Competing Category

Competing October 2005 Edition

“We are good enough.”
(or are we?)

What do you think your competition is focusing on right now? Do you believe they are thinking “ABC Inc (your company) has been working on lean for a while now and we will never catch them”…

Competing September 2005 Edition

Resilience vs. Brilliance

Okay, so by now maybe you have been implementing your lean program for a few months or years. What have you noticed about the process? Here is what I have experienced with many companies implementing lean…

Competing June 2005

“The Enemy”

When I first arrive at a new client’s facility I typically find the following:

* Confusion and disorder
* Too much inventory, raw material, WIP and Finished Goods
* No obvious, visible product or process flow
* People and material waiting
* Disconnection between customer requirements and the “supply mechanism”
* Ineffective communications

Competing April 2005 Edition

Are you happy with your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning), WMS (Warehouse Management System), or SCMS (Supply Chain Management System)?…

Competing March 2005 Edition

8.5 ways to improve inventory accuracy

1 – 5S – sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain your inventory
• Classify and sort inventoried goods according to their turnover (Pareto or ABC analysis).
• Get rid of all the obsoletes. Sell them, give them away or throw them away! Why wait?
• Create a routine so that poor (dirty and untidiness) conditions are not tolerated.

Competing January 2005 Edition

A new year, a clean slate and a challenging economy…..what an opportunity!

At some level, we all think we are doing our best for our shareholders, customers, employees and vendors, but will the same old way still work? The world economy continues to change so fast it’s frightening…

Competing November 2004 Edition

“It’s Not Fair”

• It’s not fair that our competition’s labor costs 10% of ours.

• It’s not fair that our health care costs rise 20% or more each year

• It’s not fair that our raw materials (steel, petroleum products) are sometimes scarce and their costs are rising by double digits…

Competing January 2004 Edition

“Selling Change”

So… few of your employees really believe the newest operational changes you are suggesting are worth their effort. Well, after nearly thirty years of experience as a change agent I have some hints for effectively managing change that you may find useful…