Supply Chain

Fix Your
Supply Chain
How to Create a Sustainable
Lean Improvement Roadmap
Fix Your
Supply Chain
How to Create a Sustainable
Lean Improvement Roadmap
Paul C. Husby and Dan Swartwood

Productivity Press
Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
© 2009 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Productivity Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-56327-381-0 (0)
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts
have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume
responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers
have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize
to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material
has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, trans-
mitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.
com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood
Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and
registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the
CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Husby, Paul C.
Fix your supply chain : how to create a sustainable lean improvement roadmap /
Paul C. Husby and Dan Swartwood.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56327-381-0 (hbk. : alk. paper)
1. Business logistics. 2. Industrial management. I. Swartwood, Dan. II. Title.
HD38.5.H876 2009
658.7--dc22 2009010697
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the Productivity Press Web site at

http://www.productivitypress.com
Contents
Preface.....................................................................................................xi
Introduction........................................................................................... xv
Why You Need This Book.................................................................... xx
How to Use This Book.........................................................................xxii
Chapter 1 The Seven Components of Sustainable Supply

Chain Improvement............................................................ 1
. Top Leadership Champion..........................................................2
. Continuous Improvement Strategy and Methodologies........3
. Methodologies....................................................................4
. A Cause and a Vision...................................................................8
. The Cause............................................................................8
. The Vision...........................................................................9
. Value Creation for Customers through Improving
Supply Chain Performance.......................................................10
. Implementation..........................................................................11
. Enablement..................................................................................12
. Culture..............................................................................12
. Metrics and Rewards.......................................................12
. Skills..................................................................................13
. Organization Structure...................................................13
. IT Systems.........................................................................14
. Leadership Development................................................14
. Constancy of Purpose................................................................15
. References....................................................................................15
Chapter 2 Improvement Methodologies Six Sigma, Lean,

Theory of Constraints, and SCOR................................... 17
. Operational Definitions............................................................ 20
. Six Sigma...........................................................................21
. Six Sigma Infrastructure Requirements..................................23
v
vi • Contents
. Lean System.................................................................................25
. Implementing the Lean System.....................................27
. The Lean Practices...........................................................29
. Roles and Processes.........................................................29
. Metrics.............................................................................. 30
. Monitoring and Control.................................................31
. Improvement Opportunity Identification and
Problem Solving...............................................................32
. Repeating the Cycle Forever...........................................32
. Assessing Lean.................................................................33
. Theory of Constraints................................................................33
. Thinking Process Used to Create and Implement
Improvement....................................................................35
. Supply Chain Operations Reference Model............................37
. What is SCOR?.................................................................37
. Barriers to Implementation...................................................... 43
. References................................................................................... 46
Chapter 3 Sustainable Improvement Roadmap Comparing

Continuous Improvement Strategies............................... 47
. SCOR: Strengths and Limitations........................................... 48
. Strengths.......................................................................... 48
. Limitations........................................................................50
. Lean: Strengths and Limitations..............................................52
. Strengths...........................................................................52
. Limitations........................................................................53
. Six Sigma: Strengths and Limitations.................................... 54
. Strengths.......................................................................... 54
. Limitations........................................................................55
. Theory of Constraints: Strengths and Limitations................57
. Strengths...........................................................................57
. Limitations........................................................................58
. Sustainable Improvement Roadmap........................................59
. Resolving the Unmitigated Limitations.......................61
. Lack of Supply Chain Collaboration
Process Definition...........................................................63
Contents • vii
. Attributes of the Sustainable Improvement

Roadmap: Strengths and Solutions for the
Unmitigated Limitations................................................63
. Impact of SIR..............................................................................65
. References....................................................................................65
Chapter 4 The Role of the CEO: Creating the Vision...................... 67

. How to Formulate the Vision: First Face Reality, Then
Communicate It......................................................................... 68
. The Sustainable Improvement Roadmap................................70
. Creating Value for Customers..................................................71
. Customer Value..........................................................................73
. Financial and Operational Benchmarking.............................77
. Case Study: Twin City Manufacturing....................................77
. Step 1: Assess the Current State of the
Business.............................................................................77
. Step 2: Assess the Supply Chain Using SCOR
Benchmarking................................................................. 80
. Step 3: Review Strategy...................................................82
. Creating Value for Customers..................................................85
. Step 4: Gather Customer Information......................... 86
. Step 5: Make the Business Case.................................... 90
. Step 6: Build Implementation Plan for Priority
Improvements..................................................................92
. References..................................................................................105
Chapter 5 The Role of the CEO and Leadership Team

Implementing the Methodology.................................... 107
. Twin City Manufacturing’s Sustainable
Improvement Roadmap...........................................................107
. Factors Affecting the Success of an
Implementation Plan.....................................................118
. Twin City Manufacturing’s Implementation Program.......119
. Implementation of Priority Projects.......................... 126
. References..................................................................................146
viii • Contents
Chapter 6 The Role of Leadership in Creating a

Sustainable Improvement Roadmap.............................. 147
. Culture.......................................................................................148
. Skills...........................................................................................152
. Metrics............................................................................ 154
. Leadership.................................................................................157
. Rewards......................................................................................159
. IT Systems.................................................................................160
. Reference....................................................................................162
Chapter 7 The Role of Absolute Commitment in

Creating and Maintaining Sustainable
Improvement................................................................... 163
. How to Properly Design Supply Chains................................166
. How to Define Customers and Their Expectations.............168
. How to Create a Supply Chain Dashboard...........................168
. How to Design Material Flow.................................................169
. How to Design Work and Information Flow.......................170
. Risk Considerations.................................................................170
. Financial Considerations.........................................................171
. How to Measure Customer Satisfaction................................172
. How to Create a Maturity Model...........................................172
. Challenges to Maintaining Your Company’s
Supply Chain.............................................................................173
. The Importance of Training...................................................175
. Set Stretch Goals.......................................................................176
. Implement an Evaluation Process..........................................178
. Commit Yourself to Hands-On Leadership—
Don’t Delegate...........................................................................178
. Reference....................................................................................179
Resources.............................................................................................. 181
. Training Services......................................................................181
. Books..........................................................................................181
. Valuable Books about Lean..........................................181
. Implementation Tools...................................................182
. Reference Books.............................................................182
Contents • ix
. References..................................................................................182
. Chapter 1.........................................................................182
. Chapter 2.........................................................................183
. Chapter 3.........................................................................183
. Chapter 4.........................................................................184
. Chapter 5.........................................................................184
. Chapter 6.........................................................................184
. Chapter 7.........................................................................184
About the Authors............................................................................... 185

Index..................................................................................................... 187
Preface
We have had great careers. I worked for 3M for 38 years, Dan worked 25
years for 3M and Imation, and together we collected many great memories
and learned many lessons. God has blessed us with terrific families, good
health, and the desire to continue contributing to the improvement of busi-
nesses. During our careers, we have worked with many great colleagues
who have contributed to our development. It is our desire to use what
we have been given to contribute to the development of others. Since the
early 1980s, Lean has been a passion because it generated terrific business
results and developed people. Along the way, we have learned and applied
the Theory of Constraints, Six Sigma, and the Supply Chain Operations
Reference Model as methodologies for improving supply chains.
The majority of businesses today lack the rigorous implementation of
known best practices to improve supply chains. This has both intrigued
and frustrated me over the span of my career. Dan and I wrote this book to
provide a credible path for business executives to follow to get their supply
chains on a path to sustainable excellence.
There are many people who have contributed significantly to this book.
First, Dan Swartwood, my coauthor, friend, and coworker in a 3M plant
for a dozen years. Dan’s contribution to this work is significant, and as I
learned 25 years ago when we faced many difficult challenges together,
he is a pleasure to work with. All have formative experiences in their lives;
most of the time they are the result of extremely difficult challenges that
have been faced and overcome.
This was the case with Dan and me. Along with our colleagues at the 3M
Weatherford, Oklahoma Data Storage Products Plant, we faced the pos-
sibility of having the plant shut down, which would have caused the loss of
hundreds of jobs. We were fortunate to have excellent business and manu-
facturing executives, who challenged us by giving us the liberty, encour-
agement, and support to take risks in transforming the plant. The team
searched for solutions and quickly focused on the continuous improvement
practices coming from Japan, learning from some of the early pioneers
such as Richard Schoenberger. We were also fortunate during this time to
be visited by Masaaki Imai, from whom we received valuable learning and
xi
xii • Preface
encouragement. He summarized his observations from those visits in his

1986 book, Kaizen. The entire plant team pulled together and the business
returned to profitability. It continued to operate through the end of the life
cycle of diskettes.
The second formative experience was the five years I served as managing
director of 3M Brazil. The market was aggressively opening and inward
investment increased rapidly, completely changing Brazil’s competitive
environment. Customers had choices, and in many markets 3M suddenly
had strong new competitors. I was blessed with a great team and we worked
together to completely transform 3M Brazil from an internally focused
company accustomed to a closed market to a market–customer driven
company. The organization was realigned, processes were reengineered,
and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system was installed to pro-
vide needed information and institutionalize customer-driven processes.
I will always have a strong emotional connection to my colleagues and
everyone who was a part of the company during those years. We learned
many lessons together, lessons we applied throughout our careers. I will
always consider it a blessing to have had so many wonderful people cross
my path.
The beautiful woman in my life, Nancy Lillis, was not only very encour-
aging as I worked on this book, but as a journalism major, she did her best
to make a writer out of me.
Paul C. Husby
Launching my career in 1975 with 3M Company was the beginning of an

incredible learning experience. There is nothing like the “survival” mes-
sage to bring focus, and that is exactly what energized our organization to
succeed. Twenty percent cost improvement year-on-year was the require-
ment that necessitated aggressive and continuous improvement. Two of
the most important lessons I learned were the following:
1. The opportunity to improve is inexhaustible. The manufacture of

diskettes began at a cost of well over $1 each and, near the end of
their lives, were being produced (in the United States) at $.07 each.
We faced what we thought was an impossible goal numerous times
only to learn that it was achievable.
Preface • xiii
2. There is no substitute for persistence. While faced with a nagging

process problem that seemed to defy all solutions, a process engi-
neer shared the results of his latest experiment with me. It had also
failed. But he said something I will never forget: “We have found one
more unsuccessful solution to this problem. We must be getting very
close.” It was from people such as this engineer that I learned what
continuous improvement really means.
As a management consultant for the past seven years, I have helped

companies apply Lean, Six Sigma, and Supply Chain Operations Reference
(SCOR) model methodologies to improve competitiveness and opera-
tional efficiency. I am a committed believer that these methods are syn-
ergistic and hold the key to optimizing continuous improvement in our
organizations.
My intention for this book, as is Paul’s, is to provide a guide for business
executives that will help them accelerate and sustain improvement across
their supply chains.
The contributors to this book are many, but I must start with my
wonderful wife, who has been my close partner in everything for the past
33 years. Along with our two daughters, we have had many wonderful
experiences that have done much to shape my worldview.
The contributor list continues with my longtime friend and mentor,
Paul Husby. His contribution is significant to this work and his experi-
ence as a change agent and leader at 3M led the way for our success in the
data storage business. I have enjoyed this chance to renew our working
relationship. Finally, I want to recognize all the great coworkers from 3M,
Imation, PRAGMATEK, and Satellite Logistics Group who have walked
the improvement path and taught me so much.
Dan Swartwood
Introduction
In their 1994 book Built to Last (New York: Harper Business), Charles
Collins and Jerry Porras chronicled ten companies that had shown
sustainability. Ten years later in 2004, a Fast Company article (November
2004), “Was Built to Last Built to Last?” by Jennifer Reingold and Ryan
Underwood, looked back at how these companies fared over time. They
summarized their findings by saying, “In the years since the Built to Last
book, almost half of the visionary companies on the list have slipped
dramatically in performance and reputation, and their vision currently
seems more blurred than clairvoyant. Consider the fates of Motorola,
Ford, Sony, Walt Disney, Boeing, Nordstrom, and Merck. Each has
struggled in recent years, and all have faced serious questions about
their leadership and strategy. Odds are, none of them today would meet
Built to Last criteria for visionary companies, which required that they
be the premier player in their industry and be widely admired by people
in the know” (p. 2).
While some of these companies have recovered some of their previous
greatness, long-term sustained leadership performance has eluded all but
a handful of companies. None of us is guaranteed indefinite success in our
businesses. The challenge is to create renewal-ensuring sustainable opera-
tional excellence. Many factors go into competitive advantage, and it is
extremely difficult to identify companies that are truly sustainable now or
will be 100 years in the future.
Robert Waterman makes this point very well in his 1987 book ἀ e
Renewal Factor (New York: Bantum), that valid, sustainable market leader-
ship requires constant attention and renewing. The intention of business
strategy is to build and sustain competitive advantage as a market leader.
In their 1995 book, Discipline of Market Leaders (Reading, MA: Addison
Wesley), Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema do an excellent job of con-
necting business strategy with operational requirements to ensure stra-
tegic intentions are carried out by operations driven with clear metrics.
They state that market leaders focus on one of three market disciplines
as the source of their competitive advantage: (1) operational excellence,
xv
xvi • Introduction
(2) product leadership, and (3) customer intimacy. They also list four rules
followed by market leaders:
1. Provide the best marketplace offering by excelling in a specific

dimension of value
2. Maintain threshold standards on other dimensions of value
3. Dominate your market by improving year after year
4. Build a well-tuned operating model dedicated to delivering un-
matched value
Three of these rules are particularly relevant to our discussion of supply

chain performance. The first is Rule 2: Maintain threshold standards on
other dimensions of value. Maintaining threshold performance means you
must have industry parity on all dimensions of competitive performance
to avoid being at a disadvantage versus market competitors. The speed of
global markets is continuing to raise the bar on minimum threshold levels
below which a company is competitively disadvantaged.
The second is Rule 3: Dominate your market by improving year after year.
Companies must continuously improve capability forever.
Rule 4 is also relevant: Build a well-tuned operating model dedicated to
delivering unmatched value. This well-tuned operating model must be
designed into a company’s DNA to ensure delivery of their chosen value
discipline. It is critical in defining the performance attributes of the sup-
ply chain that must be maintained at the highest levels in the market. This
is frequently a major source of failure in companies. We make significant
investments in product development and marketing to define product
specifications, do customer research, perform market tests, and so forth.
Why don’t companies put the same rigor into defining the services, costs
of goods sold, and working capital requirements? Too many companies are
satisfied to set arbitrary metrics and standards of service, costs, and work-
ing capital that are not defined to support their “market discipline.” Even
a strategy based on customer intimacy requires great execution or it will
become just a warm fuzzy that doesn’t sustain results. Product excellence
and differentiation will not sustain a leader’s position without good service
and competitive value based on a deep understanding of the customer.
The bottom line: Operational excellence is required to make any win-
ning business strategy sustainable. Operational excellence is achieved and
sustained only through continuous improvement. Sustained continuous
Introduction • xvii
improvement requires that a company evaluate current performance

against some standard and to implement plans that close identified gaps.
It should be intuitively obvious that unless we want this operational excel-
lence achievement to be a one-time event, we must put in place the mech-
anism to continually evaluate our performance. Companies that fail to
improve, at least at the rate of the market movers and shakers, will ulti-
mately lose market position and possibly fail completely. The cold hard
fact that operational excellence is a temporary condition at best eludes
most companies entirely. The greatest frustration, having led improve-
ment efforts at numerous companies, is seeing well-trained, talented peo-
ple with enormous opportunity and adequate data achieve only superficial
results. What are the barriers?
We tell ourselves a number of comforting things that allow us not to act.
You can make up your own list, but some of the most common excuses are
the following:
1. I’m too busy! It’s true everyone is busy just running the day-to-day
business. All of our plates are full even beyond what we have time to
do. There is no time left to put on our strategic hats and devote the
necessary time to continuous improvement.
2. Change is too painful! This statement contains some truth.
Continuous improvement is painful because it means change, and
most people have one thing in common—they avoid pain or change
whenever possible. People have a tendency to look at problems such
as declining profitability as an event, and once it is fixed, they believe
they can go back to business as usual.
3. ἀ ings aren’t as bad as they seem! Humans have an amazing ability
to rationalize their situation and explain away performance gaps,
especially if the data is sending mixed messages. While sorting
out the messages, the organization waits, sometimes misinformed
as to the true situation. Perhaps the company has bad competitive
intelligence or has rationalized its situation so that it seems as if no
action is required. As the saying goes, “Reality is the leading cause
of stress.” Most people would rather not deal with reality if there is
any other alternative.
4. It’s out of our control! The company is a victim of being in a com-
petitive market; the union, the government, foreign competition,
and unfair trade laws are to blame—the responsibility is everyone’s
xviii • Introduction
but ours. Since the situation is out of our control, there is nothing to
be done. Adopting a victim mentality is fatal.
5. It’s not possible! History and people’s own personal experiences shape
their paradigms; therefore, if they have never reduced operational
cost by 20 percent in one year, they just can’t see how it is possible.
If they have never manufactured a product with less than a five-day
cycle time, then it’s just not believable that four hours is possible.
History is full of examples where clear vision and a refusal to fail led
to impossible accomplishments.
Also, it can feel as if continuous improvement is being achieved even

when it is not. For one thing, it depends on how improvement is defined. For
some, improvement can be measured as cost avoidance, but the reality is
that unless costs are decreasing, working capital returns are increasing, and
customer satisfaction is increasing, no improvement exists; it is an illusion.
In this book, we will explore seven factors that can help a company
become one of the few that truly achieve and maintain operational
excellence.
1. Top company leadership. Top company leadership is responsible and

accountable for ensuring operational excellence. Vision, account-
ability, resources, recognition, and energy are the fuel required by
the organization from this group; without this, no company will
maintain a market leadership position.
2. Improvement methodology. There are many prescribed methodologi-
cal options for continuous improvement, all of which were developed
to address specific issues in specific supply chain areas. A baseline
understanding of each methodology is important to practitioners, so
each methodology needs to be described at a level detailed enough to
provide credible working definitions.
3. Continuous improvement strategy. Much is published about each
methodology, which frequently causes great confusion and misun-
derstanding. An improvement strategy addresses how we are going
to improve. The challenge is to ensure that the methodology selected
will address all areas of the supply chain in both assessment and
improvement plan implementation.
4. ἀ e cause and the vision. A cause and a vision are crucial. A com-
pany’s capacity to embrace change is directly related to its real or
Introduction • xix
perceived threats. One trait of visionary leaders is their ability to

“read the tea leaves,” so to speak, and to bring future threats into
today’s world, preparing the organization for change. Organizations
convinced about their global threats believe they have control and
the ability to meet the challenges. They feel empowered and com-
mitted to making the needed changes. Companies are surrounded
by improvement opportunity. It is common when analyzing a value
stream map to find less than 5 percent of activities are value-added
activities, but it is estimated that only 2 percent of companies imple-
menting Lean achieve any measurable bottom line. Lack of opportu-
nity is not the issue; lack of a cause and a vision is. Everyone needs
motivation to change, or to put it another way, people will not change
unless it is more painful to remain where they are.
Motivation within companies can come from numerous sources.
Sometimes there is a threat of an imminent shutdown when costs
are too high, quality or service is poor, or products no longer appeal
to customers. Sometimes the threat is staring everyone in the face
and sometimes it feels like a distant cloud that may or may not mate-
rialize. Take the auto industry, for example. U.S. automakers have
been well aware of the growing threat from Japanese automakers for
years. They watched their dominant position gradually erode until
Toyota overtook GM as the world’s largest automaker. Whatever
the reasons—superior quality, fuel efficiency, durability—these gaps
have been clear for some time, yet efforts to reverse this trend haven’t
been successful.
5. ἀ e sustainable improvement roadmap. Implementation or action
must follow planning, training, and strategizing. If the troops don’t
move to the front line, then the war cannot be won. Lean, Six Sigma,
the Theory of Constraints, or the best practice approach of the Supply
Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model are all offered as must
dos for anyone serious about improvement. Is there a better way to
approach your strategy for supply chain operational improvement? Is
it necessary to choose one or is there a logical way these approaches
can be integrated into a more effective and comprehensive approach
to supply chain performance improvement?
6. Enablement of sustainability. Enablement speaks to all the other
factors, such as culture, IT systems, organizational skills, measure-
ments, rewards, and leadership that support success.
xx • Introduction
7. Constancy of purpose. Constancy of purpose has to live on even

when events, such as forecasting time, end of the year, or a new
CEO, interfere with the master plan. The urgent cannot be allowed
to displace the important. Achieving and maintaining operational
excellence is a long-term endeavor, so there must be consistency of
purpose across generations of company leadership.
This book brings together the authors’ collective 70 years experience in

the application of Lean, Six Sigma, SCOR, and the Theory of Constraints.
It also brings forward a powerful argument that the current set of improve-
ment systems, methodologies, and tools can be integrated to create a more
powerful operational improvement strategy. Is this the answer for all time?
Certainly not. Our free markets fuel the creative juices of people around
the world, and someday there may be a better operational system than
Lean, a better analytical methodology than SCOR, a better approach to
quality improvement than Six Sigma, and a better way to approach identi-
fying and removing bottlenecks than the Theory of Constraints, but these
are the approaches and tools we have today.
All companies can be more competitive and make step function
changes in operational improvement; it is a choice. Once the choice is
made, there is a way to achieve this goal through the effective integra-
tion and a pplication of the current approaches. It is not better pistols or a
silver bullet that is needed; it is cowboys committed to being the best and
doing what is necessary to be the best. Lean, Six Sigma, SCOR, and the
Theory of Constraints are all widely used and have proven track records
in their own rights, but are the improvement approaches competing or
complementary? How does anyone make sense out of all these approaches
to improving supply chains? What is needed is a model, some clear how
to instructions, and some examples to understand enough to implement
this approach and get results.
Why You Need This Book

