The 2:00 Minute Warning

Through one of the president organizations I belong to, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at “Lean” and learning from great groups like the Lean Enterprise Institute. If you know anything about Lean operating principles, then you know the value and benefits your company experiences by eliminating waste.

Years ago I was touring a company that was so into Lean that they had been recognized with numerous awards. Folks, they had Lean charts everywhere – including, believe it or not, how to clean their bathrooms and maintain the cart to clean the bathrooms. Boy, was I impressed!

But then reality hit. As we were boarding the departure bus, we had to walk through the shipping and receiving area. So I asked: “Where are the Lean charts for the dock?” Imagine my surprise when I learned that for this company – and truth be told, many, many other companies, LEAN STOPS AT THE DOCKS!

And that is why so many transportation and supply chain professionals struggle getting waste out of their transportation and supply chain operations. If that is your company, you may be interested in this article from Wharton that addresses some issues affecting the United States manufacturing industry:

“There is a huge lack of coordination. It is almost startling. Many times you will find there is upstream research in basic and applied areas that downstream companies that might monetize it have no idea about or access to. There is no process to systematically focus on the important topics and move it through that funnel, if you will, down to things that we can use to sell or integrate into our processes.”

Practically speaking, today transportation and supply chain professionals are dealing with issues that continue to be more complex and challenging. In this environment, you can see the challenge to eliminate waste as a problem or as an opportunity.

If you choose to see it as an opportunity, then consider letting us assist you in conducting a Rapid Assessment. It is a dynamic process that helps companies eliminate waste by examining your core supply chain and transportation processes and asking important questions such as:

Is it efficient?

Is it effective?

Do I want to keep doing this in the future?

At the completion of this process, your company will have a much better understanding of the current state of your transportation and supply chain operations, an outline of where your company wants to or needs to be in the future, and the road map on how you can get from the current state to the future state.

So if you’re serious about eliminating waste and reducing your transportation and supply chain costs, give us a call at 630-833-0890 or send us an email. We’re on your team, here to help, and passionate about seeing you be successful.