Planet Lean: The Official online magazine of the Lean Global Network
Managing a chain of 100 cafes in Barcelona with lean

Managing a chain of 100 cafes in Barcelona with lean

Emi Castro
January 23, 2018

THE LEAN BAKERY - For the past decade, lean has fuelled the growth of a chain of cafes/bakeries in Barcelona. With 100 now open, the Retail Manager explains how lean helps them manage a booming business.


Interviewee: Emi Castro, Retail Manager, 365.café


You might have heard our story: a business in trouble discovers lean and turns things around so dramatically it is now booming. Our chain of over 100 cafés/bakeries in and around Barcelona has been growing so much over the past decade, and if we have been able to manage this growth it is thanks to lean thinking.

Our lean experiments started in our main workshop (more on that in a few weeks), and only reached our "shops" a little later. But when they did, they truly transformed our way of working.

In the short video interview below, Eva and Conchi (two of our coaches) and I explain how we manage the shops day after day, how we organize the work, and how lean is helping us open new cafés quickly and easily. There will be two more episodes on the retail side of our business in February, so make sure to come to Planet Lean next month.

Thanks for watching!


You can read all about the 365 story in The Lean Bakery.

The Lean Bakery book cover

Buy your copy here


THE INTERVIEWEE

Emi Castro photograph
Emi Castro is Retail Manager at 365.café in Barcelona

Read more

A lean view on... the fight against climate change
October 15, 2020
A lean view on... the fight against climate change

INTERVIEW – What is the contribution of Lean Thinking to the battle against climate change? Michael Ballé discusses the Toyota approach to sustainability and what it takes to push "green" to the top of the business agenda.

Continue reading
A new strategy for a new era
July 13, 2023
A new strategy for a new era

WEB SERIES – In the second episode of our docuseries on lean in Chile, we learn how, with a clear purpose and strong commitment from leadership, SKC is transforming its processes and mindset and building a competitive advantage.

Continue reading
Lean maintenance in agriculture
August 16, 2022
Lean maintenance in agriculture

FEATURE – The problems agricultural businesses encounter every day can be solved using simple concepts of lean maintenance, resulting in considerable gains.

Continue reading
7 tools to establish pull production
May 20, 2021
7 tools to establish pull production

FEATURE – Kanban is the best-known method to establish pull production, but it is not the only one. Here’s a few other ways you can create a pull system.

Continue reading

Read more

No items found.