This book is written by business leaders for business leaders. Improving
your business is the goal of improvement methodologies and the focus
of this book. Whether you are intimately familiar with the supply chain
Introduction • xxi
discipline or have limited experience, this book provides a valuable road-

map that can be applied to supply chain improvement. You will gain suf-
ficient understanding of how to lead supply chain improvement to feel
confident in taking your company on this important journey.
This Introduction through Chapter 3 offers an understanding of
successful supply chain improvement requirements and methodologies,
their strengths, and limitations. Chapters 4 and 5 cover the use of these
methodologies in a story about Twin City Manufacturing. The company
is fictitious, but the experiences and improvement processes are based on
the authors’ actual experiences. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to enabling
and sustaining long-term change. It is beyond the scope of this book to
provide detailed training; however, in the resource section we identify
many excellent books and training materials you may wish to consult on
improvement systems and methodologies.
We have learned many important lessons from our combined 70
years of experience with all supply chain–related functions, in addition
to numerous manager and executive assignments. You will find many
Learned from Experience boxes to reinforce key points with real-life
experiences.
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n cE : d a n a n d Pa u l
t h e f e a r o f d e a t h ca n b e a n
in cr e d ible m o t iv a t o r
In 1980, the Data Recording Products division of 3M produced two
main products, rigid disks and diskettes. At the time, rigid disks
dominated the business, but after three years, the division was in
trouble. This was our wake-up call. It was now clear that our survival
business depended on achieving a much higher level of performance.
We transitioned from a state of modest motivation to one of intense
motivation.
The book is based on our collective experience, which we share both

to help others learn and to continue to push our own learning along the
continuous improvement journey.
xxii • Introduction
How to Use This Book

We wrote this guide for a variety of leaders, including
• CEOs
• Corporate and business unit leaders
• Marketing and sales leaders
This resource will help them understand the concepts, principles, tools,
and factors critical to success.
If you fall among these leaders, to get the most from this book, we
recommend that you concentrate on the following:
1. Chapter 1 to understand the requirements for continuous impro

vement
2. Chapter 2 to learn about the most common improvement methodo
logies
3. Chapter 3 for a comparative analysis of improvement methodologies
4. Chapter 4, pages 67–77, for how to build a continuous improvement
process
5. Chapter 5, pages 107–118, for how to implement a continuous
improvement process
6. Chapter 6 to gain an understanding of the enabling requirements
vital to sustaining continuous improvement and
7. Chapter 7 to learn why constancy of purpose is essential for building
a decade or decades of continuous improvement
If you are a manufacturing leader, we suggest that you read the entire
book including the details covered in Chapters 4 and 5 as Twin City
Manufacturing goes through a transformation. The principles, concepts,
and tools come to life through charts, data, and dialogue as you follow the
company as it implements its transformation.
1
The Seven Components of Sustainable
Supply Chain Improvement
The Supply Chain Council (SCC) defines a supply chain as “the integrated
processes of Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and Return spanning from the
suppliers’ supplier to the customers’ customer.” The key word in this defi-
nition is integrated. A supply chain is not defined by only the product or
the customer; it needs to consider both to ensure integration of the exter-
nal customer’s view with the internal product view. The supply chain of a
company controls many aspects of the customer’s experience and is the
critical execution component of a company’s strategy. If your products
are better than your competitors’ but your service is worse, an innovative
product strategy is not likely to produce the expected results.
The supply chain spans the entire scope of a company’s operations, and
therefore every function in the company affects it. Marketing may run
promotions, set merchandising plans, or create special products or pack-
ages for customers, all of which have an impact on the company’s supply
chain. Product development designs new products, specifies raw materials,
and determines product specifications, decisions that have a direct impact
on the supply chain. Optimization of supply chain performance requires
seamless integration of the core process: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and
Return. The metrics throughout your company’s organization must also
be aligned to deliver customer value. Supply chain is a team sport, and the
CEO is the only position that spans the company’s supply chain. The bot-
tom line is: Supply chain execution determines the operational competi-
tive advantage or disadvantage of a company.
As introduced earlier, there are seven components necessary for sustain-
able supply chain improvement.
1
2 • Fix Your Supply Chain
Top Leadership Champion

Yes, we know, every improvement program says top leadership must
champion the process. There is a very simple, logical, and valid rea-
son for this. Producing significant supply chain improvement is a team
sport because no other operational process in the company is impacted
by every other operational group in the business. Obviously manufac-
turing, business planning, logistics, and sourcing all have to be on the
same page. So do the goals and reward systems of marketing, laboratory
development, sales, and finance. All these functions influence the sup-
ply chain; therefore, they all must be aligned through strategies, goals,
and metrics. For example, if the marketing department continually runs
push/load promotions to hit the quarterly numbers, they may get free
coffee and donuts when the numbers come in, but do they really under-
stand the total cost of running businesses this way? It is doubtful they do
because if they did, they would find alternative ways to accomplish the
same goals.
The laboratory specifies a material that is “unique”; it is sourced from
Kazakhstan, it has a 90-day lead time and requires a four-month fixed
forecast. This decision creates a flexibility constraint, inventory cost, and
quality and service risks. The Sales Department needs to make its quarterly
quota, so they sell product that is constrained by capacity, then scream
and complain about the unresponsiveness of the supply chain organiza-
tion. Because it wasn’t their fault that product couldn’t be produced, they
are forgiven and given credit for making the quota.
Finance has the allocation formulas and a full costing approach, so no
one is interested in making the product line less complex or reducing the
number of small customers because those very low-volume products have
“nicely reported gross margins.”
Haven’t these things driven every supply chain professional crazy at
one time or another? The supply chain is affected not only by every func-
tion in the company, but by organizations outside the company as well.
Furthermore, the supply chain doesn’t extend only from our customers
to purchasing, but also to suppliers’ suppliers and customers’ customers.
As RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) analysis
quickly reveals, only the top executives have the “reach” to influence, man-
age, and remove barriers at the supply chain level. Without top executive
The Seven Components of Sustainable Supply Chain Improvement • 3
champions who are actively engaged, the probability of achieving signifi-

cant improvement is very low.
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n cE : Pa u l
O n ly t h e C EO Ca n L e a d t h e Bu ild in g o f a
Cu s t o me r V a lu e –D r iv e n O pe r a t io n a l Mo d e l
I was the managing director of 3M Brazil from 1995 to 2000. Together
with the leadership team, we transformed the company to a true
market segment and customer-driven company. After three years,
we had made great strides and completely changed the mind-set and
processes from selling products to meeting customer needs in the
selected segments with complete solutions. The supply chain was
also transformed as processes were rebuilt to align completely with
our commitment to providing better customer treatment in each
segment.
In the fourth year, we implemented an enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system to better enable and institutionalize the new processes.
Although the supply chain director was one of the best leaders
I have worked with, this would have been impossible if it had been
just a “supply chain initiative.” Step-function supply chain improve-
ment requires that the managing director—the only person who
really has end-to-end leadership—be the personal champion.
Continuous Improvement Strategy

and Methodologies
Toyota, GE, Motorola, Allied Signal, and 3M have demonstrated the value
of having a companywide continuous improvement strategy led from the
top. One can argue about the sustainability of some of these efforts, but
that does not detract from the lessons learned. In fact, only Toyota has
proven sustainability of continuous improvement. All of these strategies
have the following in common:
• The continuous improvement approach was mandated companywide.

• It was led by the top company executive.
• Continuous improvement expectations were integrated into the
operating plans and objectives of every unit in the organization.
• The results prove that every organization has great potential to
improve significantly.
The conclusion from examining these continuous improvement approa-

ches is clear: Every company must have a companywide continuous
improvement strategy and methodology.
Methodologies
To achieve continuous improvement, companies apply four major meth-
odologies. Each of these methodologies has proven value based on the
experience and results of companies that applied them successfully. Each
of these methodologies was developed as a practical solution to issues
faced by the companies who were responsible for their development.
Supply Chain Operations Reference
In the 1990s, PRTM (a management consulting firm with a long his-

tory in supply chain) and AMR (a research firm focused on business
process and enterprise information technology) introduced the Supply
Chain Operations Reference model (SCOR), a top-down supply chain
assessment methodology. In 1996, PRTM and AMR founded a user-based
organization, the Supply Chain Council. It started with 69 member com-
panies and now has more than 700. SCOR defines a supply chain as “the
integrated processes of Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and Return spanning
from the suppliers’ supplier to the customers’ customer.” (See http://www.
supplychain.org for the most recent version of the “Supply Chain Operations
Reference model.”)
SCOR documents current processes using three levels of process decom-
position to create an “as is” (present or current) state (see Figure 1.1). Only
three levels of SCOR have specific processes defined within the model.
Level 4 can be used by the user to define their unique configuration of
process details.
Based on the business strategy, a “to be” (future) state supply chain is
defined. With a company’s basis of competition defined, the second level
SCOR Improvement Process

SCOR creates an “as is” and a “to be” state process
1 Basis SCOR level 1

Operations Business strategy aligns
of competition strategy metrics and performance
requirements
SCOR level 2
2 Supply chain Intra-company Inter-company Optimum supply chain
configuration configuration configuration configuration defined
3 Performance Intra-company Inter-company SCOR level 3

levels, practices,
Process elements
best practices are process, practice, process, practice,
and system(s) and system config- and system config-
selection identified uration elements uration elements
SCOR level 4
4 Supply-chain
processes and Intra-company Inter-company
system(s) supply-chain supply-chain
implementation improvements improvements
Figure 1.1
SCOR improvement process.
of supply chain configuration is completed. The configuration ensures

meaningful performance, and best practice comparisons are made as level
three is constructed. Benchmarking performance and practices informa-
tion can be obtained from sources recommended by the Supply Chain
Council (many are available at no cost to their members).
The value of quantified gaps in service, cost, and inventory between the
two states provides a high-level business case that specifies the value to be
gained from achieving the “to be” state. The “to be” state processes and
practices are then prioritized into an implementation plan to achieve the
performance targeted through the benchmark processes.
Lean Supply Chain System
Lean is a supply chain operational system based on the Toyota Production

System, which Toyota has been perfecting for more than five decades. In
1989, James Womack and Daniel Jones popularized the system outside of
Japan in their book ἀ e Machine ἀ at Changed the World. The Lean Supply
Chain System (Lean) integrates all the participants in the supply chain—
supplier, manufacturer, and customer—into one value stream, increasing
value to the customer. Lean offers an array of tools that improve the supply
chain while building and sustaining the Lean Supply Chain System. In
their book Lean ἀ inking (1989), Womack and Jones identify the five key
concepts of Lean:
• Value is defined by the customer.

• Value stream is the information and material flow from suppliers’
suppliers to customers’ customers.
• Flow is the synchronized continuous movement of material through
the value stream.
• Pull is a product usage signal from the customer to other partici-
pants in the supply chain.
• Perfection is the never-ending pursuit of zero waste.
Lean applies a unique process mapping approach called Value Stream

Mapping. The current-state Value Stream Map documents the materials
and information flow. Value stream mapping always starts with the cus-
tomer and includes both material and information flow. In addition, key
information is gathered about each value stream operation.
The second step is the creation of a future-state Value Stream Map,
which is done by assuming that lean practices have been applied to the
value stream. Projects are identified based on the changes needed to trans-
form current-state processes into future-state processes. Lean tools are
then applied to the improvement projects. When projects are completed,
the process is repeated to create a new set of projects. This iterative process
continues forever in pursuit of perfection.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma can be applied to any process that needs improvement. Potential
projects are defined to fill gaps between current performance and the level
required to achieve the success of the annual business plan. By targeting
the areas of the business plan with the greatest critical gaps, organiza-
tional effort is focused and prioritized. Brainstorming and analysis of cur-
rent processes are then often used for bottom–up generation of potential
projects. Process performance may be compared to an entitlement level, a
level of performance that may represent the best short-term performance
ever achieved. It stimulates consideration of the process from a new per-
spective. Once the projects are defined, the five-step Six Sigma DMAIC
(define, measure, analyze, improve, control) process is used.
DMAIC is the primary Six Sigma tool for reducing variability in exist-
ing processes. DMAIC, without doubt, has proven itself a very powerful
tool for improvement at 3M and a number of other well-known compa-
nies. It is a rigorous process that relies heavily on statistical methodologies
and techniques. Projects, which follow a prescribed five-step process, are
completed within a specified time frame resulting in quick impact on the
business. In general, projects are completed in four to six months during
the early stages of Six Sigma implementation. When Master Black Belts
and Black Belts gain experience they become more proficient. and the
length of time required to complete projects decreases.
Black Belts are intensively trained in all Six Sigma DMAIC skills and
tools, they are expected to complete projects and coach Green Belts who
are leading their own projects (See http://www.sme.org for Six Sigma cer-
tification requirements). A Master Black Belt has the same technical skills
as a Black Belt but normally is also trained in leadership and program
management. They are usually responsible for a number of Black Belts.
Most leading Six Sigma practicing companies have their own certification
process, which requires successful completion of projects.
Projects are identified by examining the defects affecting the achieve-
ment of business objectives or obvious variability in processes. Next, the
five-step DMAIC process is applied to resolve the defect. Measurements for
projects normally focus on the operation or step in the process that is being
improved. Frequently countermeasure metrics are also applied to ensure
that the improvement doesn’t cause a defect in another area of the process.
Six Sigma requires an investment in infrastructure; that is, the training
of Master Black Belts and Black Belts. Because these are normally rotating
assignments, a core-training infrastructure is also important to sustained
success.
Six Sigma is a great set of tools for reducing defects and variability. It is
also valuable in developing leadership and changing company culture to
be more data driven. Results achieved at 3M and many other companies
speak for themselves—Six Sigma works.
Theory of Constraints
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was developed by Eli Goldratt and his
collaborators. It became broadly known in his 1984 book ἀ e Goal. TOC
views organizations as systems with resources linked together to meet an
organization’s goal. All systems have a constraint that limits the system’s
capacity to improve and better meet or exceed its goal. Organizations have
limited resources, so it is critical that resources be applied to reduce or
eliminate constraints to maximize success.
TOC methodology includes improvement tools. The tools use rigorous
root-cause analysis to define the solution. The methodology also identi-
fies all the assumptions and conditions needed to ensure success of a pro-
posed solution. These conditions and assumptions provide action items
for implementation plans. TOC improvement tools work equally well for
continuous improvement or breakthrough problem solving.
A Cause and a Vision

An organization needs a great reserve of energy to make significant
change—change that is sustainable over an extended period. Sustaining
this high level of energy and commitment requires constancy of purpose
by top leadership who must continually reinforce the need for change and
the benefits of success.
The Cause
The first prerequisite of significant change is motivation; people must have
a cause that justifies their commitment, energy, creativity, and willing-
ness to change behaviors and practices. Both authors have had experience
with businesses that failed or were threatened with failure. As stated in
the introduction, the fear of death can be an incredible motivating force.
Most companies are not under immediate threat of going out of business,
so how do they create the cause that inspires total organizational commit-
ment and energy to make significant change?
The key to creating a cause is in radically changing the lens through
which organizations see themselves. There is great strength in changing
magnification power to view a wider range of possibilities, a new scale
of comparison. The entire competitive field must be viewed while con-
sidering long-term threats and sustainability. In short, the organization’s
perspective about itself and its current levels of performance must change.
Chapter 4 will introduce leadership thinking and tools which can be used
to create a cause that organizations can relate to and internalize providing
a foundation for change.
The Vision
Developing a meaningful vision for the supply chain means developing a
new perspective:
• How do you stack up versus the best supply chain practices?

• How do you stack up versus the best supply chain performance?
The vision must state clearly the compelling business case for change.
What will be gained? How will the business be different? What will the
customer experience?
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n ce : D a n
T h e W ill o f a n O r g a n iz a t io n t o C h a n g e
D e pe n d s o n t h e W ill o f t h e L e a d e r t o C h a n g e
When we were struggling for survival in the 3M diskette business,
we encountered this phenomenon. One of our key suppliers was an
internal division that was not competitive in cost or quality. The
corporation required us to source the material internally despite
these issues because “It was best for the company!” Our repeated
attempts to engage this division in more aggressive improvement
efforts were largely ignored. When the leadership of our internal
division could not be persuaded to change, we moved to an outside
supplier, enduring criticism from many inside the company. It was
our obligation as leaders. It was not enough; the division was closed
a year later.
SCOR provides key insights into the state of current supply chain per-
formance and practices. It also provides the basis for creating a relevant
supply chain vision, one that can be valuable through a three- to five-year
journey to sustainable supply chain competitive advantage.
In addition to SCOR, benchmarking, entitlement thinking from Six
Sigma, and perfection thinking from Lean create a powerful vision that
is connected directly to performance improvement opportunities, which
increase customer value.
Value Creation for Customers through

Improving Supply Chain Performance
In his 1980 book Competitive Strategy, Michael Porter describes strategy as
“taking offensive or defensive actions to create a defendable position in an
industry, to cope successfully with the five competitive forces and thereby
yield a superior return on investment for the firm” (p. 34). He goes on to
say, “There are three internally consistent generic strategic approaches to
outperforming other firms in an industry: 1) overall cost leadership 2) dif-
ferentiation 3) focus” (p. 34).
In their 1995 book, ἀ e Discipline of Market Leaders, Michael Treacy
and Fred Wiersema refine this same basic thought as they describe the
three value disciplines: (1) operational excellence, (2) product leadership,
and (3) customer intimacy. They also introduce four rules that all market
leaders must follow regardless of which value discipline they choose as the
basic strategy of the business:
• Provide the best marketplace offering by excelling in a specific value

dimension.
• Maintain threshold standards on other dimensions of value.
• Dominate your market by improving year after year.
• Build a well-tuned operating model dedicated to delivering
unmatched value.
The last three rules are critically dependent on a company’s supply

chain. Unfortunately, poorly defined metrics are common. How can
value be added for customers through supply chain performance if it isn’t
driven by well-defined metrics? Metrics must define the service attributes
that reflect customer value, ultimately leading to a high level of customer
satisfaction.
In basic terms, customers have needs that only the supply chain can sat-
isfy. Well-aligned metrics are fundamental to an effective business strat-
egy. Treacy and Wiersema go on to say,
“In a competitive marketplace, improving customer value is the market

leader’s imperative. The operating model is the key to raising and reset-
ting customer expectations. Improving it can make competitors’ offerings
look less appealing, or even shatter their position by rendering their value
proposition obsolete. ἀ e operating model is the market leader’s ultimate

weapon in the quest for market dominance” (p. 25).
Customer value is created through supplier contributions to increasing

customer profits, sales, and cash. Customer value supply chain potential
comes from three areas:
1. Service, which includes delivery, product, information, and post sales

service
2. Cost, which is a customer’s cost of doing business with supplying
companies
3. Fixed and working capital, which is required to maintain inventory
Unfortunately, many companies’ supply chain metrics and objectives

are not directly driven by customer values. The process for aligning supply
chain metrics starts with understanding a customer’s cost of doing busi-
ness with your company. In Chapter 4, we will discuss how to get a clear
understanding of the supply chain metrics that drive your customer’s EVA
(Economic Value Added) analysis. This collaborative process helps clarify
your customers’ priorities and the joint opportunities that may exist to
improve their EVA.
Implementation
With an improvement strategy and methodology in place, a vision set, and
customer value improvement understood, it is time for implementation.
This is the hard work of leadership: holding the organization account-
able, challenging the organization to pursue perfection, coaching, and
providing needed resources to achieve the goal. Implementation of trans-
formational change to supply chains requires a three- to five-year time
horizon. Changes in practices must be implemented and institutionalized.
Leadership needs enough supply chain understanding to know when mid-
course corrections are needed. This includes changing team members
when it is clear they are not capable or don’t have the will to be successful.
Improvement progress should be integrated into every operational review
with business unit leaders being expected to report on progress.
Enablement
Enablement refers to aspects of the company that support change, particu-
larly culture, metrics, rewards, skills, organizational structure, informa-
tion technology (IT) systems, and leadership development. Enablement is
often the source of failure and commonly overlooked, so it must be built
into implementation plans from the beginning.
Culture
Organizational culture can make or break any improvement effort. Certain
aspects of a culture resist change, while other aspects or best practices help
an organization embrace change. For example, does the organizational
culture encourage or discourage involvement at all levels? If production
employees are rarely asked for input and there is no sharing of business
issues and performance, how can they be expected to feel and act like
stakeholders?
Organizations develop a cultural lens through which they view the out-
side world. The culture of an organization is important to getting work
done and giving team members a feeling of stability. The cultural lens fre-
quently makes it difficult for organizations to embrace significant change,
change which challenges the way things are done. Successful implementa-
tion of significant supply chain change requires understanding the orga-
nization’s culture. Company leadership effort is needed to convince the
organization to secure the future and fully embrace needed change.
Metrics and Rewards

