Who Benefits Most From Lean
Who Benefits Most From Lean
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Which Industries benefit the most from Lean?
In answering this question, it is first imperative to separate Lean as a philosophy and Lean as a set of tools. Lean is often considered to be specific to the manufacturing industry, not simply because its history was birthed by the automotive industry (Toyota Production Systems), but also because many of the tools (Standard Work, Kanban cards, 5S) work best under high volume, low variation product lines, found in manufacturing operations as opposed to service industries.
However, Lean is far more than a set of tools.
Lean is a Continuous Improvement philosophy that creates a structure that supports the flow of value throughout an organisation. Lean as a philosophy, can benefit any organisation and any industry, because it is applicable to all problem scenarios, providing principles that can be implemented into any business management system. It is about preserving value with less work, with the goal of providing perfect value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste. It works to empower every individual in the organisation to achieve their full potential so they can make the greatest possible contribution. All companies interested in solving problems and becoming more effective in their leadership can therefore benefit from adopting a Lean philosophy.
The power of Toyota’s application of Lean lies not in how well they apply tools, but in the fact that they have developed a management system and culture that the tools work well within.
It is therefore not a matter of whether Lean is more beneficial to one industry over another. What is critical to remember, is that adopting this philosophy will provide all businesses with a competitive advantage, relative to businesses in their industry that do not take on a Lean thinking mindset.
7 Benefits of going Lean
- Reduced Costs
- Reduced Waste
- Improved Lead Time
- Improved Quality
- Improved Team Culture
- Improved Customer Service / Satisfaction
- ROI