Kudos to the Reshoring Initiative @ReshoreNow and @harrymoser for recognition of their efforts to bolster American manufacturing. Though there are at times strategic benefits to outsourcing/off-shoring, I’ve seen this approach to cost savings too often put to premature use. Labor costs, as a growing number of manufacturers worldwide now understand, is just part of the equation.
The value of cost savings gained through lower labor rates must also be measured against […]
Like many tortured souls in my line of work, I frequently enter places of business and during whatever wait there is, reimagine different elements of the operation from the layout and processes, to the product array, delivery mechanism and related possible revenue streams that would improve the customer experience, culture and / or profit.
This activity comes as second nature to me and so I can run through scenarios quickly. […]
Happy Friday! This is an oldie but goodie. A funny reminder that at the end of the day, CI efforts should focus on improving the means by which the business interprets and meets the needs of its customers. The impact of this effort is strongly enhanced by first taking the time to figure out what your customers want and expect. When was the last time you conducted a Voice […]
Cuts in headcount are too often made with short term goals in mind. Somehow those with traditional management views consider this among the easier tacts to take when looking at cutting costs. I will grant them that it is one of the faster solutions in that regard. I would hope that these layoffs represent a last resort for Levis Strauss. I imagine that if they are truly experiencing a […]
Mark Graban gets to the heart of what keeps organizations from cultivating a CI culture – lack of organizational alignment and commitment:
“The problem is many (if not most) of these Lean initiatives are completely project-based or rely on top-down decisions, missing the opportunity for truly continuous improvement that engages each employee and leader – “Kaizen”.”
Mark’s tips on how to make it happen.
For better or worse, organizations that experience performance pain tend to feel the burn most acutely in Operations. Macresco is often brought in to assess the damage and charged with conceiving of the “Lean” remedy executive management (misguidedly) believes will put an end to their troubles. It is at this point where my uphill battle begins. I’m either battling leadership on the purpose and application of Lean or management […]
Lean and Six Sigma methodologies both hinge on getting to the root cause of an issue as a means of addressing performance. Generally speaking, this approach reveals significant opportunities to improve productivity by way of more streamlined processes.
Sooner or later, however, the same issues Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives were implemented to fix, crop up again. I believe it is because the true root cause driving this operational pain isn’t […]