Lack of metric alignment with rewards is frequently an obstacle in supply
chain performance. Sustainable supply chain competitive advantage is not
achievable in organizations with conflicting metrics among the various
functions. If manufacturing is measured mostly on cost, those involved are
likely to make it a higher priority than service and inventory in an effort
to meet their objectives. If sales is only measured by top line sales, they are
likely to sell those products that are easier to sell regardless of the profit mar-
gin or capacity available. Company leadership must ensure that metrics and
rewards systems of all the company’s functions are tightly aligned in support
of supply chain performance improvement. Applying the SCOR methodol-

ogy facilitates alignment and prioritization of metrics across your organiza-
tion, increasing the probability of supply chain improvement success.
Skills
Organizational knowledge and skills are evident through examination
of a company’s practices and business processes. Most organizations
have individuals with extensive knowledge and skills at the top; but vast
untapped resources in most companies are shop floor operational team
members who are less trained and uninvolved. If employees were not pro-
vided training that supports improvement, such as analytical problem
solving or teamwork, why would they exhibit these behaviors?
The U.S. military is a good example. Every soldier is eventually trained
in a specialty, but not until each has completed basic training. Basic train-
ing ensures that everyone has essential skills that maximize the unit’s
probability of achieving its mission. Why doesn’t this analogy apply to
all businesses? We all have a mission to satisfy/delight our customers, our
shareholders, and ourselves.
SCOR methodology provides an excellent assessment approach to
understanding an organization’s knowledge. A company’s current prac-
tice level is an accurate reflection of the organization’s knowledge. It is
not in the scope of this book to address the specific knowledge required to
implement the best practices that lead to supply chain excellence. It is in
our scope to provide the references and resources for readers to gain spe-
cific Six Sigma, Lean, and SCOR knowledge. (See Resources, page 181.)
Organization Structure
A company’s organizational structure is established and modified for a
variety of reasons, such as increasing focus, realigning resources, increas-
ing end-to-end accountability, leveraging specific leadership skills, decen-
tralizing decision making, centralizing decision making, and aligning with
changes in strategic direction. Over time, a company may appear to make
organizational changes that reverse previous changes as it adapts to chang-
ing business environments and competitive challenges. Organizational
structure is a key leadership tool that needs to be employed to best use the
company’s talent in pursuit of its goals.
IT Systems
Effective information systems are fundamental to institutionalizing the
processes, practices, data, and metrics that support continuous improve-
ment. Our systems, data-gathering processes, and particularly data
reporting must support customer value and the improvement of opera-
tional processes. This usually means simplifying what we are doing in the
operational processes, reducing complexity, and eliminating excessive
data collection and ineffective controls.
Before IT systems can be effectively implemented, the Lean data model
processes and practices must be well established. There is a temptation to
move quickly to IT systems to “help” implement the Lean System. Consider
this carefully. What appears to be inefficiency in using manual approaches
often facilitates easy changes that improve processes.
In addition, running manual operational systems often facilitates opera-
tional team members’ understanding of the systems. Most people don’t
understand the process being performed by the computer. They view it as
a black box. We need all operational team members engaged in continu-
ous improvement. This requires simple, visual, transparent systems that
allow everyone to be a full team member.
The Lean operating system is built on the premise that only the direct
production operations team member adds value to the customer, so IT
systems must be designed and implemented in support of the frontline
operators. IT systems are important to effective supply chain manage-
ment, but they must be designed and applied to enable the operational
processes, not define them.
Leadership Development
It is very unlikely that a company will create long-term value over
time without having excellent leadership. Many companies such as
GE are widely recognized for leadership development using a formal
development process. Every company that desires to create long-term
sustainable market value must have a dedicated process for leadership
development that provides strong strategic and operational skills and
capability.
Constancy of Purpose
It is truly amazing to think Toyota has practiced Lean for more than
50 years. The Toyota Production System is part of the company’s DNA.
The challenge of implementing sustainable supply chain improvement in
a company cannot be overstated. Transformational supply chain opera-
tional change requires changing the way management thinks and what
management does. It takes years to achieve a mature state, and as the baton
of management leadership passes from one generation to another, com-
mitment to sustainable supply chain improvement must be constant or
people will return to the old ways of doing things. Continuously repeating
assessment and improvement cycles over decades is the proof of constancy
of purpose.
In summary, the seven components of sustainable supply chain improve-
ment are about leaders taking ownership of their company’s supply chain,
not delegating this important source of competitive advantage to com-
pany supply chain professionals.
References
Goldratt, Eli, and Jeff Cox. ἀe goal. Great Barrington, MA: North River Press, 1984.
Porter, Michael. Competitive strategy. New York: Free Press, 1980.
Treacy, Michael, and Fred Wiersema. ἀ e discipline of market leaders. Reading, MA:
Addison Wesley, 1995.
Womack, James, and Daniel Jones. Lean thinking. New York: Free Press, 2000.
Womack, James P., Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos. ἀ e machine that changed the world.
New York: Rawson Associates, 1989.
2
Improvement Methodologies
Six Sigma, Lean, Theory of
Constraints, and SCOR
Unquestionably, the decades since World War II have brought ever-ac-

celerating change in the global competitive environment, driven by the
rapid increase in global market access. Competitive markets have also
stimulated significant change in supply chain thinking and practices. The
history of supply chain improvement through better ideas and technol-
ogy can be tracked nearly 200 years (see Figure 2.1). A review through
the lens of the last 60 years of supply chain practices and systems helps to
understand the origins and evolution of current dominant supply chain
practices as well as improvement methodologies.
Taiichi Ohno began developing the Toyota Production System (TPS)
in 1953. He and his colleagues worked tirelessly for 20 years to fully
develop and deploy the TPS processes and practices across the com-
pany and their key suppliers. The major contribution of TPS, or what
we now call the Lean system, is improved value for customers forever
through flow, pull, elimination of all forms of waste, and the pursuit of
perfection.
The introduction of Material Requirements Planning (MRP) in the 1970s
brought tremendous advances in forecasting, planning, and scheduling.
Planning became time-phased, rendering reorder point methods obsolete
for inventory management of dependent demand items in manufactur-
ing operations. The concepts of forecast-based and time-phased planning
works well in a stable demand-and-supply plan environment, but this
“perfect plan assumption” exists only in textbooks. We all recognize the
futility of trying to create perfectly stable and level demand plans. The
17
Supply Chain Chronology
First Industrial Eiji Toyoda, Edward Deming, Japanese Mfg. Techniques

Revolution Taiichi Ohno “Out of the Crisis” Richard Schonberger
1750–1830 (Toyota 1982 1982
Steam Power Production
Telegraph Railroads Henry Ford System) M.Porter
Motorola
(Assembly Lines) Value Chain
Eli Whitney Six Sigma
1985
(Interchangeable 1979
Parts) Shigeo Shingo
MRP Crusade
(JIT, Defect = 0,
Olicky, Plossl, Wight
Telephone & SMED)
& APICS 1972
Alexander G. Bell John Krafcik
1876 Brown
WW1 Inventory Lean Manufacturing
WW2 1945
1900 Management
1820 1935 1950 1970 1980 2000
Michael Faraday Konrad Zuse Eli Goldratt AMR & PRTM

Discovery Siemens The Goal Launch SCOR
Led to the Z1 Computer 1984 and Supply Chain
Electric Motor 1936 Council
Ishikawa’s 1996
Frederick Taylor Fish bone
Walter Shewhart diagram Womack & Jones
(Time Study &
(Statistical Process (The Machine
Work Standards)
Control) Peter Drucker That Changed the
(Internet)
The Practice of NEFNET 1985 World) & Lean
Frank Gilbreth W. Edwards Deming Management Enterprise Institute
ARPANET 1960’s
(Process Charts Joseph Juran 1954 1989
National Science
Motion Study) (TQM)
Foundation
Figure 2.1
Supply chain chronology.
Improvement Methodologies • 19
other big contribution of MRP is the use of forecasts to drive the reorder
point inventory control method for independent demand items, such as
finished goods.
Since the introduction of MRP, we have learned about the infamous bullwhip
effect on inventory and demand stability. What starts as level demand at the
end user is amplified as it passes upstream through distributor, manufacturer,
and raw material supplier, becoming highly variable because of economic lot
sizing, which occurs at each supply chain level. The Lean best practice of creat-
ing a pull signal based on actual consumption for independent demand items
resolves this issue without creating new ones. This practice has been known in
the United States since 1982, yet a majority of companies still operate with the
perfect plan assumption and the resulting push planning model.
The next key contribution to supply chain practices came in the late 1970s,
when Motorola introduced the Six Sigma quality improvement methodol-
ogy. The rigorous statistical analysis tools of Six Sigma have been used in
manufacturing by process and quality engineers since Walter Shewhart
introduced statistical process control in the 1930s. Motorola created Six
Sigma to institutionalize the use of these statistical tools and implement
them through a top-down companywide deployment focused on improv-
ing product quality. There are many well-documented Six Sigma successes
from companies such as GE, Allied Signal, and 3M. They built on the ini-
tial success of Motorola to create a more robust set of tools, applying them
across all company operations, further validating the value of Six Sigma.
In the early 1980s, consulting companies introduced the concepts and
terminology of supply chain and quality improvement gurus such as
Edward Deming, who recognized that successful companies need to make
improvement in the context of their entire supply chain network. During
this time, North America learned about Toyota’s use of JIT (just-in-time)
manufacturing and kanban from Richard Schonberger’s book Japanese
Manufacturing Techniques (1982).
Lean manufacturing gained implementation traction in 1989 with the
publication of James Womack and Daniel Jones’s book ἀ e Machine ἀ at
Changed the World (1989). Shigeo Shingo made numerous contributions
to Lean through his teaching, consulting, and books about Lean. Eli
Goldratt introduced the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in his 1984 book
ἀ e Goal. Its system view of operations and the understanding that all
systems have constraints has more than 20 years of well-documented con-
tributions to its credit.
The final key contribution to supply chain continuous improvement was

the 1996 launch by AMR & PRTM of SCOR (the Supply Chain Operations
Reference model) and the Supply Chain Council’s end-to-end supply chain
assessment methodology. This was a significant milestone in creating a
user-controlled common language and methodology. The participation
of 700 companies and the growing global presence of the Supply Chain
Council is evidence of the continuing value SCOR is generating for user
companies.
Given this success, why hasn’t a common language and methodology for
supply chain assessment and improvement been adopted across all manu-
facturing and service companies?
This chronology of significant contributions to supply chain practices
and continuous improvement clearly demonstrates that each of these
events occurred as contributors built on previous contributors’ knowl-
edge and practice gaps. Each of the contributors solved a previously
unsolved problem or improved on a previous contribution, taking it
to a deeper systemic level than the original practice had. Recognizing
the evolutionary nature of supply chain theory and practice reinforces
the argument of this book that thinking and most of the common
practices for designing and operating supply chains are synergistic.
To begin to understand this synergism, we must first establish oper-
ational definitions of the four most commonly applied improvement
methodologies.
Operational Definitions
An in-depth examination of operational definitions, strengths, and
limitations of Six Sigma, Lean, the Theory of Constraints, and SCOR
will help identify the complementary and conflicting elements of each,
and understand how they function independently. It will also provide
the foundation for later chapters where we discuss the convergence of
these approaches to create a sustainable competitive advantage using a
Sustainable Improvement Roadmap (SIR). (See the Resources Section for
a list of materials and organizations that provide training and information
that will help implement these four methodologies.)
Six Sigma
Six Sigma has a defined set of process improvement steps, known as DMAIC
(define, measure, analyze, improve, control). In addition, it has tools for
designing products to ensure customer satisfaction and reliability called the
Design for Six Sigma. Only the DMAIC methodology, which is the Six Sigma
tool used to improve existing processes, will be dealt with in this discussion.
The purpose of DMAIC is to improve growth, cost, or working capital
performance of a business. It is a five-step improvement methodology based
on the vigorous use of statistical methods (Figure 2.2 illustrates the various
tools included in the five steps). Potential improvement projects receive high
priority when their elimination or improvement is necessary to achieve the
annual business plan; for example, defects that result in customer dissatisfac-
tion, high cost, high inventories, or other negative financial measures. Once
the “hopper” of potential projects is identified, the projects are prioritized to
align with the business’s priorities and started through the five-step process.
The Six Sigma process model is shown in Figure 2.3. The process turns
input X’s into output Y. This terminology is important, so take a moment
look at the model if you are not familiar with Six Sigma.
Six Sigma DMAIC is a methodology for reducing variation, decreasing

defects, and improving quality when the root cause is unknown and
not easily identifiable.
Define Measure Analyze Improve Control

Project charter Process map Multi-vari study Pilot study Control plan
Process C & E matrix Hypothesis Designed summary
definition testing Experiment Dashboard
FMEA
Business Statistical tests If the solution is Process
Collect data
metric being obvious, documentation
improved Apply implement it Acceptance
appropriate
Process defect strategies
statistical tools
Project Y= key Audit plan
Measurement
process output
Systems
Project Y Analysis
entitlement
Project metrics Capability
Business study
impact
Scope and
boundaries
Figure 2.2
Six Sigma DMAIC.
Six Sigma Process Model
X Process Y
The inputs to the The output of the

process are the “X’s” process is the “Y”
Figure 2.3
Six Sigma process model.
Six Sigma DMAIC identifies defects (Y’s) in the output of processes that
need improvement through better control of key input and process vari-
ables (X’s).
The basics of the five steps are as follows:
D efine: What is the undesirable process variability or defect that must be
eliminated? This is the most critical of the five steps and the most common
source of project failures. Without proper scoping, projects are formulated
that try to “solve the world’s problems” and, as a result, are never finished
or the team is distracted as it chases spurious issues unrelated to the proj-
ect. Proper project scoping keeps the team focused on getting improve-
ments implemented. In this step, the process that is to be improved is
studied and specific defects that need to be eliminated or parameters that
need to be improved are defined. A Six Sigma practice used to stimulate
creativity by setting aggressive goals is called entitlement thinking. Project
participants look for positive performance outliers and ask, “Why can’t
the process perform like this every day?”
The define step provides a clear project goal, such as: What is the benefit
if there is zero waste and a well-defined project charter which
1. is driven by a business strategy and a business plan improvement goal,

2. reflects the voice of the customer in project metrics,
3. clearly defines project objectives, and
4. defines the scope of the project appropriately to ensure it can be
accomplished in four to six months or less.
Measure: What is the measurement of the project (Y)? A project’s measure-

ment phase defines the current process, establishes metrics, and validates
the measurement quality. It should document the current process, identify
inputs and outputs, establish process capability of the critical parameter (Y)
selected for improvement, determine current measurement system capability,

and develop a cause-and-effect matrix to identify critical input variables(s).
A nalyze: What are the root causes of variation? Here the potential
sources of process variability are identified by
1. selecting enough input variables (X’s) to make analysis feasible,

2. using multivari studies to determine which X’s have the most impact
on the project (Y), and
3. planning initial improvement activities.
Improve: What improvements will eliminate the root causes?

Relationships between critical X’s and the project (Y) are quantified and
selected to verify the proposed solutions by
1. determining the effect critical X’s have on the project (Y) using
designed experiments,
2. developing the sequence of experiments,
3. identifying the critical inputs that need to be controlled,
4. defining and piloting solutions to resolve problem root causes.
Control: What controls will ensure that the improvement arrived at is

institutionalized and that the root cause of the problem is permanently
resolved? The project control phase ensures that the process maintains the
gains achieved, is neutral or positive for customers, and controls the criti-
cal X’s through
1. a well-executed control plan,

2. the identification of the control plan process owner, and
3. tracking financial results for a year.
Six Sigma Infrastructure Requirements

Six Sigma success requires a significant investment in infrastructure. A
program office must be established with a high-level leader responsible
for implementation, training, and coaching. Credible outside training
support is necessary, even if the organization has qualified people with
the knowledge and skills to support the statistical analysis. Training of
Black Belts can take four weeks and projects are likely to average six
months during the initial twelve to eighteen months of a Six Sigma

Program. Therefore, it may take as much as a year to become proficient
in Six Sigma tool application and completely self-sufficient in Six Sigma.
Each business unit and/or function must establish a hierarchy of Master
Black Belts (MBB) and Black Belts (BB). MBBs and BBs must be the best
talent in the organization and must hold two-year full time assignments
to develop their Six Sigma and leadership competencies. Eventually all
salaried personnel must be trained at least as Green Belts (GB); in addi-
tion, leaders must be trained to effectively champion the cause. Once
trained, everyone is expected to be a contributing member to projects.
Figure 2.4 provides an operational definition of Six Sigma, but Six Sigma
goes far beyond solving problems; it significantly improves leadership
development because
1. MBB and BB assignments require leadership to mobilize project

teams and get results, although the positions have no real direct
organizational authority;
2. cross-functional projects give MBBs and BBs the opportunity to
learn about other functions in the organization; and
3. a collaborative global network of MBBs and BBs shares the experi-
ence for two years; these relationships will certainly be productive
for many years after their Six Sigma experience.
Six Sigma DMAIC Operational Definitions
Definition A structured improvement methodology using a

standard approach and statistical tools
Purpose • Reduce process variability

• Eliminate defects
Project Keys issues or process problems
Identification
Problem Prescriptive DMAIC problem-solving method

Solving
Performance Specific process and project metrics
Measurement
Infrastructure/ • Six Sigma expertise

Engagement • MBB/BB/GB resources
• Ad hoc teams
Figure 2.4
Six Sigma operation definition.
Six Sigma also changes an organization’s culture by
1. creating a common language, tool set, and methodology for people

companywide to solve problems and improve business;
2. building collaboration across businesses and functions, cross-functional
projects, and teams; and
3. normalizing better data-based decision making.
Lean System
In his book, Toyota Production System (TPS, translated and made avail-
able in English through Productivity Press, 1988), Taiichi Ohno (Toyota
engineer and manager, and later president of Toyota Motor Company)
tells his story of beginning and developing the Toyota Production System.
Toyoda Kiichiro, the founder of Toyota Motor Company, was challenged
by his father Toyoda Sakichi to start an automobile manufacturing com-
pany. When World War II ended, Toyoda Kiichiro discovered American
automobile manufacturers were nine times more productive than Toyota.
He, in turn, challenged Taiichi Ohno to catch up with America in three
years.
These three leaders recognized that to become competitive would require
the elimination of waste. This stimulated their radical thinking, which
led to the values and principles that formed the conceptual basis for TPS.
Toyota is not only the world’s largest car company, but also produces more
profit than all other carmakers combined. The Toyota production system
(Lean) is now part of Toyota’s DNA, but it has taken decades to perfect it.
The more one understands about Lean, the more one marvels at Ohno’s
TPS. It is difficult to understand how they know “the footsteps of every
operator every day,” yet the employee relations environment has been pos-
itive enough for Toyota plants to remain union free in the United States.
This is one of the many counterintuitive lessons to be learned from a seri-
ous study of the Lean system. How do they continue to improve after 50
years of using the same system?
Ohno’s book also illuminates the people and experiences that influ-
enced his thinking and the values leading to Lean, an operating system
that transforms the entire supply chain. In the book he wrote, “A total
management system is needed that develops human ability to its fullest

capacity and fruitfulness, utilizes facilities and machines well, and elimi-
nates all waste. This system will work for any type of business” (p. 9). The
Lean Supply Chain System (see Figure 2.5) is predicated on four clear val-
ues and seven principles, and has as its goal eliminating waste and increas-
ing customer value forever by optimizing people, materials, space, and
equipment resources. It specifies seven forms of waste to be eliminated:
1. Overproduction—making more than is needed

2. Transport—excessive movement of materials
3. Motion—inefficient movement of people
4. Waiting—underutilization of people
5. Inventory—material lying around unused
6. Overprocessing—manufacturing to a higher quality standard than
expected by the customer
7. Defect correction—time spent fixing defects, including the part that
gets thrown away and the time it takes to make the product correctly
Lean Supply Chain System

