The Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC) estimates that as much as 60 percent of production activities in a typical manufacturing operation are waste – they add no value to the customer. This phenomenon poses the question: can organizations really afford this amount of waste, especially in the testing times of the COVID pandemic and the global economic crisis it brings in? Such waste can do a great deal of damage to the cost of production, considering it is basically the net value of resources consumed while producing a product. And if 60 percent of the resources consumed become waste, it essentially pegs the production cost at 150 percent more than what it needs to be. This disparity translates into a price burden on the consumer which, they will not be able to bear, again because of the economic crisis that the pandemic brought with it. All of this will mean lesser turnover for the producer, affecting their revenue stream and, consequently, profitability.
With such dire consequences, it is quite understandable that the producers would want to cut down on these wastes. That pursuit of waste-free production will inevitably lead to one answer – ‘lean manufacturing.’ The core idea of lean manufacturing, which is to eliminate waste from the manufacturing process relentlessly, fits perfectly with the need of the hour. Organizations have every reason to be excited about lean manufacturing, for it enables them to deliver higher quality products at significantly lower costs. In addition, lean manufacturing insists that any activity that does not add value to a customer will be a waste, so the manufacturers that adopt this methodology inherently become customer centric.
Lean manufacturing thus being the core of production, it is natural for organizations to find themselves lost in a maze of technologically advanced lean solutions. To assist and provide a clear perspective, our distinguished panel, comprising key decision-makers and experts along with Manufacturing Technology Insights, has shortlisted some of the most effective solution providers in the lean industry. In this edition of Manufacturing Technology Insights, we present to you the “Top 10 Lean Manufacturing Solution Providers - 2020.”
