Add Value By Eliminating Waste | The Lean Concept In Action – Please note that this post has been supplied by an outside source and I have been paid to publish it. I hope you find the information useful. See Disclosure Policy
With globalization comes intense competition. Your competitors are not in the same region as you anymore. Now you are competing with companies from far-flung corners of the world. Finding advantages over your competition often means adding value to your product for your customers. At the same time, you can’t add any extra costs in the process. Enter the concept of lean manufacturing.
What is lean manufacturing?
In a nutshell, it involves reducing the expenses of your business. In this case, it is from minimizing waste from your manufacturing process. Along the way, your business is more profitable.
Of course, reducing costs will improve your bottom line, but it is more layered and nuanced than just eliminating redundancies in the manufacturing process.
There is the concept that lean manufacturing helps you to add value to the customers. This value can simply be a lower price than your competitors, or it could be from extra capital being used to add value in other forms.
Solving a customer’s problem is at the root of just about any purchase. If your product can solve more of your customers’ problems than your competitor while also reducing the cost of the product then that perfectly exemplifies lean manufacturing.
Applying the concept to other areas
If your business or startup doesn’t make any physical products doesn’t mean the lean concept doesn’t apply.
Lean marketing is a concept that marketers have taken and run with based on the principles of lean manufacturing.
An example of this would be using freelancers for your business instead of hiring a specialist to put on your staff.
Hiring a freelancer can reduce your overhead costs and allow you to basically pay as you go. This saved money can then be diverted to other areas of your business that needs money to grow.
Identifying your waste
It may seem obvious where your redundancies lie and then just stripping them from your processes.
The lean concept goes beyond that, however.
Some of the waste may not even be an expense on a ledger. Time can also be wasted and if your systems don’t have the right flow, you can be wasting time in between steps. Steps either in the manufacturing process, in the delivery of goods and services or even in setting up the proper systems.
Looking at your entire process through the lens of the lean concept can help you identify areas that can be improved. These improvements will not only help you save money or even add revenue, but it can also add value to the end product or service.
Summary
Become a champion of the philosophy behind the lean model whether it is your own business or as a manager of somebody else’s. Once you get behind it, you can change the culture of your office and see the benefits dramatically.
This is not a new or revolutionary idea, but it does require seeing things less simple. Reducing waste is always a good idea. Coupled with the lean concept it can be just the thing that gives your business an edge over the competition.