• Service • Labor productivity • Safety incident rate
• Inventory • Yield • Value stream cycle time
• DPPM • OEE • % Value added time
Standardized Metrics
work for every Monitoring
team member & Control • Hourly production charts
• 5S • Manager daily shop floor time
• TPM Roles & • Layered audits
• Kanban Processes Increase customer value
• Visual management
• Supermarkets by optimizing supply
• Change-over wheel chain resources forever Improvement
• Pacemaker scheduling Opportunities
• Labor
• Material delivery routes • Materials • Value stream bursts
• Source quality • Inventory • Visible deviations
• Takt time • Space
• Work cell design Practices & • Equipment
Problem Solving
• Standardized work Methodologies
• Error proofing • Kaizen events
• Plant flow layout • PDCA
System • Six Sigma DMAIC
• Level loading—Heijunka
Assessment • Lean practices & methods
• Jidoka
• SMED & Alignment • TOC improvement method
• Hoshin planning • Value stream mapping • Go see
Suppliers’ suppliers Lean value stream view Customers’ customers

Foundation
• Customer value • Seven waste reduction • Perfection/Kaizen • Go see
Principles • Value streams • Single piece flow & pull • Shop floor associates add value
• Respect for humanity • Create value for customers, society, and the economy
Values
• Stakeholder partnerships • Minimize the use of resources
Figure 2.5
Lean system.
Taiichi Ohno correctly believed that improving an integrated value

stream was the best approach to delivering value to customers and other
supply chain participants. Lean has proven its timelessness by delivering
results for more than 50 years and remains the best practice for manufac-
turing plant and supply chain operations.
Implementing the Lean System

The Lean tools for assessment and alignment of an organization’s metrics
and programs provide a guide for Lean System implementation.
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is the Lean System assessment and planning
tool. (The best resource for learning about this specialized type of process
mapping is Learning to See by Mike Rother and John Shook from the Lean
Enterprise Institute.) VSM includes a standard set of icons and instructions
for completing the value stream map. In general, material and information
flows are mapped based on actual shop floor observation, creating a map
describing the current state of how things are done.
Before actually documenting the current-state VSM, the team must
be trained in the basics of the Lean System and Value Stream Mapping.
Building a plant value stream map starts with shipping, the process closest
to the customer, and follows upstream step-by-step through the receipt of
raw materials. Observers note product flow through work centers, key data
about each process operation, operator non–value added activities, utili-
zation of material-handling associates, and other signs of the seven waste.
Once the current-state value stream map is completed, it is reviewed,
information is summarized, and potential value stream improvement
projects are noted by placing a starburst at the point in the process where
the project would be done.
Before making final decisions on project priorities, a value stream future-
state map is developed. The first few times a company does this, we recom-
mend using an experienced coach. There are many possible options when
constructing future-state maps, so experience is essential to making correct
judgments. It is also usually necessary to have an experienced Lean applica-
tions expert train personnel in how these practices work. Decisions about
which practice to apply first also require expert judgment based on the specif-
ics of the operation’s present condition. Credible Lean experts transfer their
knowledge through the combination of classroom and shop floor applica-
tion. They want their clients to become self-sufficient as quickly as possible.
The future state is constructed by redesigning the value stream using

appropriate Lean tools, methodologies, and practices, creating an end-state
vision conforming to Lean principles. The future-state and current-state
maps are compared, which results in more potential projects. Ninety- and
180-day implementation plans are developed for the projects most impor-
tant to building the Lean System and improving business results. Because
a first priority in Lean implementation is gaining value-stream stabil-
ity, quick changeover, work cell design for flow, inventory supermarkets,
and visual management tools are likely initial projects. This continuous
improvement cycle (Figure 2.6) is repeated every 90 to 180 days by going
deeper into the value-stream system to standardize, level load, stabilize,
and improve flow to a new level.
Each succeeding cycle of improving flow raises a new series of barriers
that must be addressed to create continual improvement. This involves tak-
ing some level of risk, which potentially disrupts short-term product flow.
A fundamental Lean implementation rule is always protect the customer.
This means that when risk exists, sufficient project resources are applied to
ensure that any problems can be dealt with immediately. If issues cannot
Lean Supply Chain System Continuous Improvement
Metrics
Monitoring Stabilize
Level load
& Control
Roles &
Processes Increase customer value
by optimizing supply
chain resources forever Improvement
Opportunities
• Labor
• Materials
• Inventory
Practices & • Space
Methodologies • Equipment Problem Solving
Standardize
System Create Flow
Assessment
& Alignment
Suppliers’ suppliers Lean value stream view Customers’ customers

Foundation
• Customer value • Seven waste reduction • Perfection/Kaizen • Go see
Principles • Value streams • Single piece flow & pull • Shop floor associates add value
• Respect for humanity • Create value for customers, society, and the economy
Values
• Stakeholder partnerships • Minimize the use of resources
Figure 2.6
Lean improvement cycle.
be immediately resolved, additional resources are used to work around

problems until they can be resolved.
The Lean Practices

During the last 20 years, Toyota Production System developed myriad
practices to expose and solve problems that hampering flow and causing
waste. This led to the creation of single piece flow and pull. Resources are
optimized in Lean by deploying only those required to support the rate of
leveled customer demand.
Lean uses a term called Takt time, which defines in seconds the cycle time
required to produce a unit of product at a rate sufficient to meet customer
demand. It is the drum beat synchronizing all operations and resources.
Just enough resources are supplied to meet Takt time, optimizing system
resource consumption. Operations are designed to produce at a cycle time
slightly lower than Takt time and are synchronized by customer-demand
pull signals. Lean practices (see Figure 2.5) allow for quick improvement
by their simple application to value stream defects. This array of practices
should be applied to the value stream as appropriate through each contin-
uous improvement cycle. (See the Resource Section for specific Lean tools
and how to use them.) Lean tools are the means to building, sustaining,
and improving the Lean System.
Roles and Processes

Lean standardized work defines Lean System roles for every person in
the operation, including management. Implementation starts on the
shop floor. Shop floor job activities are classified in three categories: value
added, non–value added (waste), and non–value added but required. For
example, if the assembly of a product is analyzed, handling of parts is
waste, actual assembly is value added, and quality checks are non–value
added but required.
A company just beginning its Lean journey typically has only 65 per-
cent of its shop floor operators’ time dedicated to value added and non–
value added but necessary tasks. This provides an immediate opportunity
to improve productivity by 35 percent. Further improvements in produc-
tivity are achievable by eliminating or transferring non–valued activities
performed by shop floor operators to underutilized material handlers
(typically, plant material handlers are only 35 percent utilized). For

example, usually in a plant, the forklift truck or powered pallet truck
is loaded either going to or returning from the warehouse. This means
the percentage of waste related to this activity is at least 50 percent.
Standardized work and cell design along with other Lean practices will
improve the percentage of value-added time for all shop floor operators.
When we think of standards and standardized work, we automatically
think of shop floor operations. Every team member has well-defined stan-
dardized work, which is critical to accountability, commitment, building
the Lean System, and achievement of results through waste elimination.
Standardized work is defined for every level of management including the
plant or site manager. Thus, site or plant managers must have structured
time in their daily schedules for time on the shop floor. The daily schedule
must be arranged so managers review all operations over a defined period.
The purpose of this is to
1. audit standardized work,

2. coach team members in the Lean System and continuous improvement,
3. follow up on previously identified deviations to ensure corrective
action is being completed, and
4. identify the next level of system improvement.
This is a critical management activity if the Lean System is to be sustained.

The second standardized work activity for plant or site managers is lead-
ing policy deployment, or Hoshin Kanri, each year to ensure that opera-
tions are completely aligned with the annual business plan.
The third standardized work activity for plant managers is conducting
regular Lean operational reviews. Regular reviews are required to assure
organizational accountability for fulfilling operational plans using Lean
continuous improvement.
Metrics
Lean uses metrics to measure results and process effectiveness. Figure 2.5
contains representative high-level metrics. Hoshin planning, also referred
to as policy deployment, ensures the selection of the most important
metrics in alignment with key customer and business priorities. Metric
improvement versus operational plan targets is the focus of regular opera-
tional reviews at each organizational level.
Monitoring and Control

Lean is a people-based system, so monitoring and controlling the system
relies on management presence on the shop floor. Plant managers audit
standardized work previously audited by area managers, completing a
cycle of audits completed by every level of leadership.
The first result of these audits is coaching area managers, supervisors,
lead people, or shop floor associates about the Lean System, noncompli-
ance, or suggestions for improvement. In Lean, audits are retained and
summarized quarterly. One summary is a matrix that includes all the
items audited in one manager’s operation on one axis of a graph and the
auditors’ names on the other axis. Ratings are discussed with the entire
audit team to maintain calibration between raters.
A second summary is by audit topics across all operations in the facility.
This allows the management team to see common weaknesses. Stability of
the value stream depends on standardized operational discipline; audits
are the control mechanism that maintains system discipline. Lean audits
are serious business and included in annual reviews of every associate,
team leader, area supervisor, and manager.
Visual management is the Lean System sensing mechanism providing
transparency of operational reality and data related to improvement. It
also provides clarity of deviations against detailed standards of perfor-
mance, work procedures, scheduling, inventory, and scrap, among many
others. For example, inventory in a supermarket should never be less than
the minimum or more than the maximum required. Storage locations in
a supermarket are designed to hold the maximum planned inventory. If
inventory exceeds the maximum, it must be stored outside the designated
location creating a visible variation that will be caught during the daily
audit. This allows for immediate follow up in order to understand why the
system failed.
Another example is daily review of day by hour production charts, which
show achievement each hour versus the planned rate. The chart includes
the deviation, root cause, and an explanation of the action taken to per-
manently resolve the problem.
All functions are accountable for responding to shop floor issues so
they are quickly resolved. Plant manager daily walks build a healthy ten-
sion of joint accountability between the shop floor operator and the plant
manager. If the same problems occur repeatedly at a given operation
on the shop floor, team members will look to the plant manager to take
ownership and resolve the problems. This both creates a healthy tension
and reinforces the positive work environment as the plant manager con-
veys support and respect to shop floor team members, the only people in
the plant who truly add value. As a plant’s Lean system matures, a more
standardized problem–response process follows a well-defined escalation
path, ending with the engagement of the plant manager if problems are
not resolved within a predetermined time.
Improvement Opportunity Identification and Problem Solving

In summary, Lean tools for identifying improvement opportunities are
Value Stream Mapping and visual management. VSM is applied at the
Lean System level, where management is responsible for defining and
implementing improvements. Visual management on the shop floor
drives long-term continuous improvement. Daily deviations are exposed
through visual management, and shop floor teams must identify root
causes of problems so permanent solutions can be implemented.
The Lean practice for identifying root causes is called Five Whys. First,
ask why a problem is occurring. The response is then met with a second
question: “Why is this occurring?” The process continues with each succes-
sive response met with another “why” until the root cause is determined.
Through experience, practitioners have learned it never takes more than
five cycles to locate the root cause. After identifying the root cause, the
four-step Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) improvement process is applied. This
simple method is based on the scientific method taught by Edward Deming.
These simple standardized tools allow shop floor team members to learn
and apply them. Improvement methodologies, such as Six Sigma and TOC
are not well suited for everyday use by shop floor team members because
they are more complicated and require significant expert knowledge.
Repeating the Cycle Forever

After completing an initial cycle of Lean System improvement projects
and updating the current state, a new future state, which identifies addi-
tional improvement projects, must be defined. This process is repeated
forever. Simultaneously, the shop floor continuous improvement process
is implementing solutions to day-to-day variations. Both follow the same
four-step improvement sequence—standardize, level load, stabilize, and
create flow—and repeat it continuously, forever.
LEAN Supply Chain System Operational Definition
Definition An integrated operating system of values, principles,

practices, tools, and techniques
Purpose Increase customer value by optimizing supply chain
resources forever
Project • Future state to current state value stream map gaps
Identification • Visible defects
Problem • Prescriptive practices

Solving • PDCA
Performance External and internal KPIs

Measurement
Infrastructure/ • Lean expertise

Engagement • Natural teams
• Team leaders
Figure 2.7
Lean system operational definition.
Assessing Lean
Lean is a unique operational system (see Figure 2.7) compared with the other
methodologies. Toyota, which makes more money each year than all other
industry competitors combined and is consistently among the leaders in car
reliability and resale value, has been practicing Lean for five decades.
Lean has proven to be a powerful operational model with a great set
of tools that eliminate waste and create a sustainable operational system
driven by adding value to customers. However, it does not address many
important elements needed for a successful supply chain including high-
level supply chain design, capacity planning, supply chain competencies,
and operational demand planning. Lean is the most powerful operational
system known today, but it is just that, a powerful operational system for
running and improving the supply chain every day, forever.
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was developed by Eli Goldratt and
collaborators. It became broadly known in 1984 when Goldratt’s book
ἀ e Goal was published. The TOC views an organization as a system with
resources linked together to meet the organization’s goals.
A constraint is a constriction in a system that establishes maximum

system output, and all systems have constraints limiting their capacity to
improve and better meet or exceed system goals. There are, for example,
many types of constraints in a plant—equipment, procedures, policies,
manpower, stability of a process, scheduled work time, etc. When looking
at a business, sales level may be a constraint. Regardless of which specific
constraint exists in a business, resources are always limited. It is critical,
therefore, that precious resources are applied to constraints in order to
maximize output because working on other improvements that do not
resolve constraints will have no effect on increasing the system output.
There are five steps in the TOC improvement process:
1. Identify the constraint: What is limiting the system from producing

or selling more?
2. Exploit the constraint: Get the most out of constrained processes.
3. Subordinate everything to the constraint: All resources and activities,
including all other operations, must be subordinate to constrained
processes.
4. Elevate the constraint: Enlarge the capacity of the constrained processes.
5. When the constraint is broken, go to step one and start over again.
The Theory of Constraints takes a holistic systems view of all opera-

tions of a plant or supply chain. Applied to a business, the TOC purpose is
to increase profit. It focuses system improvement on increasing through-
put as the best way to add more value. Improvement or elimination of
a current constraint results in more throughput, at which point a new
system constraint is identified. This continuous cycle drives performance
improvement forever. The metrics used in TOC measure the value added
produced. Key TOC metrics are
1. T: throughput value of sales less materials cost.

2. I: system’s raw material inventory.
3. OE: operating expenses.
4. Dividing T by OE gives a productivity measurement, that is, the rate
at which operating expenses are converting raw materials into T.
5. Dividing T by I, the money generated from sales divided by raw
material inventory cost, measures inventory turnover.
The TOC includes concepts used to schedule operations. The constrained

operation is scheduled in a specific product sequence aligning resource
use to meet customer demand. This system drum, which is called Drum
Rope Buffer scheduling, sets the pace for all other operations. Upstream,
raw materials are subordinated to the constrained operation to make sure
materials are available when needed to support the constrained operations
schedule. Downstream operations must flow, and are therefore planned
and run with sufficient capacity so that all product made by the con-
strained operation can be processed. Time buffers are used upstream from
the constraint so promised shipment dates are met, protecting promise
dates from the inevitable process variability. Work is released into pro-
duction at a rate dictated by the drum and started based on a predeter-
mined total process buffer length. When sales is the constraint, TOC has
an approach for solving these problems, which includes use of its problem-
solving tools combined with TOC accounting, market segmentation, and
pricing strategies to identify what needs to change in order to increase
sales. This is a unique feature of the TOC compared with other problem-
solving methodologies.
Thinking Process Used to Create

and Implement Improvement
TOC is an improvement methodology that supports incremental and
breakthrough improvement. Managing the system must include moni-
toring and controlling the constraint, upstream subordinated processes,
and downstream flow processes. This process will identify issues that
must be solved in order to maintain and improve system performance.
Problems that have no known solution are identified and the TOC three-
step process and five tools are applied to provide a solution. It works as
follows:
1. What to change?
Current Reality Tree: The current reality tree is a tool used to iden-
tify the root cause of a core problem that has no known solution,
in order to eliminate initial undesirable effects. Other undesir-
able effects related to the original undesirable effect (or defect) are
also documented during the process to determine the true core
problem.
2. What to change to?
Evaporating Cloud: The evaporating cloud identifies requirements
that the solution must satisfy. The first step is to state the core
problem and define what should replace it. The current core prob-
lem exists because it satisfies an organizational need or require-
ment. This means defined solutions must satisfy needs currently
satisfied by whatever caused the core problem and by whatever
will replace it.
Future Reality Tree: The future reality tree defines the desirable
effects of the solution, which will become the improvement proj-
ect objectives. Future reality trees create a complete picture of
positive and negative consequences of the proposed solution (an
idea known as an injection in TOC terminology) defined in the
evaporating cloud process. Each undesirable effect discovered in
making the current reality tree is reviewed to define its opposite
or desirable effect. These desirable effects become implementa-
tion plan objectives. They are also inputs examined using the
prerequisite tree (see below).
The final step is to brainstorm and select an idea that satisfies these needs
and has a cause–effect path that will eliminate the core problem.
3. How to change?
Prerequisite tree: The prerequisite tree defines conditions that need
to be in place to achieve future reality tree defined objectives.
Prerequisite trees ensure all necessary conditions are identi-
fied and objectives are set to ensure implementation plans meet
them. Projects are implemented efficiently by defining the best
sequence to meet these conditions and they are included as
input to the transition tree.
Transition tree: The transition tree creates detailed plans to imple-
ment the objectives defined in the prerequisite tree. Intermediate
objectives and action plans supporting them are delegated to
teams or individuals. Teams use transition trees to break down
the actions needed to achieve the assigned objectives. These
transition tree objectives and actions are used in implementation
reviews to ensure overall project objectives are met.
The Theory of Constraints (see Figure 2.8) has two major components,

operational system concepts and thinking processes for improvement,
and has proven itself a powerful tool for optimizing systems.
Theory of Constraints Operational Definitions
Definition A methodology that increases systems throughput by optimizing

and/or eliminating the constraint
Purpose Increase enterprise value by improving supply chain throughput,

–T/OE and Inventory turns –T/I
Project Identification of the constraint in the system
Identification
Problem TOC thinking process
Solving
Performance System throughput

Measurement
Infrastructure/ • TOC expertise

• Team leaders
Figure 2.8
Theory of constraints.
Supply Chain Operations Reference Model

The Supply Chain Operations Reference model (SCOR) was developed to
aid in understanding, describing, and evaluating supply chains. SCOR
differs from Lean and Six Sigma in that it focuses only on evaluation. It
identifies the specific best practices needed to improve supply chains, but
does not include project implementation strategies because SCOR assumes
users have the needed project implementation competencies.
SCOR assessment accomplishes the following:
1. Quickly identifies performance gaps through benchmarking.

2. Eliminates analysis time and effort through predefined cause-and-
effect relationships embedded in its three-level logical structure.
3. Provides solutions designed to close performance gaps through best
practices.
4. Defines enablers (including IT) required to support best practices.
What is SCOR?
SCOR defines a supply chain as “the integrated processes of Plan, Source,
Make, Deliver, and Return spanning from the supplier’s supplier to the
SCOR Five Management Processes

“From your supplier’s supplier to your customer’s customer”
• SCOR Spans
– All customer interactions, from order entry through paid invoice
– All physical material transactions, from your supplier’s supplier
to your customer’s customer, including
• Equipment, supplies, spare parts, bulk product, software, etc.
– All market interactions, from the understanding of aggregate
demand to the fulfillment of each order
Plan
Deliver Source Make Deliver Source Make Deliver Source Make Deliver Source
Return Return Return Return Return Return
Return Return
Suppliers’ Supplier Your Company Customer Customer’s

Supplier Customer
Internal or External Internal or External
Figure 2.9
SCOR scope. (Printed with permission of Supply Chain Council.)
customer’s customer” (see Figure 2.9). The key word in this definition is
integrated. A supply chain isn’t defined only by products or only by cus-
tomers, but needs to consider both views to add value. SCOR is a com-
pletely integrated supply chain assessment model with five processes:
Plan: Balancing needs against resources

Source: Processes that connect manufactures to suppliers
Make: Changing the form, fit, or function of something
Deliver: Processes that connect us to our customers (internal and external)
Return: Processes that support the return of products for any reason
The SCOR model breaks down or decomposes its five Level 1 processes
into Level 2 and 3 processes (see Figure 2.10). Level 4 defines the specific
tasks of Level 3 processes. These tasks are defined to create unique config-
urations giving a distinctive competitive advantage to a specific business.
SCOR contains a Level 4, but it is not included in the model because it is
specific to each business, which makes standardization difficult.
Supply chain configuration, meaning, make-to-stock, make-to-order, or
engineer-to-order is step one in applying SCOR. This is accomplished using
Level 1 and 2 configuration definitions (see Figure 2.11). Configuration is
necessary to attain meaningful benchmark data comparisons.
SCOR Process Decomposition Model

Level
# Description Schematic Comments
1 Level 1 defines the scope and content for the supply
Top level
Supply chain operations reference-model
Source Make Deliver chain operations reference-model.

