. Today your customer can conduct research and shop the global supermarket with just a few mouse clicks from the comfort of their homes. You need a solid business strategy that goes beyond the widgets or select service you provide that will have value in the eyes of your customer. Your customers expect variety, high quality, comprehensive service and responsive delivery. Lean can be that strategic game changer for your organization as you create an organizational passion to identify and eliminate the waste. As you progress with this culture shift you will find that your organization will be more responsive, agile and have more capacity to absorb additional business while improving your cash flow.

The Language of Lean… Understanding key terms forms a foundation for Lean learning.

Value is defined in each case by the customer and is created when a specific capability is provided to him at the right time at an appropriate price. Value-added means some kind of processing (done correctly the first time) that changes (transforms) the shape or character (fit, form or function) of a product or service.

Non-Value-added activities are those tasks that have to be done given present working conditions or processes, but don’t add value to the product or service. The desire is to either minimize these activities or introduce process improvements that would eliminate them entirely. Waste includes needless activities that must be eliminated immediately. Waste consumes resources without value.

A value stream is the properly sequenced, irreducible number of steps a product or service must undergo during its transformation.

Flow reflects the state of continuous, progressive adding of value devoid of detours, backflows and interruptions. Flow is present if people are always working on the "product" and the product is always being worked on.

Becoming Lean: Embarking on a journey

This is not something you decide to do one day as you wake up. A good results-oriented implementation of Lean Methodologies follows a systematic implementation process within your organization. Different organizations and situations may require different tools or an alternate sequence towards the implementation of your Lean Enterprise Solutions. Typically as an organization you will need to spend time designing and developing the following attributes;

Focus - How to select the vital few measurements that will result with increasing your positive cash flow and creating the roadmap of your transformational journey.

Culture Speed - Without people your business is nothing, learn some simple tricks to enhance your organizational culture.

Workplace Organization - How a well-organized workplace can enhance through-put, reduce costs, improve quality and safety, reduce training time and improve moral while enhancing your professional image to customers, employees and the community.

Customer Service - How using a simple but powerful mapping tool will allow you to observe how you provide value to your customer from their perspective. We will show you how this tool can be applied to both material and information flow.

Formal Problem Solving - This is an inherent attribute of your organization, but find out how using a common formal problem solving tool will help you identify root cause faster and more effectively while enhancing customer satisfaction.

Set-up and Change-over reduction - Whether changing from one product line to another or servicing a different customer you are in essence going through a change … we will introduce you to ways to reduce your change-over times.

Other fun stuff that you will want to consider as part of your business system can include: making materials and information flow, precision speaking, generous listening, cellular methodologies, visual work systems, standardized work and more.

We would be delighted if you contacted us to help you create your very own Lean Journey.