Which Multinationals Practice Lean Production?
The system of lean production or lean manufacturing stems from a philosophy that eliminates costly inventory and arranges for supplies to be sourced just in time from specific vendors. This JIT (Just in Time) system was originally targeted for the automobile assembly industry (Toyota) to replace the just-in-case marketing concept. Diminishing waste in the whole business continuum, it has been adapted by several multinational firms.
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Lean Production Multinationals
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Within the manufacturing and assembly line sector, a good number of firms practice lean philosophy: IBM, Canon Inc., Bayer, Sealy, Zappos and General Motors (GM). In the service-oriented and retail industries, those who practice lean production include KFC, McDonald's, Google, Walmart, Costco and Seven-Eleven. Financial and professional firms such as Manulife, Prulife, and Ernst and Young, also employ lean concepts.
What Goes Out
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The Toyota Production System is the model for lean production. In this concept, seven elements are targeted for elimination: over processing, over- and early production, waiting, motion, transportation, defective units and inventory. When companies overproduce or assemble in anticipation of actual customer requests, the finished products entail large inventories for parts, dispensable man hours and warehousing requirements of finished stocks. Idle time increases, along with time delays for more necessary production procedures, such as equipment maintenance. Unnecessary movement and transportation expenses add up to unrewarding operational costs and also lead to redundant work constituents or processes that may still amount to defects or further reworking.
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What Is Incorporated
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The 21st century model of lean manufacturing focuses on five pertinent operational fields: safety, quality, delivery, morale and cost. When production processes eliminate safety hazards by freeing up more space and manpower to do only the most essential procedures and observing tested techniques, the quality of work geared towards customer satisfaction. Delivery, therefore, constantly follows a well-defined schedule, which readily boosts employee and employer morale. This eradicates unwanted costs arising from non-lean practices.
Benefits
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Practicing lean production can improve customer loyalty, waste reduction and uninterrupted workflow. A steady supplier network is further enhanced, along with greater capacity for research and development of new products.
Manufacturing, service-oriented, retail industries and financial firms can benefit a lot from this philosophy of running tightly on fewer resources and less waste. Bureaucratic red tape can also be eliminated, as all the process of production is streamlined.
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