(process types)
Return Basis of competition performance targets are set.
2 A company’s supply chain can be “configured-to-order”

Configuration
at level 2 from approximately 17 core “process
level
categories.” Companies implement their operations
(process
strategy through the configuration they choose for their
categories)
supply chain.
3 Process
Companies “fine tune” their operations strategy at Level 3.
element level
(decompose Level 3 defines a company’s ability to compete
processes) successfully in its chosen markets and consists of
• Process element definitions
• Process element information inputs and outputs
• Process performance metrics
• Best practices,where applicable
• System capabilities required to support best practices
• Systems/tools by vendor
4 Implementation Companies implement specific supply-chain

Not Level management practices at Level 4.
in (decompose Level 4 defines practices to achieve competitive
scope process elements) advantage and to adapt to changing business conditions.
Figure 2.10
SCOR Process Decomposition Model. (Printed with permission of Supply Chain Council.)
SCOR Level 2 Configuration Toolkit

Any supply-chain configuration can be represented with this toolkit
Plan P1 Plan supply chain
P2 Plan source P3 Plan make P4 Plan deliver
Plan return
PlanReturn
P0 Plan enable
Source Make Deliver

Customers
Suppliers
S1 Source purchased materials M1 Make-to-stock D1 Deliver stocked products
D2 Deliver made-to-order products

S2 Source make-to-order products M2 Make-to-order
D3 Deliver engineered-to-order products
S3 Source engineer-to-order products M3 Engineer-to-order

D4 Deliver retail products
S0 Source enable M0 Make enable D0 Deliver enable
Figure 2.11
SCOR Level 2 configuration toolkit. (Printed with permission of Supply Chain Council.)
Overview: A SCOR Improvement Project
Once the configuration is complete, current performance is documented

using SCOR Level 1 metrics (see Figure 2.12). These metrics are divided into
two categories, customer-facing and internal-facing. External benchmark-
ing, using the sources available through the Supply Chain Council, can be
done. Measurement comparisons can be done versus peer companies in the
same markets or companies from other markets that have leading supply
chain practices. Customer-facing metrics are also used to clarify customer
expectations by specifying customers’ desired supply chain performance.
Performance comparisons identify gaps between the current state and
“best in class” benchmarks. Gaps in current performance can also be
determined through discussions with key customers.
At this stage, the “to be” state, supply chain performance metric goals
that will enhance the business’s basis of competition (see Figure 2.13) are
defined. Peter Bolsdorf and Robert Rosenbaum, two experienced SCOR
practitioners, have written a valuable handbook, Supply Chain Excellence
(2003), about applying the SCOR process and completing improvement
projects. The Supply Chain Council Web site is also an excellent resource
for understanding SCOR and available training.
SCOR Level 1 Metrics
Characterize performance from customer-facing and internal-
facing perspectives
Customer-facing Internal-facing
SCOR Level 1
Supply-chain management metrics Reliability & Agility
Cost Assets
responsiveness (flexibility)
Perfect order fulfillment

Order fulfillment cycle time
Supply-chain flexibility
Supply-chain adaptability
Total supply-chain management cost
Cost of goods sold
Cash-to-cash cycle time
Return on supply chain fixed assets
Figure 2.12
SCOR Level 1 metrics. (Printed with permission of Supply Chain Council.)
SCOR Improvement Process

SCOR creates an “as is” and a “to be”state process
1 Basis SCOR level 1

Operations Business strategy aligns
of competition strategy metrics and performance
requirements
SCOR level 2
2 Supply chain Intra-company Inter-company Optimum supply chain
configuration configuration configuration configuration defined
3 Performance Intra-company Inter-company SCOR level 3

levels, practices,
Process elements
best practices are process, practice, process, practice,
and system(s) and system config- and system config-
selection identified uration elements uration elements
4 Supply-chain SCOR level 4

processes and Intra-company Inter-company
system(s) supply-chain supply-chain
implementation improvements improvements
Figure 2.13
SCOR improvement process. (Printed with permission of Supply Chain Council.)
The next step is to define specific Level 3 practices that must be changed
to achieve these performance goals. Each SCOR level has a set of metrics
linked to performance metrics of other levels (see Figures 2.14 and 2.15).
Performance goals defined at Level 1 track directly to processes in Level 3,
identifying gaps needing change. Performance benchmark comparisons
at Level 3 identify specific Level 3 processes that are performing better
than, equal to, or worse than benchmark.
Each Level 3 process (see Figure 2.16) is made up of metrics, a series of
practices and enabling technology. All three are compared to best practices
during benchmarking. Gaps in practices are identified and compared to
best practices. The result is clear identification of practices needing change
and the definition of new practices. Metrics in Level 1 are linked to Level 2
and 3 metrics. These links ensure implementation of best practices, which
will eliminate practice gaps and resolve performance gaps.
This completes the “to be” state. Using SCOR, you can quickly describe sup-
ply chain operations from Level 1 down to Level 3. This facilitates the con-
sideration of large chunks of a business by examining supply chain strategy
and performance in a top-down fashion. It also identifies strategic and tac-
tical improvement opportunities. SCOR’s end-to-end assessment subjugates
Source and Plan Levels 2 and 3 Performance Metrics

Diagnostic Measures Drive Performance Improvement
Level 2 Level 3
Performance Metrics Diagnostic Metrics
Supply-chain Supply-chain Supply-chain

Delivery Flexibility & Cost Assets
performance/ responsiveness complexity configuration management
quality measures measures practices measures
• Supply-chain finance • % of order changes • Product volume by • Planning cycle time
and planning costs • # of end devices/ channel • Forecast accuracy
• Demand/supply SKUs • # of channels • Obsolete/end of life
planning costs inventory days of supply
Plan
• Production volume • Supply-chain

• Inventory days of supply • Inventory carrying complexity, # of • Replan cycle
cost S/M/D sites • Order entry methods
• Order entry modes
• Material acquisition costs • % purchasing • Purchased material • Supplier delivery

• Source cycle time spending by by geography performance
• Raw material DOS distance • Payment period
• % of purchasing
Source
• # of suppliers • % part numbers received

spending by
with lead time <8 weeks
distance
• % unpenalized 30-day
decrease
Figure 2.14
SCOR Source and Plan Level 2 and 3 performance metrics. (Printed with permission of
Supply Chain Council.)
Make and Deliver Levels 2 and 3 Performance Metrics

Diagnostic Measures Drive Performance Improvement
Level 2 Level 3
Performance Metrics Diagnostic Metrics
Supply-chain Supply-chain Supply-chain

Delivery Flexibility & Cost Assets complexity configuration management
performance/ responsiveness
quality measures measures practices measures
• # of returns/complaints • # of devices/SKUs • Manufacturing • Value-add %
• Build order attainment • Upside production process steps by • % build-to-stock, %
• Make cycle time flexibility geography build-to-order
Make
• Product quality • Asset turns • % of mfg. order changes

due to internal issues
• WIP & plant FG DOS
• Fill rates • # of orders, line • Delivery locations • Published delivery lead
• Order management costs items, & shipments by geography time
• Order fulfillment lead time by channel • # of channels • # of faultless invoices
Deliver
• Forecast accuracy by • % parts returned • Field & samples FG

channel • % re-returns DOS
Figure 2.15
SCOR Make and Deliver Level 2 and 3 performance metrics. (Printed with permission
of Supply Chain Council.)
3
Scor Level 3 Detailed Process Element Information
Supports Each Level 2 Process Category
Process flow
Inputs and outputs
Metrics
Practices
Enabling technology tools
SCOR level 3
Figure 2.16
SCOR Level 3 process elements. (Printed with permission of Supply Chain Council.)
organizational structure and its “silos” by examining processes from a cus-

tomer’s perspective. SCOR can be used to describe virtually any supply chain,
whether training employees to make ice cream or launch the space shuttle.
Barriers to Implementation
Understanding the evolution and demonstrated success of improvement
methods raises some hard questions:
1. Why are top manufacturing and services business leaders, who need
every operational improvement possible, not demanding immediate
implementation of these proven methodologies in their organizations?
• The single biggest barrier is a lack of supply chain understand-
ing by business leaders. Lack of a common framework, language,
assessment, and improvement tools makes understanding sup-
ply chain difficult and few have learned this from their career
experience.
• Poor implementation of improvement methodologies is another

cause of slow deployment. Many times failure leads to excuses;
for example, “the methodology doesn’t work in our business.”
There are many reasons why the implementation fails, but it is
never the fault of the methodology. It is more likely a failure of
leadership.
2. Why do very good companies not have their supply chains designed
and fully aligned to deliver their value proposition every day?
• Most companies are managed in “silos” and focus on operational
excellence of the pieces—sourcing, manufacturing, logistics—
rather than the end-to-end supply chain.
• Strategy in most businesses stops with sales, marketing, and
product development. There is little time spent ensuring
alignment of operations to deliver performance required for
business strategy success.
• Most companies fail to develop their own version of the Toyota
Production System. This means they are missing an opportunity
to focus on improvement of their system as a whole. As a result,
they have an operational system for every plant, which results in
time wasted deciding how things should be done at each one.
3. Why hasn’t a common language and methodology for supply chain
assessment been adopted?
• The curriculum in business schools is inadequate and fre-
quently doesn’t provide significant understanding of operations
management.
• Professors fall into the same trap as practitioners; they become
familiar with one improvement methodology, teach it, and
believe it is superior to the others.
• Supply chain consulting companies convince customers that
their unique methodology adds value and have no interest in
adopting a common assessment framework and methodology.
4. Why is the adoption of proven best practices so slow?
• Consultants attempt to extend the life of a particular method-
ology by integrating tools from “competing” methodologies,
creating new labels, and proclaiming the result is the integra-
tion of the two methodologies. An example of this is Lean Six
Sigma: A consultant integrates selective Lean tools into his or her
roblem-solving approach and calls it Lean, disregarding the fact

p
that Lean is an operational system.
• Adopters and consultants focus only on tools to solve spe-
cific problems and neglect to integrate the true purpose and
principles of improvement methodologies into their company
cultures, for example, by applying Lean System’s tools to solve
specific problems without understanding their underlying
purpose, which is to build an end-to-end supply chain sys-
tem. The Lean System is an operational supply chain platform
with continuous improvement inherently built into the system.
Applying Lean tools without this understanding may produce
short-term gains but no sustainable long-term transformational
improvement.
• Software market leaders also contribute to slow adoption of best
practices by continuing to sell their products with the implied
promise that customers are getting the latest best practices embed-
ded in their products. An example is the Lean pull system. Only
recently have major enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
suppliers begun to integrate electronic pull signal capability into
their systems. Pressure from customers and small startups with
pull system functionality has led big ERP players to start sup-
porting electronic Kanban. It is a beginning, but not sufficient to
support a Lean operational system.
• Myriad voices advocating various solutions and views of supply
chain are another part of the problem. Lean, Six Sigma, TOC,
and SCOR are being used by companies to improve competitive-
ness but are implemented separately, for example, by different
departments or different plants. As a result, there is often friction
among the groups advocating each methodology.
• Advocates, who proclaim their position, view, and methodology
as the “right one” and insist anyone serious about improvement
must adopt it, limit progress.
Business leaders will take decisive action when an improvement strategy

and methodology can be effectively deployed based on proven results. The
next chapter provides a comparative analysis of the various improvement
methodologies and their convergence into a Sustainable Improvement
Roadmap.
References
Bolsdorf, Peter, and Robert Rosenbaum. Supply chain excellence. New York: Amacom, 2003.
Goldratt, Eli, and Jeff Cox. ἀe goal. Great Barrington, MA: North River Press, 1984.
Ohno, Taiichi. Toyota production system: Beyond large-scale production. Cambridge, MA:
Productivity Press, 1988.
Rother, Mike, and John Shook. Learning to see. Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise
Institute, 2003.
Schonberger, Richard. Japanese manufacturing techniques. New York: Free Press, 1982.
3
Sustainable Improvement Roadmap
Comparing Continuous
Improvement Strategies
Business leaders need a holistic continuous improvement strategy and

methodology that assesses the end-to-end supply chain and supplies
tools and practices for improving all capabilities in light of their busi-
ness’s priorities. Lean, Six Sigma, TOC (Theory of Constraints), and
SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference model) have produced good
results that have contributed to improving competitiveness, but they
do not always create long-term, end-to-end sustainable supply chain
improvement.
Is it possible these approaches are all good, but individually none of them
represents the optimum solution to sustainable operational competitive-
ness? Are they conflicting or complementary? Can they be used together
in a way that is more powerful than using them alone? Are there some
gaps that remain unfilled even using all of these methodologies?
Before jumping to conclusions, we need to define the criteria and attri-
butes a proposed solution would contain. The following criteria would
ensure the supply chain operational performance necessary to enable a
sustainable market leading position. The solution would be
1. designed and operated to deliver the business’s value proposition,

2. operated across all participants from suppliers to customers opti-
mizing total supply chain added value,
3. designed and operated with known best practices to ensure com-
petitive excellence,
47
4. connected to customers’ definition of value added and able to adapt

to changing customer and market needs, and
5. improved continuously at a rate faster than that of key competitors,
using maximum organizational potential ensuring a sustainable
competitive advantage.
What would be the attributes of a supply chain improvement process

that delivers supply chains meeting these criteria? All of the method-
ologies summarized in Chapter 2 have strengths and limitations. By
synthesizing these methodologies, the strengths of one can be exam-
ined against the limitations of another to see if the convergence of these
methodologies can remedy all identified limitations. This process con-
structs the mosaic of a converged methodology, resulting in a robust pro-
cess capable of sustainable results. It creates a Sustainable Improvement
Roadmap (SIR).
SCOR: Strengths and Limitations

SCOR has much to contribute to the Sustainable Improvement Roadmap,
but it has certain limitations as well (see Figure 3.1).
Strengths
SCOR is a top-down approach to supply chain assessment with a holistic
business view of the entire supply chain and its processes. This ensures
assessment outcomes linked to the business’s competitive basis. External
benchmarking provides a business with a fact-based reality check of its
operational competitiveness. Benchmark-quantified performance gaps
provide the basis for a business case connected to true root causes through
the multilevel decomposition model, thus increasing assessment credibil-
ity. An end-state vision is created through a “to be” state, which drives
project selection priorities ensuring improvement projects that improve
the entire system.
In sum, SCOR’s standardized language and supply chain assessment
methodology offer numerous advantages including
Sustainable Improvement Roadmap • 49
SCOR
Operational Definition Strengths and Limitations
SCOR Strengths
Definition End to end supply chain • Top-down approach
assessment methodology using
metrics, benchmarking, process • Scope includes the entire supply chain
decomposition models and best • Enables supply chain performance and practice benchmarking
practices
• Focus on value creation for customers
• End state driven project selection
Purpose Design and improve supply • Supply chain level metrics for system performance
chains by applying known best • Enables business case development
practices
• Includes all the processes
• Establishes a common language and tools
Project Disconnects, process & practice • Internal and external supply chain metrics
Identification gaps
• Metric and activity alignment across organizational boundaries
• Continuous regeneration of improvement opportunities
• Aligns all supply chain activities with customer and competitive
requirements
Problem Prescriptive best practices
Solving • Prescriptive best practice identified
SCOR Limitations
Performance External and internal KPI’s • Top-down approach
Measurement • Assessment only process
• Doesn’t build companywide operational processes
• Superficial top management understanding
Infrastructure/ SCOR expertise • Lack of process definition for managing supply chain collaboration
Engagement supply chain knowledge
• Lack of process definition for execution management processes
• Lack of scientific problem solving to improve unit operations
performance–yields, run times, quality, etc.
• Not fully aligned with Lean metrics
Figure 3.1
SCOR: Operational definition, strengths and limitations.
• a reality check on operational excellence,

• assessments that are easy to integrate into annual strategic plan-
ning processes,
• assistance in competitive analysis because understanding financial
performance of competitors can be linked to advantageous or disad-
vantageous process areas,
• a financial business case that is easily built from Level 1 bench-
marked data, and
• a long-term sustainable operational competitive advantage that can
be built through continued assessment process use.
Internal and external metrics link business requirements to total sup-

ply chain operations across all functional boundaries. Linked multilevel
SCOR metrics ensure relevance and alignment of operational metrics

across organizations and programs to improve supply chains.
Limitations
SCOR is an assessment process, so it has no capability to resolve core
operational issues such as run time, yield, or quality defects. Its top-down
process does not fully engage an organization in assessment, project selec-
tion, or implementation. This implies that it can be an important com-
ponent of building a continuous improvement culture in a business, but
the lack of full organizational engagement makes it difficult to capture all
business team members’ minds and hearts. Without full organizational
engagement, the continuous improvement potential of a business will
never be achieved. Business leaders relate to Level 1 performance metrics
and benchmarking, but few have enough desire to understand SCOR at a
deeper level. This does not mean it can’t be effective, but using SCOR as a
primary component of strategic planning is difficult to achieve.
Finally, SCOR was launched in 1996, and much has been learned since
then about improving supply chain performance. Lack of deep rela-
tionships or collaboration processes is a gap in SCOR. It treats these
as an enabling process. (An enabling process is a prerequisite for the
success of an operational process.) In the case of SCOR, the plan is the
operational process; the collaboration of participants enables the best
practices of the plan process. This is logical but doesn’t recognize that
collaboration is no longer restricted to planning. The highest perform-
ing supply chains are interconnected operationally, as when kanban
signals from one company automatically generate replenishment from
another. Cost targets and projects that are done collaboratively between
customers and their suppliers are other examples of the types of com-
mon collaboration.
One only has to examine the PRTM maturity model to understand the
overall performance and magnitude of shared benefit collaboration among
all supply chain participants. (PRTM is a management consulting group.
For in-depth information about the PRTM model, see Cohen and Roussel,
2005.) It is fair to conclude that collaboration is a supply chain’s brain
and nerve system and not simply an enabling process for planning. Doug
Lambert’s book Supply Chain Management (2004) does an excellent job of
defining collaboration processes, their importance, and how to segment

participants to achieve effective collaboration.
Another gap in SCOR is the lack of direct metric alignment and support
for Lean. In the Lean world, traditional terms such as schedule attainment
have no meaning. Every schedule in a Lean System is a market-generated
pull, whether it is a make-to-stock, make-to-order, or engineer-to-order
schedule. Lean is both the proven best operational system known today
and the operational execution best practice.
SCOR still contains references to metrics for schedule attainment,
an obsolete concept because no rationale exists for planning system-
generated orders. Because Lean replenishment methods respond to actual
demand, there are no forecast-based replenishment orders to fill. What
matters is compliance with pull signals and loop times for replenishing
supermarkets.
This leads to another SCOR process gap. The last ten years have brought
great understanding about managing execution. The concept that execu-
tion is a subset of planning is obsolete because planning systems should
provide the proper state of readiness based on execution system param-
eters. Since planning systems should not launch orders, what could be the
logic for continuing the current thinking?
Another high-level process called Execution should be added to the cur-
rent Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and Return processes. The Execution
process is a “twin” to the Plan process and not simply a Plan process
enabler. The Execution process dynamically uses real-time events to
manage execution across the other five Level 1 SCOR processes. It is sales
and operations planning on steroids, not simply reacting to events but
sensing events early enough to take preventive actions such as chang-
ing plans or planning parameters so a negative consequence is avoided.
Military leaders often say, even perfect plans become out of date once the
first shot is fired; this is also true in business. Execution is essential to
supply chain competitive advantage; it can’t be treated as a subset of the
Level 1 Plan process.
It is understood today that execution management and planning
excellence are equally important for success. The planning-dominant
paradigm era is over and supply chain tools for assessment and design
must also change from planning-based supply chain management to
execution-based supply chain management.
Lean: Strengths and Limitations

