Processes and Systems Smart Lean Management

Responding efficiently and flexibly to dynamic customer demands is a crucial skill for expanding a company's competitiveness. Using the Smart Lean approach, agiplan supports medium-sized companies in putting the customer at the center. All relevant processes are consistently viewed from the customer's perspective and optimized to achieve the greatest possible added value with the least possible waste. To do this, companies must implement suitable methods and principles that enable this goal to be achieved. In our experience, concentrating on a small number of effective instruments already achieves the majority of the desired success. That is why we incorporate this experience into our Smart Lean approach for medium-sized companies.

With the help of the Smart Lean approach, companies are able to react efficiently and flexibly to changing customer requirements - which is a crucial capability for expanding a company's competitiveness. We describe along our "agiplan Road to Lean" which intermediate goals are to be achieved, where stumbling blocks lurk and which success factors promise a successful implementation. Once you have reached your goal, you will benefit from the greatest possible added value with the least possible waste.

agiplan "Road to Lean": Step by step to a lean organization

As a first step, we analyze your current value stream and derive an optimized target value stream. In this way, we create the prerequisites for the holistic guiding principle of further lean activities. In this phase, employees learn the basic goals and methods of lean management. Building on the target value stream, the basic steps of 5S and setup optimization (SMED) are then implemented. They are the basis for neatly structured processes and small batch sizes. With Kanban and One-Piece-Flow or at least reduced batches, building blocks for material flow and supply follow. Once these methods are known and practiced, the entire layout can be redesigned from an optimization perspective.

The final - and most difficult - steps are to establish store floor management and the continuous improvement process (CIP). Managers and employees must show a willingness to question their accustomed ways of working and adapt them if necessary. Both have to be learned and require both employee coaching and a new type of leadership. Once this has also been achieved, the goal of a "lean", self-improving organization has been reached.