Lean Consulting for Measurable Performance Improvement

Supply Velocity’s Lean consulting services help clients quickly achieve significant performance improvements. We identify, prioritize, and improve the most critical aspects of your operations using Lean tools and methodologies. Lean can be applied to many areas of your business.

Unlike a typical Lean consulting firm, we believe Lean goes beyond Lean manufacturing. Therefore, we evaluate all relevant functional activities, including sales, customer service, purchasing, planning, material handling, engineering, product development, operations, warehousing, and shipping.

What is Lean Thinking? Beyond the Factory Floor

Lean is a set of tools and a philosophy that seeks to continually reduce waste in your processes. It was created as part of the Toyota Production System and is an essential element of achieving operational excellence. Toyota’s initial focus was on manufacturing, and the term Lean manufacturing quickly became popular.

However, Lean Thinking is now integral to all companies’ operations, whether they are manufacturing products, warehousing and distributing products, providing professional services, or using Lean management.

Our Philosophy: A True Lean Partnership

The key to successfully using Lean for continuous improvement is to be proficient in the use of Lean tools, adept at change management, and skilled in managing Kaizen Events.

Unlike a typical management consulting firm, a Lean consulting partner must understand the application of Lean across many types of processes (manufacturing, distribution, service, healthcare) and how it affects the people in your company, your suppliers, and your customers.

Our Comprehensive Lean Approach

Building a Sustainable Lean Culture

The only way you will achieve sustainable improvements from Lean is to create a Lean Culture. This is formed from the persistent, disciplined, and patient application of change management and employee involvement. Lean may be implemented in short-term events, but it takes years to become a truly Lean company.

Employees must be part of the implementation process, see the measurable value, and be educated in the methodologies. By investing in and empowering your team with Lean tools, you create a culture that benefits employees and drives company profitability for the long run.

Equipping Your Team with the Right Lean Tools

While Lean is a philosophy, it is also a set of very specific tools designed to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. A true Lean partner helps you choose which tools to apply to specific processes to solve certain problems. These tools include:

• Value Stream Mapping
• Process Flow Mapping
• Spaghetti Maps
• 5S Visual Management
• Kanban Materials Management
• Quick Changeover / SMED
• Flow / Cellular Manufacturing
• Mistake Proofing (Poka-Yoke)

To help your team use these tools, we provide Lean training for the people leading your transformation, ensuring positive returns and sustainability.

A Flexible Framework for Lean Implementation

Lean can be implemented in several formats, but they all follow five core steps:

1. Understand the Current State
2. Identify non-value-added steps
3. Determine how to eliminate waste
4. Create the Future State
5. Build a sustainment plan

We apply these steps using the method that best fits the scope, including employee-centric 2 Second Lean, focused one-day Point Kaizens, intensive one-week Kaizen Events, or comprehensive Lean Projects that span multiple departments over one to three months.

Advanced Applications: Integrating Lean Across Your Business

Integrating Lean Six Sigma for Enhanced Problem Solving

Six Sigma is a powerful tool focused on problem-solving and root cause analysis using statistical methods. We have found that by combining the two methods into Lean Six Sigma, we help our clients not only streamline their processes but also make them more reliable and capable.

Transforming Your End-to-End Supply Chain

The next phase of Lean is applying its principles beyond your company to your entire supply chain. True customer satisfaction and profitability are achieved when your supply chain undergoes a Lean transformation. This requires a new management system where suppliers become partners and workflow improvement extends from the shop floor back to suppliers and forward to customers.

Applying Lean to Strategic Planning

Lean can be elevated to the strategic level through a model we call Lean System Design. This combines supply chain thinking to eliminate waste throughout all your business processes, including planning, sourcing, operations, storage, delivery, and customer returns. This ensures the entire system is operating to achieve maximum customer satisfaction and profitability.

Your Journey Starts with a Lean Assessment

With over 20 years of experience, we have found that the best way to start the Lean journey is with an Assessment. During this process, we determine the vital few aspects of the current state negatively impacting your performance, such as labor productivity, on-time delivery, or quality.

The Assessment involves interviews, a facility review, and data analysis to understand your challenges, their financial impact, and which Lean Six Sigma tools should be used to close these gaps. These tools may include:

• Value Stream Mapping
• Process Flow Mapping
• SIPOC
• Pareto Analysis
• Cause & Effect Analysis
• And more…

The on-site portion takes 2-3 days. Approximately two weeks later, we will deliver the Assessment Report to your management team, which includes:

• Specific financial impact of sub-optimal processes
• Proposed solutions and return-on-investment
• Project timing and team recommendations
• Level of consulting services required

Our promise as Lean Consultants is to prove the value of implementing Lean at your organization, starting with a clear, data-driven Assessment.

Ready to begin your Lean journey?