Lean is a holistic supply chain operational system best practice with imbedded
continuous improvement capability linked to customer value (see Figure 3.2).
Strengths
Value stream future-state mapping creates an end-state system designed
to drive the right process improvement, adding value to customers and
improving business results. The repetitive cycle of standardize, level load,
stabilize, and create flow ensures continuous regeneration of improvement
opportunities as perfection is pursued.
Hoshin kanri (policy deployment) ensures complete alignment of met-
rics and projects across the organization connecting their efforts to busi-
ness priorities. Lean’s easily understood standard practices lead to fast
gains as time is not used in developing a new solution.
Problem solving in lean is a combination of prescriptive standard prac-
tices and scientific problem solving. This allows for development of new
LEAN System
Operational Definitions Strengths and Limitations
Lean Strengths
Definition An integrated operating system • Scope is all operational supply chain processes
of values, principles, practices,
tools, and techniques • Focus on value creation for customers
• Builds companywide operational system
Purpose Increase customer value by
• End-state driven project selection
optimizing supply chain
resources forever • Regenerates opportunity forever
• Metric and activity alignment across
organizational boundaries
Project • Future state to current state • Prescriptive best practice solutions
Identification value stream map gaps
• Scientific problem-solving method
• Visible defects
• Total organizational involvement
• Establishes common language and tools
Problem • Prescriptive practices • Builds continuous improvement culture
Solving • PDCA
Lean Limitations
Performance External and internal KPI’s • Top management understanding is superficial
Measurement • Difficult to scale
• Rigor can suffer without management engagement
Infrastructure/ • Lean expertise • Difficult to tie to the bottom line at the start
• Team leaders • Includes only operational processes
Figure 3.2
Lean: Operational definition, strengths and limitations.
solutions when no existing Lean prescriptive solution applies. Lean engages

the entire organization in improvement and places shop floor operators at
the system’s center, so continuous improvement is part of everyone’s job.
Finally, Lean builds a continuous improvement system and culture with a
common language, tools, goals, and objectives.
Limitations
Top management normally finds Lean difficult to understand. Taiichi
Ohno (1988) didn’t approve of written documentation about the Toyota
Production System development. He considered it a waste of time and
instructed his engineers to spend their time on the shop floor improving
operations.
There is much tacit knowledge in Lean because it evolved through
practice and has been passed down through verbal sharing of experience
(Womack et al., 1989). Only recently could Lean be explained by a set of
principles and concepts that tie its practices together into a system. This
has made understanding Lean quite difficult. It is like trying to under-
stand the entire universe by looking through a telescope that can focus on
only one star at a time.
A broader perspective was needed to facilitate understanding Lean’s
wide variety of processes and tools (Womack et al., 1989). Lean is not eas-
ily scaled up. The fastest complete systems implementations take two to
three years, as an organization absorbs an immense amount of specific
knowledge and applies it to its value streams. Building a team of internal
Lean experts also takes two to three years before members have imple-
mented all Lean system practices, and even then, they have achieved only
a novice status as Lean coaches.
The third limitation is reliance on committed shop floor management
time to sustain gains and to lead the next level of improvement. This
requires commitment from the entire organization to support the dedi-
cated time needed by plant or supply chain leaders to make Lean success-
ful. It also takes enlightened financial leadership to either change some
of the financial operational measurements or educate their organizations
on how to look at financial benefits created by Lean. Sometimes the early
results from Lean are difficult to tie to the bottom line. For example, the
freeing up of space in a plant, which occurs early in implementation, is not
necessarily viewed as a financial benefit. Unless there is a need for more
equipment to make the product ready for sale, this space is not valued in
traditional financial systems. Another example is inventory reduction. This
improvement in working capital will likely cause a short-term reduction in
output, which will reflect negatively on factory costs or cost of goods as a
percentage of sales metrics. This takes some faith from top management.
Results will start coming in year one, but financial metrics of the business
may not show positive gains during the first six months.
Last, Lean includes only operational processes and not other required
processes, such as supply chain network design, planning processes for
materials and capacity planning, and tools to solve complex multivariable
process problems. Lean needs to be supported by these processes, but it
doesn’t actually define network design or materials and capacity planning
processes. However, none of this detracts from the observable fact that Lean
is the world’s best operational system known today.
Six Sigma: Strengths and Limitations

Six Sigma is project centric, focusing on the resolution of specific defects
in order to provide measurable business benefits (see Figure 3.3).
Strengths
Six Sigma should measure only hard savings, cost, or cash benefits actually
tracked to an operating budget, inventory, accounts payable, or accounts
receivable balance. This assures that some true net financial benefit will
show up in the profit and loss statement. Six Sigma creates a companywide
improvement methodology allowing salaried team members to engage in
problem solving, maximizing their improvement capacity.
Six Sigma requires investment in an infrastructure of experts for imple-
mentation and ongoing support. Because training is focused on deploy-
ment of the tool set, it is relatively easy to scale up quickly.
Six Sigma’s fact-based problem-solving rigor gives a good level of con-
fidence that true root causes are being addressed, and creates data-based
thinking throughout the organization.
Buy-in with respect to projects solutions is created using an acceptance
strategy that is part of the implementation process. This is accomplished
through the use of tools such as stakeholder and force field analysis.
Six Sigma
Operational Definitions Strengths and Limitations
Definition A structured improvement Six Sigma Strengths

methodology using a standard • Scope is specific process defects reduction
approach and statistical tools
• Establishes a common language and tools
• Easily scalable
• Scientific problem-solving method
Purpose Reduce process variability • Bottom-line oriented
• Top management relates to it easily
Project Keys issues or process • Control plan to keep the gains

Identification problems • Acceptance strategy and tools
Problem Prescriptive DMAIC problem-

solving method Six Sigma Limitations
Solving
• Scope is specific process defects reduction
Performance Specific process and project • Potential for KPI disconnect
Measurement metrics • Lack of clear connection to best system improvements
• No prescriptive solutions
Infrastructure/ • Six Sigma expertise • Bottoms-up opportunity generation
Engagement • MBB/BB/GB resources
• Ad hoc teams • Limited engagement of the shop floor team members
• Runs out of high value projects
• Doesn’t build a continuous improvement culture
Figure 3.3
Six Sigma: Operational definition, strengths and limitations.
Rigorous control plans are established as a part of finalizing projects to

ensure improvements become permanent and bottom-line business ben-
efits are realized. In addition to direct financial benefits, Six Sigma devel-
ops leaders and contributes positively to company culture. The common
language and toolset facilitates cross-functional projects and improved
problem solving and team skills throughout the organization.
Six Sigma’s final strength is that its project focus, measurable defect
elimination, and direct financial benefits are easily understood by the
business’s leadership and aligned with their need to meet the annual busi-
ness objectives.
Limitations
Six Sigma identifies projects that resolve known process defects and varia-
tions or gaps between current performance and the requirements of the
operating plan. What Six Sigma doesn’t have is assessment tools that look
at overall supply chain or plant processes to continuously generate oppor-
tunities and connect improvements to the entire system. A good example
is the common use of Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems for
forecasting, planning, and order generation.
Six Sigma could be used to fix specific defects that occur in forecasting,
planning, and order generation, but it is not designed to challenge the
push planning concepts that are the basis of MRP systems. This leads
to two issues: (1) Systemwide assessment of projects can’t be done to
ensure that projects with the best total system impact receive the high-
est priority, and (2) projects may be implemented that have a positive
impact on one step in the process, but an offsetting effect on another
process.
Six Sigma programs normally train only salaried personnel, leaving
shop floor team members feeling excluded. An opportunity to engage the
entire organization in continuous improvement is therefore missed.
Six Sigma organizational infrastructure can also lead to a rigid and
exclusive view of continuous improvement. Corporate Six Sigma organi-
zations have a tendency to force-fit every other improvement methodology
into the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) framework.
There is nothing wrong with the inclusion of Lean tools, for example, in
the Six Sigma toolkit. What is wrong is selling this combined solution
as Lean or Lean Six Sigma, implying that this captures the real essence
and purpose of Lean. This distortion contributes to the difficulty business
leaders have in understanding the various improvement methodologies
available and their relative value.
Six Sigma has no process or tools for ensuring complete alignment of
metrics and projects across the entire organization. Goal trees, also called
Y-trees, are used to align projects with business goals. This isn’t effective
in assuring alignment of metrics across organizations nor in prioritizing
projects to meet the metrics. This can lead to less than optimum results at
minimum, and potentially projects that serve one function well while not
contributing to overall business improvement.
Six Sigma solutions are developed during each project because prescrip-
tive solutions are not a part of Six Sigma. This is one reason for projects
taking months to reach fruition, as solutions have to be identified, devel-
oped, tested, and then implemented. Even using shared project databases
and encouraging replication of solutions are minimally effective in creat-
ing prescriptive solutions.
Finally, the assessment tools, which continually regenerate high-value
projects, are missing in Six Sigma. A few years of eliminating low-hanging
fruit results in a declining number of Black Belt projects, making return
on infrastructure investment more difficult to justify.
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n ce : Pa u l
Le a n G iv e s a n O r g a n iz a t io n N e w E y e s wit h
Wh ich t o S e e O ppo r t u n it ie s t o Impr o v e
For five years, 3M saw tremendous improvements in cost, quality,
and service. By the fifth year, it became more challenging to iden-
tify big-impact projects with significant financial benefits. Six Sigma
needed a shot in the arm: a new approach to continue filling project
hoppers with significant projects. Lean brought a new way to look
at our value streams and helped us identify big new improvement
opportunities, refilling our project hoppers and continuing signifi-
cant progress.
Theory of Constraints:
Strengths and Limitations
TOC is a top–down improvement methodology that defines the entire
business as the scope of the system to be improved (see Figure 3.4).
Strengths
The heart of the methodology is the focus on the system constraint, which
ensures that all resources are applied to maximize the system improve-
ment benefit.
Systems always have constraints to be eliminated, so TOC will always
regenerate opportunities for improvement. Markets and customers even-
tually become the constraint when there is more capacity available than
the amount of product the organization is currently able to sell. This places
the customer at the center as the constraint.
The TOC thinking process is based on the scientific method; that is, it
identifies the root cause(s) of a problem and develops effective solutions. The
thinking process is useful for making incremental and breakthrough impro-
vements. The TOC methodology also provides a set of concepts for building
a plant or supply chain’s order scheduling and flow control processes.
Operational Definitions Strengths and Limitations
Definition A methodology that increases TOC Strengths

systems throughput by • Top-down driven
optimizing and/or eliminating
the constraint • Focuses improvement on the constraint
• Regenerates opportunity forever
Purpose Increase enterprise value by • Scientific problem-solving method
optimizing supply chain
throughput, T/I, and T/OE • Breakthrough improvement method
• Concepts to build the operational order scheduling
Project Identification of the constraint and control system
Identification in the system
• Easy to tie to the bottom line
• Concepts to increase market share when it is the
Problem TOC thinking process constraint
Solving
TOC Limitations
Performance System throughput • Top management understanding
Measurement • Limited tools and practices to build the operational
system
Infrastructure/ • TOC expertise • Complex unique language
engagement • Natural teams • Limited engagement of the shop floor team members
• Team leaders
Figure 3.4
Theory of constraints: strengths and limitations.
Limitations
The unique language and thinking process of the TOC is not readily under-
stood by top management, which is a barrier to its effective use across
the enterprise. The entire company leadership team must be on board in
leading the use of TOC across the company because at some point in the
journey the constraint will move to all the operating functions in the orga-
nization. If TOC is applied only in manufacturing and the supply chain
without total organizational involvement, maximum potential benefit will
not be achieved.
It also takes enlightened financial leadership to change some of the finan-
cial operational measurements or educate the organization on how to look
at the financial benefits created by TOC. Becoming proficient in applying
TOC takes time, again, because the language and rigorous improvement
methodology are not easily understood.
TOC thinking provides no prescriptive solutions but rather a very rig-
orous scientific method problem-solving process. It ensures focus on the
most important defect, the real problem is well understood, root causes
are defined, and implementation will treat all the root causes and mitigate
any unintended consequences.
The TOC process and language complexity along with the top-down
nature of TOC is not conducive to engaging the shop floor. The TOC
thinking process has great merit and is unique; on the other hand, the
use of TOC concepts to design the operational system has no unique
value. The depth and rigor of the Lean System is more robust and satis-
fies the design objectives of Drum Buffer Rope; it just does it in a dif-
ferent way.
TOC thinking should be applied when analyzing value stream maps
to make sure the right things are being improved. The thinking process
should be included in the improvement tools for root cause analysis, and
TOC should be the tool of choice when a breakthrough is needed.

With an understanding of strengths and weaknesses of SCOR, Lean, Six
Sigma, and TOC, one has to ask the following:
• Can these methodologies be used together to create a more robust

business improvement methodology?
• Can a Sustainable Improvement Roadmap (SIR) be defined that
doesn’t try to force-fit these powerful methodologies into one
another, but creates a new improvement approach that applies each
system’s collective strengths to create a more powerful continuous
improvement methodology?
The Sustainable Improvement Roadmap’s attributes are drawn from

the collective strengths of current improvement methodologies. In addi-
tion, the capability needed to mitigate any remaining limitations is
identified. This provides the opportunity for innovations in continuous
improvement methodologies.
Figure 3.5 summarizes the improvement methodologies’ collective
strengths and limitations. Strengths and limitations that mitigate each
other are grouped at the top (see column headed “Strengths That Mitigate
Limitations”). At the bottom of the left column, additional collective
strengths are enumerated. Some specific methodology strengths were
not included as they apply to only a particular methodology and don’t
Summary of Strengths and Unmitigated Limitations
Strengths That Mitigate Limitations
SCOR Limitations
Scope includes the entire supply chain – – Scope is specific process defects reduction
SCOR Strengths
End state driven project selection – – Bottom-up approach opportunity generation
Focuses improvement on the constraint – – Lack of clear connection to best system improvements
Includes all the processes – – Includes only operational processes
Metric and activity alignment across – Potential for KPI disconnect
organizational boundaries –
Prescriptive best practice identified –
– No prescriptive solutions
Prescriptive best practice solutions –
Six Sigma limitations

Scientific problem–solving method – – Lack of scientific problem solving to improve unit
Six Sigma Strengths
operations performance – yields, run times, quality, etc.

Bottom-line oriented –
– Difficult to tie to the bottom line at the start
Continuous regeneration of improvement
opportunities – – Run out of high value projects
Control plan to keep the gains – – Rigor can suffer without management engagement
– Doesn’t build companywide operational processes
Builds a companywide operational system –
– Assessment only process
– Not fully aligned with Lean metrics
Lean Limitations
Total organization engagement – – Limited engagement of the shop floor team members
Builds continuous improvement culture – – Doesn’t build a continuous improvement culture
Lean Strengths
Additional Strengths Unmitigated Limitations

Breakthrough improvement method –
Top-down improvement approach – – Difficult to scale
Enables supply chain performance – Superficial top management understanding
TOC Limitations
and practice benchmarking –
– Complex unique language
Focus on value creation for customers –
– Lack of process definition for managing supply
Internal and external supply chain levels
chain collaboration
metrics for systems performance –
Enables a business case for improvements – – Lack of process definition for execution
management processes
TOC Strengths
Establishes a common language & tools –
Easily scalable –
Top management relates to it easily –
Acceptance strategy and tools –
Figure 3.5
Strengths and limitations.
mitigate limitations of other methodologies. An example is the ease of

scalability of Six Sigma, which doesn’t mitigate the difficulty of scaling
Lean across an enterprise. At the bottom of the right column, limitations
that have not been mitigated are listed. Some unmitigated limitations
must be recognized and addressed when applying SIR to ensure success.
These limitations serve to identify needs for future continuous improve-
ment methodology innovation.
Resolving the Unmitigated Limitations

The five unmitigated limitations of SIR are as follows:
1. It is difficult to scale.
2. There is superficial top management understanding.
3. It has a complex unique language.
4. There is a lack of execution management process definition.
5. There is a lack of supply chain collaboration process definition.
Difficult to Scale
The Sustainable Improvement Roadmap elements are difficult to scale

because they are transformative processes and practices. Six Sigma,
TOC, and SCOR, with leadership commitment including infrastructure
investment, can be scaled up across the entire organization, rapidly pro-
ducing very significant savings in the first year.
Lean operations transformation can’t be taught and applied across an entire
organization, like Six Sigma, because it relies on gaining bottom-up under-
standing and engagement. This is not a weakness of Lean, just recognition of
a reality. Lean requires time to mature to institutionalize powerful cultural
change. This cultural change depends on aligning the entire management
structure’s thinking and action, a formidable task that requires persistence
and time. It takes two to three years with complete commitment to achieve a
mature Lean operational system in a plant. The only solution to the difficulty
of scaling Lean is the absolute commitment of top leadership along with suf-
ficient dedicated resources to minimize Lean System maturation time.
Superficial Top Management Understanding
Business leaders need a level of supply chain understanding in order to be

an effective implementation champion. There is no substitute for investing
the time necessary to learn a better approach and way of managing the
total operations improvement of the business.
Complex Unique Language
Only TOC’s problem-solving process uses a complex and unique language

that takes time to understand, much less apply. Unless a person intends
to routinely use the TOC problem-solving approach, it is best to locate a

trained practitioner who has used the TOC method many times.
Lack of Execution Management Process Definition
There is strong empirical evidence disproving the assumption that execu-

tion is simply an extension of planning. This view has dominated ever
since MRP became a common approach in the late 1970s.
The Toyota Production System provided the first evidence that the sched-
uling process should not be linked to planning and execution processes.
For four decades, since the Toyota Production System introduced the pull
system, it has proven itself the best way to schedule. Scheduling is not an
extension of planning; rather actual sales to customers trigger schedules.
All supply chain operations are synchronized by a set of pull systems not
triggered by planning systems.
A planning system has a very important role in ensuring resources are
in place to support execution. It should bring issues needing action to the
surface and support the effective balance of supply resources and demand
variability, but it should not be used to trigger or manage execution.
The plan should establish and maintain demand-related inventory con-
trol parameters to increase or decrease finished goods inventory when
future events indicate changes are needed.
The second evidence that scheduling should not be linked to plan-
ning and execution processes is the increasing use of dynamic execution
management processes and tools. The planning process establishes the
parameters within which operations are expected to meet service, qual-
ity, and cost objectives, for example, customer demand level. The plan-
ning process establishes the top and bottom boundaries within which
the operations are expected to flex while meeting operational objectives.
These boundaries reflect an operation’s flexibility and response capa-
bility, which have been designed into these boundaries. When demand
goes outside the top boundary, action must be taken immediately to pre-
vent a customer service failure. Materials must be expedited, additional
overtime approved, people hired, shifts added, and outsourcing partners
used. The point is that none of this directly involves the planning system,
as its role is to provide the state of preparedness. Execution manage-
ment is a Level 1 process that should be positioned side by side with the
Plan process in SCOR. In their book Strategic Supply Chain Management
(2005), Cohen and Roussel provide an example from Seagate Technology

to demonstrate this point. Seagate is dynamically managing order ful-
fillment based on orders from customers by utilizing many IT suppliers
to support dynamic demand and supply management. Companies will
have to define their own processes and practices until more published
content is available.
Lack of Supply Chain Collaboration Process Definition

The thinking and evolving practices of collaboration across supply chains
is beyond the ability of current methodologies such as SCOR. SCOR treats
collaboration as an extension of planning, defining it as a best practice.
Planning collaboration is certainly a component of collaboration, but it is
not all of collaboration. Collaboration includes execution, product devel-
opment, and internal communication to successfully meet business goals.
SCOR processes need to be updated to add collaboration as a Level 1
process reflecting today’s reality. Collaboration can’t be treated as sim-
ply an enabling process element within Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and
Return processes. There is valuable work going on that is beginning to
develop operational processes definitions.
In Strategic Supply Chain Management, Cohen and Roussel provide val
uable insight into the importance of collaboration in describing PRTM’s
Supply Chain Maturity Model. The model makes clear that collaboration
is as important as practice excellence in the total value gained by sup-
ply chain participants. Other important work involving collaboration has
been done by Doug Lambert of Supply Chain Forum. In the first edition
(2004) of Doug’s book Supply Chain Management, the collaboration pro-
cess is defined. In the second edition (2005), Doug provides collaboration
assessment tools to identify improvement opportunities. In the next few
years, more detailed process definitions and best practices will become
available, but until then companies will have to use the information avail-
able to define their own approach to collaboration.
Attributes of the Sustainable Improvement Roadmap:

Strengths and Solutions for the Unmitigated Limitations
Five criteria defined at the beginning of this chapter are supported by attri-
butes of SIR. SIR integrates the best of current methodologies and provides
direction for filling the remaining gaps. Sustainable operational competitive

leadership is achievable through consistent and long-term SIR deployment.
1. Designed and operated to deliver the business’s value proposition.

