Seven Steps to a Lean Suply Chain

A lean supply chain defines how a well-designed supply chain should operate. It showcases how a supply chain should deliver products quickly to the end customer, with minimum waste. In order for a company to successfully have a lean supply chain upper management must understand that a lean supply chain supply chain will take effort at first however it will provide the organization with more efficiency, deliver better quality to the customer and quickly and predictably meet customer needs.

SEVEN STEPS TO A LEAN SUPLY CHAIN:

• Develop systems thinking

• Understand customer value

• Value Stream mapping

• Benchmark best practices

• Design to manage demand volatility

• Create flow

• Performance metrics

Below we have described a few main points that produce the greatest levels of success within the lean supply chain.

1. Develop a System Perspective:

a. Under this the organization must understand that the greatest gains and successes are achieved when the entire chain works together and not as individual units

2. Map the Value Stream:

a. The organization must do an initial and continually map the entire stream to identify the weak links within the value stream. By doing so they are identifying opportunities for removing muda, mura and muri.

3. Design products and processes to manage demand volatility:

a. Creating processes to better understand customer demand is important. In most organizations customer demand is relatively flat however due to a lack of understanding it seems volatile. Much