A Lesson Worth Millions
10X payback on all Lean activities
Case Studies
Business Issue
A Fortune 500 service solutions provider of high-end electronics was facing decreasing revenue due to increasing reliability of its original products. Key issues were:
Culture: Do whatever it takes or costs in the near term with insufficient focus on future impact and little focus on Continuous Improvement
Inventory: Excessive holding and obsolescence costs beyond levels indicated by risk models
They recognized controlling cost would be key to maintaining profitability and called upon Flow Consulting for help. Leadership also wanted Lean / Continuous Improvement commitment and skills fully engrained in the organization once Flow Consulting completed the engagement.
Approach Taken
Flow Consulting worked with the executive team to establish a vision and key strategic initiatives, which led to the below efforts.
Two waves of Green Belt candidates were trained in parallel with their projects using the DMAIC format. During their project journeys, team members learned and practiced Lean and Six Sigma tools while each delivered a significant return on investment.
Lean tools were focused on helping improve:
Culture
Leading Change and continuous improvement
Reducing / Right-Sizing Inventory
Business process (lead time and waste reduction)
Flow Consultants provided classroom instruction, hands-on Lean tool practice, and Lean coaching throughout the project. Consultation was both in person and virtual / remote.
Results
Most Green Belts are engaged in leading kaizens and projects beyond their original training project. To date, management reports a 10X payback on all Lean activities (including training, consulting, travel, etc.) resulting in millions of dollars to their bottom line.