The principles of Lean manufacturing have been adopted by various industries beyond automotive and are now becoming a strategic tool for businesses to gain competitive advantage and increase shareholder value. At nearly the same time Six Sigma has been applied to many industries beginning with Motorola’s success targeting variation that impairs a firm’s ability to compete.   Regardless of the Process Excellence activities that your organization has engaged, Six Sigma and Lean can be part of the change-oriented and cross-functional activities of your organization. Within your "umbrella concept" of multiple activities such as: TQM, Lean manufacturing, Kaizen, process reengineering, continuous improvement, and so forth, LSS provide the necessary resources to help your organization achieve the desired goal of securing best-in class operations, top level employees and superior customer values, while targeting optimum return for investors. However, companies that only apply Lean or Six Sigma principles to manufacturing miss out on huge areas of potential improvement. There is lot more value to be gained, waste to be eliminated and variation reduced by extending application of Lean and Six Sigma principles to supply chain processes (Plan, Source, Deliver, Return and also to supporting processes (product design, accounting, customer service, etc.). At eKNOWtion we believe in enterprise-wide implementation of Lean principles, coupled with Six Sigma where appropriate for optimal performance. We have the following services to offer to our clients to help them excel in their Lean / Sigma journey. So, no matter if you have been on a manufacturing improvement journey for some time and now need to extend, or just about to set out on your journey, eKNOWtion can guide you along the way.

Lean Sigma Supply Chain Workshop

Step on the scales and put your company on a diet to reduce the fat and variability in order to beat the competition in the race for leadership and market share. Workshop participants at all levels in an organization will enjoy this active learning environment which extends Lean and Six Sigma beyond manufacturing and exerts the same principles into all the areas of the supply chain to ensure a synchronized and sustainable level of success. The workshop also provides value to Lean and Six Sigma enthusiasts who are supporting their customers and suppliers regardless of their improvement initiatives. Processes can be evaluated in relation to their final value: value-added versus non-value added. Excellence is achieved once effectiveness in delivering what the customer needs, or exceeding their requirements while utilizing the minimum of resources, the magic formula: effective + efficient = excellence. Agenda and content for the workshop are customized to suit your needs, and can range from an executive level overview through to detailed, practical and hands-on training in all aspects of Lean and Six Sigma. The workshop utilizes case studies and interactive exercises (Value Stream Mapping, mini-Kaizens and DMAIC examples etc.) for easier understanding and learning. For sample agenda, click here

Lean Sigma Supply Chain Partner Assessment

How many of your existing or potential supply chain partners have told you that they are on a Lean or Six Sigma Journey? How can you tell how far along that journey they have traveled? eKNOWtion can answer these questions with the use of our Supply Chain Partner Assessment. The tool reviews and scores a company on a wide range of key indicators and produces a detailed report indicating an overall Supply Chain Maturity score and showing graphically the maturity synchronization. The tool covers such areas as Lean Leadership, Six Sigma Fundamentals and Lean/Sigma Thinking.  Using the tool a company can actively participate in helping understand and advance their partners' improvement commitment in a collaborative way.

Supply Chain Kaizen

eKNOWtion can help facilitate kaizens either within your company or extended between supply chain partners (customers and suppliers) in order  to draw out value and eliminate waste and vairiation in supply chain processes. A lot of waste resides within office processes and the processes that connect companies. These are the right target area to attack when beginning on a Lean/Sigma supply chain journey. eKNOWtion’s Lean and Six Sigma Blackbelts have led many successful kaizens and DMAIC projects and can help your company to extend the application of these principles. Supply chain kaizens when attended by partners together helps in understanding what the end customer values and in identification of waste that can be eliminated to share benefits across the chain. eKNOWtion assistance will be tailored to your exact needs, including

• assisting in identifying the key areas to kaizen,
• setting targets/objectives,
• forming and training the kaizen team,
• facilitating the kaizen, and
• following up to ensure identified improvements are implemented and successful.

For more information, please email at leansupplychain@eKNOWtion.com