So you’ve gotten a big client or Senior Leadership position. The company that is hiring you has seen the results of your previous projects, and they want you to start a very large global project (Enterprise Level) on numerous sites. You of course say, “We can do anything you want.” This is a typical response […]
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TQM: A Need for Speed of Innovation
The emergence of total quality management (TQM) has been one of the major developments in management practice. The recognition of TQM as a competitive advantage is wide spread around the world and today, very few (especially manufacturing) companies can afford to ignore the term TQM (Dean and Bowen, 1994). There are some arguments that support […]
Complete List of Warehouse Cost Savings Initiatives
Here is a comprehensive list of warehouse cost savings ideas, categorized by 6 core areas: Labor, Operations, Equipment Usage Optimization, Technology, and Facilities Management. Labor Invest in training/re-certification Cross-train all employees Focus on retention/implement retention plans Use temporary/contract labor help where applicable Use flextime Revise your labor scheduling strategy Observe starting and quitting times Move […]
How Do We Create Leadership Pull for Operational Excellence?
Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from the full How to Create Leadership Pull for Operational Excellence whitepaper, available for free download from Flevy here. * * * * Several times a year, over the last decade, in multiple Operational Excellence (OpEx) focused conference workshops, we have asked the same question. What’s the #1 obstacle to successful […]
How to Build a World Class Strategy Execution
Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from the full Integrated Strategy Execution (ISE) Executive Briefing report, available for free download from Flevy here. * * * * Is poor execution inevitable? The short answer is no, but let’s explore this further. A recent Harvard Business Review article highlighted that over 70% of organisations admit […]
Are Your Stakeholders Supportive of Your Project?
Yesterday, a Project Management Best Practice was shared regarding stakeholders, whom are important to any project’s success. According to Do your stakeholders know why your project exists? article (published on CIO.com), you need to conduct a kickoff meeting, distribute the statement of work, conduct regular meetings, and produce summary reports. I absolutely agree with the author Brad Egeland! […]
What Is Digital Transformation?
Organizations across all industries are undertaking “digital transformation” projects. But, what exactly is it? And, are they doing it right? At it’s core, Digital Transformation is driven by the tangible shift in the role of the technology within an organization. No longer as purely a support function that enables business processes, technology is now capable […]
6 Lessons You Can Learn to Improve Your Manufacturing Efficiency
When Ford introduced the first moving assembly line, he changed more than the car industry. He transformed the culture of our workforce and the expectations that consumers have of producers. Since then, manufacturers have become the role models of savvy business and global cultural awareness. Seeing the Big Picture Unlike service providers who tend to […]
Using the Lean Kaizen Method to Unlock Great Potential
Kaizen (or commonly referred to as Value-Add Kaizen) is a problem solving tool used for process improvement by identifying if an activity (which is part of a process flow) is Value Add (VA) or Non-Value Add (NVA), then take steps to either remove or reduce these NVA activities. As these NVA activities are eliminated, the […]
[Video] Why Does Lean Fail in an Organization?
This is a compelling video of an hour long lecture conducted by Charles Intrieri. Charles is a very senior subject matter expert on Lean, Supply Chain/Logistics/Distribution, and Manufacturing, with several decades worth of experience under his belt working with several blue chip organizations. His lecture is titled “Why Lean Fails.” You can also download the actual […]
Inventory Variances: Does the Net Tell the Truth?
Across our six locations, our physical inventory variance was zero and we’re proud of it. This tells you exactly nothing. A Tale of Jack and the Pride of It All… Jack is the owner of an industrial products supplier with five sales/inventory warehouses including one large distribution center. Jack called me and asked if I […]
Teamwork, Huddles, and Competition: Sustaining Lean Culture and Initiatives using Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI)
The question is: How can we continuously improve daily, and sustain a Lean culture and behavior? Look to your people, the best resource you have. These people touch every part of daily operations through a process called managing by DAILY improvement. When a Lean culture is truly developed in a company, and old behavior, habits, […]