• Internal and external supply chain–level metrics for systems
performance
• Top-down improvement approach
• Builds a companywide operational system
• Bottom-line oriented
• Metric and activity alignment across organizational boundaries
2. Operated across all participants from suppliers to customers opti-

mizing total supply chain added value.
• Scope includes the entire supply chain
• Includes all processes
• Supports end-to-end collaboration
• Dynamic execution management process
3. Designed and operated with known best practices to ensure com-

petitive excellence.
4. Connected to customers’ definition of value added and able to adapt

to changing customer and market needs.
• Focuses on value creation for customers
• Enables supply chain performance and practice benchmarking
5. Improved continuously at the maximum potential of the organiza-

tion to ensure sustainable competitive advantage.
• Enables a business case for improvements
• Establishes a common language and toolset
• Includes an acceptance strategy and tools
• Contains a breakthrough improvement method
• Builds a continuous improvement culture
• Engages the total organization
• Establishes control plans to keep the gains
• Continuously regenerates improvement opportunities
• Prescribes best practice solutions
• Applies the scientific problem-solving method
• Selects projects based on achieving the end state

• Focuses improvement on the constraint
Impact of SIR
SIR is created by the capabilities of four methodologies converging to
provide a robust process to continuously improve supply chain competi-
tive advantage in alignment with the value proposition of the business.
Implementation of SIR is strategic, as market and product strategies will
be supported by necessary and sufficient operational performance. No
business will maintain a sustainable market leadership position without a
continuous improvement strategy and methodology.
References
Cohen, Shoshanah, and Joseph Roussel. Strategic supply chain management. New York:
McGraw Hill, 2005.
Lambert, Doug. Supply chain management. Sarasota, FL: Supply Management Institute,
2004.
Lambert, Doug. Supply chain management. Sarasota, FL: Supply Management Institute,
2006.
Ohno, Taiichi. Toyota production system: Beyond large-scale production. Cambridge MA:
4
The Role of the CEO:
Creating the Vision
A leader’s vision defines direction and goals, and sets priorities for the
improvements to the supply chain required to create or increase a com-
petitive advantage. Various tools, such as benchmarking, simulation mod-
eling, and value stream mapping are used to construct a current-state view
of the supply chain, define goals, and identify the changes. The analytical
process is used to answer key supply chain strategic and operational per-
formance questions such as
• What distinct supply chains exist within our business?

• What is each supply chain’s competitive reality?
• Is there a supply chain vision to deliver competitive advantage for
customers?
• How does current financial and operational performance compare
with that of peer companies and competitors in the markets served?
• How do current practices compare with best practices of leading
companies and industries?
• What supply chain priority improvements are needed?
• How can organizations be energized and motivated by committing
to transformational change?
Step one in applying SIR (Sustainable Improvement Roadmap) is to cre-

ate a compelling vision that will address these questions.
67
Le a d e r s G e t R e s u lt s , bu t T h e y A r e
Als o O blig a t e d t o Be Bu ild e r s
Twenty-plus years ago, I was a plant manager and my daughter gave
me a framed quotation from the old testament, Proverbs 29:18 Where
there is no vision, the people perish. I have had this on the front of my
desk as I moved through nine assignments since then. It reminds
me every day that operational performance is a minimum standard,
providing a clear vision to which the organization should aspire and
by which it should be challenged, and is a leadership obligation. We
are fortunate to be given the opportunity to lead; we need to be sure
that we are good stewards of what we are given and leave things for
the next generation better than we found them.
How to Formulate the Vision: First

Face Reality, Then Communicate It
In his book Confronting Reality (2004), Larry Bossidy states, “The tools,
practices, and behaviors that will distinguish success from failure can
be summed up in one phrase: relentless realism” (p.12). Frequently lead-
ers with good intentions fail to confront reality because they don’t want
to take the risk transformational change requires. The process always
involves organizational uncertainty, potentially affecting people who have
been colleagues for many years. The leader also assumes significant career
risk because of the potential for failure or board of director impatience.
Another common reality is avoidance behavior resulting from arro-
gance brought on by past success. Companies with strong intellectual
property or with superior market positions frequently believe “we’re dif-
ferent,” “we’re better,” or “that won’t happen to us.”
Unfortunately avoiding reality leads to the worst outcomes for lead-
ers, companies, and their employees because it opens opportunities for
aggressive competitors. Leaders are responsible for keeping organizations
grounded in reality, as competitive advantage is temporary and must be
The Role of the CEO: Creating the Vision • 69
continuously built and maintained. Most people want to know exactly

where they stand and they respect leaders who keep them grounded in
reality. Executives who shield people from reality and its risk also deny
them an opportunity to make choices involving their careers, families,
and the company. Doing this underestimates people and does not recog-
nize their ability to make right choices.
Organizations are motivated to embrace change when their members
are fully informed about the risks to success of their company, and they
feel leadership respects them as full partners in company success. Toyota’s
leadership demonstrated this in 2002 when they asked all plants and sup-
pliers to reduce costs by 30 to 40 percent in three years to counter emerg-
ing threats from Korean and Chinese auto manufacturers. By 2004 the
Georgetown, Kentucky, engine plant was well on its way toward achieving
these goals, a clear demonstration of Toyota’s forward thinking and the
power of Lean continuous improvement.
Le a d e r s A r e R e s po n s ible f o r H o ld in g t h e
R e a lit y Mir r o r u p t o t h e E n t ir e C o mpa n y
Leading a supply chain analysis project at a $1.5-billion company,
the cross-functional team identified over $40 million of opportuni-
ties across the enterprise. To achieve these savings required signifi-
cant changes in its organization, processes, and people. Two years
later, almost no hard savings had been achieved in spite of a large
and well-organized Six Sigma capability. Executive-level motivation
did not exist to inflict transformational change on the company as
their near-term survival didn’t depend on it. Forward-thinking team
members saw the elephant in the room, as they had made careful
comparisons to key competitors and knew the company was behind
in implementing leading management methods and industry best
practices. Leaders should never underestimate the intelligence of
their team; it will kill credibility.
Sustaining transformational change requires a motivated and committed

team that believes its professional and personal success is linked directly
to transformation success. Facing reality’s threats, risks, and opportunities

generates energy to embrace radical change and creates commitment vital
to overcoming barriers in a long journey of change. Once an organization
is ready to face reality, the conditions are present to begin applying SIR.
The Sustainable Improvement Roadmap

SIR uses three tools to define the current operational performance reality and
create the information required to gain total team commitment to change.
1. Financial performance comparison to competitive and peer compa-

nies in the same market.
2. SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference model) benchmarking
vis-à-vis peer companies in the same market or from best-performing
industries.
3. Material and work and information flow analysis using SCOR and
Lean current-state versus future-state value stream maps.
Examination of reality starts by establishing a clear picture of current

financial and operational performance, and creating knowledge for devel-
oping a strategic approach to competing effectively. Since the scope of SCOR
assessment is the entire supply chain and all of its processes, SIR starts by
applying SCOR, defining individual supply chains within the business.
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n ce : D a n a n d Pa u l
Ma n a g e t o Me e t D if f e r e n t E x pe ct a t io n s
3M floppy disk manufacturing was an intensely competitive business
requiring a sustained unit cost improvement rate of 15 to 20 percent
per year for 10 years. While improvement efforts were primarily
focused on cost, growth and satisfied customers were also necessary
for survival. Entering two new markets, lessons about different mar-
ket segments’ service and quality expectations were learned the hard
way. Japan was the first new market. When volume shipments began
to 3M Japan, a high percentage of product was rejected for quality

reasons. These were the same floppy disks supplied to U.S. markets,
so the organization was stumped about the source of the problem.
The difference turned out to be expectations. Eventually we were
successful in Japan, but only after we established a formal quality
improvement team and addressed issues in monthly teleconferences
with our colleagues in Japan.
The second market was the computer OEM (original equipment
manufacturers) market. These customers valued quality and deliv-
ery performance above cost, but plant processes weren’t geared to
respond efficiently. They were incredibly demanding about having
exactly the right color on packaging materials, meeting their quality
expectations, and delivering perfectly.
Both 3M Japan and the OEMs represented different customer
groups with different priorities. Success was achieved by managing
these supply chains differently to meet their expectations.
This is done by creating a matrix of product families and customer

groups (Figure 4.1). Segments of customer groups (customers who have
similar buying behaviors) have common expectations from suppliers. This
provides “voice of the customer” requirements, which in turn enables the
supply chain’s business processes to align with those requirements. Major
product families used by these customer groups identify the specific supply
chains that deliver those products through an integrated set of activities.
Once supply chains are defined, a balanced set of supply chain metrics is
needed to understand company performance. These metrics must provide
a “voice of customer” and an operational view of performance to provide
a balanced picture of business health.
Creating Value for Customers

One consistent theme of Lean, Six Sigma, and SCOR is customer. The
voice of the customer, their needs, expectations, and priorities, must be
satisfied to have sustained business success. Leading businesses tend to
Individual
Definition of Supply Chains customer
groups
Customers
Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3
Product families
Family 1 X X X
Family 2 X X X
X = Possible
Product
supply
family
chains
Figure 4.1
Supply chains defined.
be best at focusing on customer value–driven metrics and goals, and are

frequently in highly competitive markets such as consumer-packaged
goods, automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer), or con-
sumer electronics. Customers in these markets demand very specific
performance and failure has direct consequences on suppliers. They
insist on face-to-face meetings to discuss performance, give feedback,
and ask for a commitment to improve. In these markets, collaboration is
a requirement so suppliers clearly understand performance standards of
each big customer are clearly understood.
Unfortunately, in many other markets, even where customers are not
as demanding, it is rare for companies to have fully aligned supply chain
metrics. It is much more common for companies to live with inherently
conflicting metrics when it comes to meeting customer expectations.
This issue is especially disturbing because companies often believe they
have great metrics and customer alignment even when it is not the case.
Consider the example of a company/supplier relationship where both par-
ties were measuring “on-time delivery.” After a careful comparison of their
metrics, they learned that the supplier considered “on-time delivery” to be
equivalent to “on-time shipping” because the customer was responsible
for transportation. The customer, however, had a more traditional view of
on-time delivery. To them it meant “on the dock.” With the exception of a
few rare companies, who have exceptional supply chain alignment, most
operate this way every day.
The tendency for metrics to be conceived and implemented in isolation is
widespread. Every place we see the word manager in an organization chart,
we automatically have a little metrics engine creating, modifying, and chang-
ing a vast array of measurements. While it is important that each manager be
measured with a set of metrics, it is essential they are well aligned to external
or internal customers. Unfortunately, such alignment is rare. The result for
most organizations is a vast number of metrics and metric targets loosely
aligned at best and frequently in conflict with one another.
Because of the critical importance of customers, it follows that every-
thing done in a business should first be viewed through the customers’
eyes. A company’s especially important metrics or KPIs (Key Performance
Indicators) must have a “line of sight” to customer expectations, which
means that the company’s metrics are well enough aligned with the cus-
tomer’s to be valid predictors of customer satisfaction and indicators of
customer value.
Customer Value
Step one in determining your company’s supply chain metrics is to under-
stand how your supply chain impacts customers, and specifically how it
impacts a customer’s EVA (Economic Value Added). EVA measures the
true financial health of an enterprise. It is based on the principle that a
company’s financial health is measured by how much net profit exceeds
the cost of invested capital.
Figure 4.2 illustrates a breakdown of customer EVA. Net profit is derived
by subtracting cost of goods sold, general and administrative cost, and
taxes from sales. Starting at the net profit box in Figure 4.2, you can view
the elements of this calculation. The total cost of invested capital is the
result of multiplying the cost of capital by total company assets. EVA is
the result of subtracting the total cost of capital from net profit. The SCOR
model recognized the need to measure supply chain performance and,
therefore, developed a list of cross-industry performance attributes to
guide us in selecting KPIs. These are as follows:
Economic Value Added

Customer’s cost of doing business
Sales
Gross
– margin
–
Operational
Cost of profit
goods sold
Net
– = profit
Total
expenses
Taxes
– = EVA
Inventory
Current
assets
+
Capital Total
Accounts + charge × assets
% $$
receivable
Fixed
assets
Figure 4.2
Economic value added.
1. Flexibility: ability to respond to unplanned demand

2. Cost: amount spent to supply product or manage the supply chain
3. Delivery reliability: dependability in getting the product to the cus-
tomer on time
4. Responsiveness: the amount of time it takes to fill orders; the sooner
the better
5. Asset management: utilization of fixed and working assets
There is clear alignment between EVA and SCOR performance attri-

butes (Figure 4.3).
For example, a supplier’s delivery reliability can have an impact on
customers’ lost sales, lost customers, and lost sales opportunities. If a
Customer and Supplier Economic Value Added
Supplier Customer
Supply chain Supply chain

Customer’s cost of doing business
metrics performance
Volume
Price Gross
Mix margin
Sales
Lost sales
• Upside SC flexibility Lost customer –
Lost opportunity Operational
• Upside SC adaptability Flexibility sales – profit
• Downside SC adaptability
Product cost Net
Shpg handling labor – = profit
Recvg handling labor Cost of Total
• Supply chain mgmt. cost
• COGS
Cost Qual. rtns handling goods expenses
Expedite cost sold
Del’y error handling
• Multiple shipments/order Customer svs cost Taxes
• Wrong product shipped Delivery – = EVA
• Wrong quantity shipped
• % on time & in full reliability
• Product DPPM • Inventory Inventory Current
carrying cost assets
• Order cycle time Responsive-

+
• Order cycle variability
ness Capital
×
Total
+ charge assets
• Receivables % $$
Accounts
carrying cost
receivable
• Cash-to-cash cycle time
• Inventory days of supply Asset
Fixed
• Return on supply chain
fixed assets
management assets
• Space
• Warehouse
Equipment &
racks
Figure 4.3
SCOR–EVA performance attributes.
promised delivery fails to arrive on time, has unacceptable quality, or is

late, the customer may not be able to fulfill their customers’ orders. Poor
delivery performance also affects inventory levels. Unreliable delivery
causes customers to compensate by carrying extra inventory. A similar
comparison can be made among the other four performance attributes
and EVA drivers.
In addition to connecting EVA to SCOR, these performance attributes
are designed to ensure a balanced set of supply chain metrics (mea-
suring all important supply chain aspects, but no more) is developed.
Using SCOR performance attributes as a guide, at least one metric per
category is established. It is not unlike an automobile dashboard that
has many gauges and lights but is missing an oil pressure indicator—
everything seems to be running fine until low oil pressure results in
engine failure. Similarly, metrics or KPIs need balance to ensure that
all-important areas of performance are in focus. Once specific drivers
of customer value are understood, metrics aligned to those drivers and

their required performance standards can be defined and validated by
customers.
Using SCOR’s five Level 1 performance attributes as a guide, we should
seek to establish at least one metric per category for starters. Recommended
SCOR model metrics are shown in Figure 4.4; however, these are not the
only possible metrics for each category. For example, in the category of
delivery reliability, typical choices might include the following:
• On-time delivery
• On-time shipping
• Fill-rate
• Perfect order fulfillment (SCOR)
A useful guideline when identifying metrics is to set aside constraints

and seek to define the best metric possible, one that will measure cus-
tomer expectation most precisely. Once this ideal metric is defined,
data collection methods must be considered. Measurement constraints
are likely to appear and it might be necessary to compromise. For
example, for a metric such as on-time delivery, actual delivery times
may not be available, so initially it may be necessary to measure on-
time shipping.
SCOR Level 1 Metrics
Attribute Metric (level 1)
Reliability Perfect order fulfillment

Customer
Responsiveness Order fulfillment cycle time

Supply-chain flexibility
Agility (flexibility)
Supply-chain adaptability
Supply-chain management cost
Cost
Cost of goods sold
Internal

Assets
Return on supply chain fixed assets
Figure 4.4
SCOR Level 1 metrics.
Financial and Operational Benchmarking

Once supply chain metrics are identified, benchmarking can proceed.
Financial benchmarking of publicly traded competitors and market peers
is most commonly done using their 10-K reports, which are available from
various benchmark services such as Hoovers and Forbes. Data of privately
held competitors is not reported publicly and, therefore, not included in
available data sources. Data is also available from free sources but only
at the company level, so comparison to multidivision competitors is not
possible. The company’s chief financial officer (CFO) can provide these
benchmark comparisons from available sources.
Financial benchmarking builds a business case by gaining insight into
supply chain improvement opportunities. Operational benchmarking data
gathering may require multiple sources to get a comprehensive picture.
APQC (American Productivity and Quality Council), a free service for
Supply Chain Council members, is an excellent source of benchmarking
data. APQC provides industry-level data but has limited capability to pro-
vide data below industry level. Other data sources include trade associations,
published articles and reports, benchmarking services, and customers.
Customers normally evaluate suppliers using common criteria. They com-
pare market peers to standards established by the best suppliers’ perfor-
mances; therefore, not having direct competitors in a benchmarking process
doesn’t diminish its value, because the goal is satisfying customers.
Case Study: Twin City Manufacturing

Twin City Manufacturing is a fictitious company, but its story is based on
the authors’ actual experiences. We will tell it in the remaining chapters
to illustrate key principles, tools, and examples to guide you through the
implementation process.
Step 1: Assess the Current State of the Business

Twin City Manufacturing (TCM) is an original equipment manufac-
turer (OEM) supplier of specialized metal components. These specialized
stamped and powdered-formed metal components are designed with

unique thermal and conductive properties. The standardized components
are assembled into modular designed finished products, which are defined
by customer specifications.
Twin City is the largest of four specialized metal components suppliers
and has a 100-year history of product innovation and quality. Three com-
petitors entered the market in the past two decades. The past 10 years have
been particularly difficult for Twin City as sales increased at a slower rate
than market growth, and two competitors consistently grew faster than
TCM. Twin City continues to have product innovation leadership, but top
competitors have quickly learned to follow with alternative solutions that
don’t conflict with Twin City’s intellectual property.
Company leadership has been rationalizing their situation until recently
when a new CEO, Rick Hamilton, was appointed from outside TCM. He
was selected by the board because of his strong operations background
in manufacturing, logistics, and planning. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt,
TOC-certified Jonah (a certification received from the Goldratt Institute),
and Lean manufacturing expert (as a plant manager of a supplier to Toyota),
and he used SCOR in his last assignment as operations vice president of
the same automotive OEM supplier. Rick spent his first 30 days getting to
know TCM operations and team members. He was impressed by every-
one’s intense loyalty to Twin City Manufacturing and liked what he saw in
his leadership team and the competences of functional organizations.
1. COO (Chief Operating Officer) Eaton Oesterlein was a prototypi-

cal operations executive with a single-minded focus on meeting his
operating plan. He possessed strong persuasion skills with a direct
communications style and was respected by everyone in the com-
pany. Fred Gilligan, CFO, was unusual in that he was very engaged
in business strategy, spent significant time coaching all levels of the
organization on business finance, and openly shared financial infor-
mation inside TCM. He could be tough when necessary, but always
tempered his criticism with constructive coaching. Odair Brazil, an
extremely strong sales executive, had career-long relationships with
key customers, allowing him to maintain business with customers
in spite of their complaints about TCM quality and service. Human
Resources Manager Charlie Dubey had a good reputation with all
organizational levels and championed development of all employees.

