lean for competitiveness

A tool for effective marketing strategies

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FeaturesSep 14, 2020
Alessandro Martemucci
FEATURE – Tools and framework help us to bring lean principles to life and act on our strategies. The author introduces the Lean Marketing Canvas. 

Making a hotel restaurant leaner and safer

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Case studiesAug 24, 2020
César Sancho
CASE STUDY – This hotel in Spain has been able to leverage Lean Thinking in its restaurant to successfully adapt to the new Covid-19 regulations enforced in the country, becoming more efficient along the way.

Why lean marketing is the future

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    string(1476) "Improvement methodologies have been used in the software world for a very long time, with approaches like Agile and Lean digital methodology playing a key role in speeding up the development of digital products. Agile principles and ideas - like Scrum and its way of structuring teams and organizing the work - have found their ways into many a lean company. Lean digital thinking and the Toyota Production System, in turn, have greatly influenced the development of these approaches.

Lean Digital is the methodology by which companies apply lean principles to the development process of new digital products.

The world of startups and entrepreneurship has also drawn a lot of inspiration from lean management. Eric Ries' best-selling book The Lean Startup offers a framework for quick experimentation and validation of learning that is often viewed as an interpretation of lean's PDCA cycle - and the very idea of involving the customer at different stages of the process clearly reminds of the fundamental lean idea of listening to the Voice of the Customer.

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FeaturesJul 23, 2020
Alessandro Martemucci
FEATURE – No organization can expect to survive without a sound marketing strategy. The author outlines the main elements and advantages of a lean marketing approach.  

Lean innovations for restaurants

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FeaturesJun 22, 2020
Alessandro Martemucci
FEATURE – The restaurant business has always been tough, but Covid-19 is now presenting it with new challenges. The author shares a few lean practices that can help restaurants develop competitiveness.

An experiment with cellular thinking

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InterviewsJun 18, 2020
Inga Lind Valsdottir and Pétur Arason
INTERVIEW – Today’s story takes us to Iceland, where a senior leader in a utility company introduced cellular thinking to her team in a bid to improve flexibility and better working conditions.

Lean thinking for more resilient supply chains

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FeaturesMay 4, 2020
Alvair Silveira Torres Jr.
FEATURE – The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed all the shortcomings of our current supply chains. Lean Thinking can make them more agile, aligned and adaptive.

Staying ready in uncertain times

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FeaturesApr 30, 2020
Catherine Chabiron
NOTES FROM THE (VIRTUAL) GEMBA – Throughout the lockdown, this car-selling business has never lost its focus on people development. The author learns how this approach is helping the firm make the most of the crisis.

Learning fast in the crisis

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FeaturesApr 15, 2020
Catherine Chabiron
NOTES FROM THE (VIRTUAL) GEMBA – This small manufacturer is relying on Lean Thinking to keep the business running during the Covid-19 crisis, overcome the disruption in its supply chain, and even innovate.

Were we born for a time such as this?

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FeaturesApr 13, 2020
Sharon Visser
FEATURE – This time of crisis is a perfect opportunity to use Lean Thinking to review processes, improve standards and prepare ourselves for the “reconstruction”, says Sharon Visser.

The gift that keeps on giving

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FeaturesFeb 27, 2020
Karen Gaudet
FEATURE – The benefits of establishing a lean operating system will support the growth and success of a business in the long term, says Karen Gaudet looking back at her experience at Starbucks.

A journey of mind-blowing improvement

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Case studiesOct 3, 2019
Sergio Ferigo
CASE STUDY – Seven years ago, this Italian manufacturer ran an experiment to reduce inventory in its warehouse. Today, lean thinking permeates every aspect of life at FPZ.

Lean logistics for better customer service

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Case studiesAug 6, 2019
Alexandre Cardoso and Cauim Lopes
CASE STUDY – Logistics can be the key to achieving success and creating a competitive advantage in a company. This case study tells the story of a port terminal in Brazil that has used lean to achieve significant gains in managing its road flow.

A sense of heritage in an uncertain world

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FeaturesJul 30, 2019
Catherine Chabiron
FEATURE – In a market where products become obsolete very fast, this Toyota supplier has learned the importance of staying true to its heritage and developing know-how and people’s capabilities.

Cancelling the distance

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The superiority of the Toyota Production System is now a recognized fact (Toyota has been profitable every year but one, for half a century), which means that today most manufacturing organizations around the world practice lean manufacturing thinking to some extent. The prevalence of this alternative way of thinking and managing in the manufacturing sector often generates confusion in other industries, in which people’s first reaction to improvement attempts is the now proverbial “We don’t make cars. Lean is a manufacturing thing.”

When applied to manufacturing, lean tools like heijunka, SMED or Kanban cards allow for the optimization of production processes and the systematic elimination of waste (in its three incarnations of muda, muri and mura – respectively, non-value-adding work, overburden and unevenness). These happen by implementing the fundamental lean principles of pull and flow. However, it has now been proved that the principles characterizing lean manufacturing are universally applicable. They work in any sector and they apply to any kind of work – even though at times they require some adjustment."
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Case studiesJul 16, 2019
José Ignacio Garcia Cornejo and Francisco Soler Benito
CASE STUDY – What to do when you operate in a competitive market and are located in a remote corner of Europe, thousands of miles from your customer? One word: lean.

Introducing the Toyota Flow System

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    string(1378) "The idea of “lean management” can refer to both individual managerial behaviors and, more in general, the set of principles and practices characterizing the adoption of lean thinking in an organization.

In the first case, lean management is closer in meaning to the idea of “lean leadership” and entails the development of behaviors that foster continuous improvement at the front line, such as respect for people, asking questions (rather than providing answers), going to see to really understand the work and the causes of problems, and scientific problem solving. In the second instance, lean management describes the lean philosophy more in general.

In its more general meaning, lean management – or lean thinking, if you prefer – derives from the Toyota Production System and is now recognized as a superior management approach that, through continuous improvement, customer focus, teamwork and relentless people engagement, leads to great results in terms of quality, performance, delivery, and cost. The promise of lean management is to create the most value for customers using the least possible amount of resources. As an approach to running a business, it brings benefits to all parties involved, from customers to employees, suppliers to wider society.

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FeaturesJul 9, 2019
Nigel Thurlow, John R. Turner and Brian Rivera
FEATURE – In the age of complexity and disruption, flowing value to customers as quickly as possible is critical. The new Toyota Flow System strives to address this issue. 

A people-centric lean HR strategy

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Case studiesJun 20, 2019
Eugenio Ylleras, José Manuel Fernández and Sheila Gonzáles
CASE STUDY – This automotive parts supplier based in southwest Spain is discovering the power of lean thinking applied to recruitment and Human Resources.

Reflecting on a unique partnership

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FeaturesJun 4, 2019
Planet Lean
FEATURE – Following the recent CXO Summit in Singapore, a team from the Lean Global Network reflects on the partnership with SIT and its potential effects on the city-state.

Three key business challenges lean can tackle

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FeaturesMay 7, 2019
Tomasz Koch and Remigiusz Horbal
FEATURE – Ahead of the annual lean conference of LEI Polska, the authors reflect on a recent survey they ran with their clients on the key business challenges they face.