Susan Zoelzer, the engineering manager, was a very strong technical
and project manager possessing personal traits commonly found in
great engineers; she listened more than she talked, spoke her mind,
and was intolerant of people not keeping their promises. Rick had
reached some conclusions about TCM: It was losing market share
and profitability at an accelerating pace.
2. There was no clear strategy aligning customer value and all aspects
of company operations.
3. Each function operated independently to achieve its goals.
4. The executive team seemed to get along well, but they lived in an
environment best described as cordial anarchy, where they treated
one another respectfully, but everyone did his or her own thing; true
teamwork didn’t exist.
5. The company had a long history of technical excellence and
innovation.
6. The company needed significant change to regain market share and
improve declining profitability.
With his assessment, he turned his attention to working with his team
to better understand the company’s supply chain, and operational and
financial performance. Twin City Manufacturing’s supply chain was sim-
ple. Their specialized metal components, which they sold to companies in
the medical field, accounted for 95 percent of sales (Figure 4.5).
Twin City Manufacturing Supply Chains
Customers
Medical Sports High-tech
applications applications applications
Product families
95% of 2% of 3% of
Metal components
revenue revenue revenue
Figure 4.5
Twin City Manufacturing’s supply chains.
Step 2: Assess the Supply Chain Using SCOR Benchmarking

Rick asked Fred Gilligan (CFO) and Eaton Oesterlein (COO) to com-
plete the SCOR benchmark assessment. In order to understand the proj-
ect’s scope, they built a high-level map of their medical supply chain
and identified its configuration using SCOR supply chain configuration
nomenclature (i.e., M2 = make-to-order, S2 = source make-to-order
items, D2 = deliver make-to-order items). A supply chain map is a good level-
setting process, which ensures that teams start with a clear understanding of
the project’s scope.
Fred Gilligan led the exercise, mapping TCM’s current supply chain
including key suppliers, key customers, and company operations. Product
from Twin City is shipped to OEM customers who assemble them into
their final products (Figure 4.6). Fred and Eaton completed benchmarking
data collection of 20 measurements (Figure 4.7). Fred located data from
financial reporting sources and industry associations, constructing a good
picture of key peer suppliers and competitors. Eaton used their custom-
ers’ top supplier performance feedback data to complete benchmarking
Twin City Manufacturing High Level Supply Chain Map

S1, S2, M1, M2, D1, D2,
Contract
Plating
S,M,D LeBlax
S2
Supplier 1 Twin City Mfg.
D2 Mfg.
Shipping
S1, M2,
D2
Pkg Supplier D2
D1
MEXAms Supplier 3 D1
S2
Jonso Medical
S2 Zyxain Medical
Devices
S2
Figure 4.6
Twin City Manufacturing’s supply chain map. SMD = Source, make, deliver. SI = SCOR
source process level 1. DI = SCOR deliver process level 1.
Twin City Manufacturing Benchmark Data
ty
%
e es
e in
L.T.
0)
bili
s
ry
me
ploy
Sold
ent
%
0,00
lexi
r
t
nto
n
000
ss e t
e%
s
s
llm
Inco
o ds
ate
n
$00
f Em
as
fi
o
R%
pl
Performance Category
t%
nt
l
e ($
me
argi
y
C
anc
y/R e
Inve
p
n
u
G
urn
on A
tio
-
Day h Cycl
i
ll R
f
u
ue (
er o
Cos y Chain
n
c
o y e e d p er
lme
Cos
b
iver
CAG
rat
Inco
orm
s
ss M
rant
er F
duc
et T
t of
e Fi
u
f
fe
p
h-to
al S
o
r
r
r
even
e
Valu
D el
Fulfi t Orde
Ass
Pro
R
Lin
Day
Net
S GA
3 yr
Ope
Ret
G
Num
P
Em e Add
Cos
Ord
Tot
Cas Cost % urns
War
Twin City Manfacturing 85% 87% 39% 17 40 70% 13% 21% 6% 75 55 3.5 30.0% 9.0% 6.1% $21 8.3% 4% $260 775
Company A 83% 85% 25% 15 35 75% 11% 18% 9% 80 64 4.0 25% 7% 4.8% $13 7.5% 0% $140 500
Company B 86% 86% 40% 10 38 73% 13% 18% 9% 70 60 4.7 27% 9% 6.1% $20 9.2% 4% $125 375
Company C 89% 91% 50% 12 30 73% 10% 16% 8% 64 54 5.0 27% 11% 7.5% $23 10.2% 4% $450 1475
Company D 90% 92% 70% 8 20 72% 9% 16% 5% 65 51 5.5 28% 12% 8.2% $30 11.5% 6% $160 430
Company E 92% 93% 45% 11 25 72% 8% 17% 6% 65 40 6.0 28% 11% 7.5% $22 13.0% 5% $320 1100
Company F 96% 98% 85% 6 10 68% 6% 14% 4% 55 35 7.0 32% 18% 12.2% $42 19.0% 8% $285 825
Company G 78% 81% 27% 14 45 78% 13% 20% 10% 90 74 2.0 22% 2% 1.4% $5 2.4% –3% $700 2100
Company H 91% 94% 65% 9 15 71% 7% 15% 5% 50 40 4.7 29% 14% 9.5% $26 12.0% 7% $210 760
Company I 87% 88% 60% 11 35 75% 12% 18% 8% 80 65 3.0 25% 7% 4.8% $14 6.0% 2% $460 1600
Company J 82% 81% 50% 13 45 79% 14% 19% 12% 87 72 2.1 21% 2% 1.4% $21 2.0% –2% $175 115
Median 87.0% 88.0% 50.0% 11.0 35.0 73.0% 11.0% 18.0% 8.0% 70 55.0 4.7 27.0% 9.0% 6.1% $21 9.2% 4.0% $260 775
Advantage 91.4% 93.3% 62.5% 9.5 22.5 71.5% 8.5% 16.0% 5.5% 65 45.5 5.3 28.5% 11.5% 7.8% $25 11.8% 5.5% $385 1288
Best in Class 94.8% 96.8% 70.0% 8.0 15.0 70.0% 7.0% 15.0% 5.0% 55 40.0 6.0 30.0% 14.0% 9.5% $30 13.0% 7.0% $460 1600
Figure 4.7
SCOR benchmark data. L.T. = Lead Time. SGA = Sales, General, and Administrative expenses. CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate.
information. This data included all their top competitors and peer compa-
nies with company names coded as suppliers A, B, C, etc. Based on expe-
rience, he sorted out the coded data and determined operational service
performance of their three top competitors and key peer companies. Fred
analyzed and organized the information and prepared a chart for their
first review meeting (Figure 4.7).
SCOR Benchmarking Results
Fred gave a copy of the benchmark data to each team member. The Twin
City results were color coded—black is less than median, grey is at median,
and white is at advantage or best in class; unfortunately, black dominated
the page. TCM’s management team was stunned; they questioned the valid-
ity of the data, complained that Fred was always presenting everything in
the most negative light, and finally agreed among themselves that last year
was just a bad year. Fred responded that a review of the previous year’s data
resulted in an identical outcome. The group continued to grumble among
themselves, but had no choice but to accept brutal reality; Twin City’s per-
formance was median or less across a majority of measured parameters.
Rick Hamilton discussed the results with his team, eventually convinc-
ing them of the tremendous opportunity this data represented. They could
once again become market leaders. He also challenged them to take own-
ership of “this once-in-a-career opportunity” to lead a transformational
change. They had an opportunity to establish their own mark and legacy
at Twin City Manufacturing. Eventually, after getting over their shock,
defensiveness, and anger from internalizing harsh reality, they moved on
to discussing next steps.
Step 3: Review Strategy

The Twin City Manufacturing executive team had added a number of new
members in the last year. Before gathering, the voice of customer information,
Rich Hamilton, decided to have Odair (sales and marketing executive vice
president) conduct a marketing executive review explaining the company’s
approach to strategy and their current strategies. Odair started the discus-
sion with a review of strategy development concepts used by the company.
Twin City’s strategic approach was based on Michael Treacy and Fred
Wiersema’s book ἀ e Discipline of Market Leaders (1995), which is a
practical approach to developing a business strategy. The purpose of busi-

ness is to create value for investors, and strategy defines a superior value
proposition intended to create economic value growth faster than com-
petitors do. Treacy and Wiersema define three core strategy choices: (1)
operational excellence, (2) product leadership, and (3) customer intimacy;
and they define four rules necessary for success regardless of the overall
strategy selected:
1. Provide the best market offering by excelling in a specific dimension

of value.
2. Maintain threshold standards on other dimensions of value.
3. Dominate your market by improving value year after year.
4. Build a well-tuned operating model dedicated to delivering un-
matched value.
These four rules are a powerful affirmation of supply chain importance

to successful business strategy. In his book, What Is Strategy? Michael
Porter (1996) defined operating models as a “different set of activities or
activities done in a different way to create a unique mix of value” (p. 62).
The strategies of TCM’s competitors were evident in analyzing their data.
Competitor F chose operational excellence as their core strategy, building
an operational model to provide a superior level of delivery performance
very efficiently. Benchmark results (Figure 4.7) validated their strategy
as they had superior performance in delivery reliability. Competitor H
chose customer intimacy as its core strategy and built an operating model
with superior responsiveness and flexibility, which was also confirmed by
benchmarking results.
TCM understood why they had been losing market share. Their top two
competitors had chosen unique strategies, supported by well-designed
operating models ensuring effective operational implementation. TCM
had become complacent and had not recognized that performance gaps
had evolved over time, resulting in their current weakened competitive
position (Figure 4.8). Twin City Manufacturing maintained market lead-
ership for decades through a product leadership strategy, that is, by provid-
ing innovative products that delivered differentiated value.
Increasingly competitive markets valued their innovation, but in
recent years the demand for operational excellence in delivery and
responsiveness had grown. Twin City Manufacturing did not need to
Supply Chain Operations Alignment with Business Strategy
Business Strategy
Competitor F TCM Competitor H
Supply Chain Performance Attributes Operational Product Customer
Excellence Leadership Intimacy
Delivery reliability Superior Disadvantage Advantage
Customer
Responsiveness Advantage Median Superior
Facing
Flexibility Advantage Disadvantage Superior
Cost Superior Advantage Advantage

Internally
Facing
Asset management Superior Disadvantage Median
Figure 4.8
Benchmarking Twin City Manufacturing supply chain operation.
change its fundamental strategy, but it did need to achieve superior sup-
ply chain performance in those supply chain attributes that were linked
to their distinct product innovation competence. For the remaining sup-
ply chain performance attributes, those that most closely supported an
operational excellence strategy, they needed to achieve at least threshold
performance.
TCM had learned the hard way that not meeting at least minimum
threshold performance or market parity had resulted in the loss of
their market-leading position. This strategic assessment of their sup-
ply chain defined the challenge they faced in eliminating competitive
disadvantage and restoring credibility and value to their product lead-
ership strategy. TCM executives could see they had lost touch with key
customers and needed to reverse this situation quickly—it was a crisis.
Rick asked every team member to visit key customers, validate their
benchmark results, and understand customers’ perspectives on TCM’s
loss of market share and slow growth. He taught sales executive Odair
the customer economic value added methodology and asked him to
lead their team in visiting key customers, documenting their expecta-
tions and priorities.
At 3M Brazil in 1997, we realized our supply chains were not capa-

ble of meeting the needs of key market segments, and in fact, we
had used generic metrics, which had no meaning to the customer,
for measuring our internal performance. We started a very ambi-
tious program by assigning a full-time team to redesign our business
processes.
The project turned out to be much bigger than we had anticipated
as we discovered how many of our commercial business practices
affected supply chains. For example, pricing and merchandising
practices were impacting supply chain performance and needed
to be included in the reengineering. As a result, nearly two years
were spent reengineering processes before we could begin enter-
prise resource planning (ERP) system implementation in 1999.
ERP system modifications were made to institutionalize our
new business practices. For example, when it came to inventory
allocation, we wanted to make sure every part of our operational
model “treated our best customers better,” so we modified the
allocation process to ensure that orders from our “A” classified
customers received the first allocation of inventory. In addition,
we placed codes on shipping boxes identifying these customers.
Transportation companies were trained so that when capacity lim-
itations required a decision about priority, they had the informa-
tion to make the right choice for 3M preferred customers. From
1995 to 2000 we significantly outgrew the markets we served and
our operating margins increased 30 percent.
Creating Value for Customers

Odair Brazil walked the leadership team through the process for defining
customer value. He was enthusiastic about having Rick and his employ-
ees in the field gathering customer value information. The success of any
strategy requires superior satisfaction with target customers. Under

standing customer needs, expectations, and priorities requires a depth of
information that can only be obtained through continuous relationships,
and it is not possible for a business to have a deep collaborative relation-
ship with all of its customers. Identifying a segment of customers who
want to have collaborative supplier relationships answers this apparent
dilemma. Building a deep understanding of this selected set of customers
provides information needed to ensure business strategy is aligned with
customers’ real needs and priorities.
Step 4: Gather Customer Information

A plan was needed for efficiently gathering customer information, but
first, key questions required answers:
1. What information is needed?

2. Which customers shall we approach?
3. What process will we use?
After much discussion, they defined four key pieces of customer infor-
mation that they needed to understand:
1. the customer’s business priorities;

2. the customer’s view of TCM’s performance, including data if
available;
3. the customer’s assessment of how TCM ranked against the compe-
tition; and
4. specific issues the customer had with TCM.
Data desired from each selected customer included the following:
1. Customer’s measurement of TCM’s on-time delivery

2. Customer’s measurement of TCM’s delivered quality
3. Customer’s measurement of TCM’s perfect order fulfillment
4. Customer’s experience with TCM’s order fulfillment lead time
TCM knew that it would be impossible to approach all of its customers.

Odair had created a customer list from largest to smallest based on sales
and selected three large customers that were critically important to TCM’s
business. Next, the team reviewed the remaining list of customers, search-
ing for other strategically important customers. Results from this search
added one company, for a total of four candidates from which TCM could
gain an understanding of in-depth customer needs and priorities; these
four companies were to be visited.
Using an EVA chart and five SCOR performance attributes (Figure 4.3),
they developed several questions to pose to the four key customers.
1. Of these five performance attributes, which is your top priority and

which is your second?
2. How does TCM rank against similar suppliers in each of these five
customer measures?
• On-time delivery
• Delivered quality
• Other delivery issues
• Perfect order fulfillment
• Order fulfillment lead time
3. For each performance category, what performance level is required
to be your best supplier?
TCM executives visited customers and learned that they continued to

value Twin City’s innovation and new products, but service on established
products was not acceptable and was hurting the customers’ business. In
addition, competitors had shorter order fulfillment cycle times allowing
customers to carry lower inventory (Figure 4.9).
The bottom line was that Twin City’s product leadership strategy had
become ineffective due to poor service, resulting in the loss of business
gained through introduction of new products to competitors who offered
better service. Their best competitors followed fast with new products,
which were displacing TCM’s new products despite having poorer perfor-
mance. Benchmark results were validated by customer feedback, making
it clear that TCM’s operational system needed to be redesigned to consis-
tently meet the delivery reliability, quality, and responsiveness expecta-
tions of their customers.
Customer Priorities
Other Order
TCM Actual 1st 2nd On-time Delivered Perfect Order
Delivery Fulfillment
Performance Priority Priority Delivery Quality Fulfillment
Issues Cycle Time
Delivery
LeBlax Responsiveness 62% 77.4% 85% 40.8% 19 Days
reliability
Responsive- Delivery
MexAms 59% 70.3% 87% 36.1% 16 Days
ness reliability
Jonso Delivery
Responsiveness 64% 74% 84% 39.8% 17 Days
Medical reliability
Zyxain Delivery
Responsiveness 60% 79.2% 86% 40.9% 16 Days
Medical reliability
Delivery
Overall Responsiveness 61.3% 75.2% 85.5% 39.4% 17.0 Days
reliability
Other Order
Best On-time Delivered Perfect Order
Performance Delivery Quality Fulfillment
Issues Cycle Time
LeBlax 88% 88% 99% 85% 9 Days
MexAms 92% 95% 97% 65% 8 Days
Jonso Medical 95% 93% 95% 70% 7 Days
Zyxain Medical 91% 97% 95% 55% 9 Days
Benchmarks 91.5% 93.3% 96.5% 69% 8.25
Figure 4.9
Assessing customer priorities.
T h e r e Is G r e a t Po we r i n a C r o s s -F u n ct io n a l
T e a m Ma ppin g t h e S u pply C h a in t o
Be t t e r U n d e r s t a n d t h e Bu s in e s s a n d t h e
In t e r co n n e ct e d n e s s o f It s F u n ct io n a l S ilo s
At one company, our SCOR supply chain analysis revealed it had been
growing at a 10 percent annual rate primarily through acquisition of
smaller but similar companies. However, there was little integration
of these companies, which continued operating with much of their
original structure, processes, general manager, P&L (profit and loss),
and even sales organizations intact. We identified eight individual
supply chains in this quagmire of operations. Interestingly, they
crossed organizational lines, and by documenting performance, we
learned one of them was actually unprofitable, a fact that was previ-
ously indiscernible using their existing P&L structure.
The executive team discussed their Sustainable Improvement Roadmap

plan scorecard for their strategic plan and decided to use a mix of seven
SCOR Level 1 metrics (Figure 4.10).
Benchmark results are presented in five columns, which divide bench-
mark data populations into these categories:
• Column 1: Bottom quartile of performance—a major opportunity.

• Column 2: Second quartile of performance—a competitive disad
vantage.
• Column 3: Average or median performance.
• Column 4: Seventy-fifth percentile of performance—a competitive
advantage.
• Column 5: Ninetieth percentile of performance—a superior position
versus competition.
Twin City Manufacturing benchmark results (Figure 4.10) defined per-

formance gaps from current levels to median, advantage, and superior
performance. Two columns on the far right quantify potential benefits of
achieving these performance levels, building a business case for change.
TCM executives realized this assessment provided a clear picture of cur-
rent performance and gaps, which could be prioritized to align with
their business strategy and customer priorities. They realized that this
information would mobilize their organization once they communicated
Twin City Manufacturing SCOR Benchmark Summary
Supply-Chain Performance Versus Custom Population
Key Perspectives Metrics Major

Average To Addn’l to
Oppor- Disadvantage Advantage Superior
L1 = SCOR Level 1 Metric or Median Advantage Superior
tunity
3% + 3% 2% + 2%
Delivery Delivery performance to request L1 One time Annual
Performance/ sales Incr. sales Incr.
Quality 23% pts. 8% pts.
Perfect order fulfillment L1
Required to improve delivery

Upside production flexibility L1
Flexibility & performance to request
Responsiveness
Order fulfillment lead time (MTO) L 1 –7.5 Days –2 Days
Cost Supply-chain management cost L1 $11.70 M/yr $3.9 M/yr

10 Day 10 Day
Cash-to-cash cycle time L1 reduction reduction
Working
Capital 1.8 Turns 0.7 Turns
Net asset turns L1
$25.3 M Inv. $6.0 M Inv.
Total Benefit First full year operating profit benefit $16.3 M $6.0 M
Included in S.C.
Management cost* One time inventory reduction $25.3 M $6.0 M
TCM position
Figure 4.10
Twin City Manufacturing SCOR benchmark summary.
these results broadly across TCM. They were confident their entire team
would be engaged, be challenged, and respond positively, as everyone at
Twin City wanted to be part of a winning team and contribute to regain-
ing market leadership.
Step 5: Make the Business Case

Twin City revised its strategic plan including improving supply chain per-
formance to regain competitiveness. They realized that market leadership
could be reestablished and sustained using this assessment methodology
to guide the journey. They also understood that competitive benchmark
performance is not static because their competitors are always improving,
and therefore achievement of advantage position might not be enough if
competitors are improving at a similar or higher pace. This meant that
some level of competitive benchmarking needed to be done each year as
a part of strategic planning. Next, one-year goals (Figure 4.11) were set to
progress toward closing identified supply-chain performance gaps, which
would be required to reestablish market leadership.
Twin City’s executives spent two days together reviewing results and
determining their path forward. Transformational change was required and
would be an enormous task that would take two to three years. After two
long days of debate, they agreed on the following assumptions and goals:
1. Twin City Manufacturing commits to growing faster than market

average in one year with
• superior delivery performance to request and perfect order ful-
fillment performance and
• advantage performance in upside production flexibility and
supply-chain response time.
2. Once these targets are achieved, efforts will be redirected toward
improving performance in other year-one plan metrics.
3. Until service goals are achieved, cost and working capital goals will
be secondary. One-year cost goals are to reach parity performance
and working capital performance, as this should be a consequence of
optimizing order fulfillment cycle time.
4. Twin City Manufacturing is committed to pooling all existing
improvement resources and generating additional project resources
as a result of early improvement because resources can’t be added
due to current financial performance.
Twin City Manufacturing SIR Year-One Goals
Major Average 1 yr.

Disadvantage Advantage Superior
Key Perspectives SCOR Level 1 Metrics Opportunity or Median Plan
5% + 5%
Delivery performance to request $3.9 M/yr
Delivery
+ $3.9 M yr
Performance/
Quality
Perfect order fulfillment + 31% pts
Required
Upside production flexibility capability
Flexibility &
Responsiveness
Order fulfillment lead time (MTO) –7.5 Days
–2.0%
Cost Supply-chain management cost
$5.2 M/yr
10 Day
reduction
Working
Capital 1.2 Turns
Net asset turns $19.3 M Inv
reduction
Total Benefit First full year operating profit benefit $13.0 M
Included in S.C.
Management cost* One time inventory reduction $19.3 M
TCM position Advantage Superior
Figure 4.11
Twin City Manufacturing’s one-year goals.
Achieving Twin City’s vision would mean regaining market leadership,

satisfying their customers, and dramatically improving operational per-
formance. Fred Gilligan and Eaton Oesterlein quantified the financial
benefit of achieving the year-one plan goals.
1. Operating Profit in the first full year would improve by $13.0M

through
• improvement of 2 percent in cost of goods sold;
• $3.9M incremental operating profit gain from a 5 percent one-
time increase in sales as a result of regaining lost customers and
stopping erosion of new product sales gains; and
• $3.9M incremental operating profit gain from a 5 percent increase
in annual sales growth.
2. Improving asset turns by 1.2 turns to market parity will result in a
$19.3 million one-time cash benefit.
The business case is complete and they have aligned their high-level
scorecard financial benefits to each internal operational metric ensuring
alignment of internal operations and creating value for their customers.
The final step in constructing a vision was to determine which improve-

ment projects should be given priority and implemented.
Step 6: Build Implementation Plan for Priority Improvements

With their business case complete, attention was turned to defining what
needed to be done. Now more homework was needed to understand which
processes and practices needed improvement to achieve their goals. Based on
customer priorities, the initial focus was on order delivery to request promise
date and order fulfillment lead time. They reviewed the SCOR process model
to understand which processes were root causes performance gap.
Next, team members decomposed perfect order fulfillment Level 1
metrics (Figure 4.12) down to Level 3, identifying the underperforming
processes. The analysis showed multiple process failure areas, including
order entry, schedule attainment, packaging quality, product quality, and
delivery to commitment—all of which provided major opportunities for
improvement and inclusion as implementation plan projects.
The final assessment step was decomposition of order fulfillment lead
time. Level 3 analyses (Figure 4.13) identified the processes most likely to
be causing current long cycle times and needing further examination. The
top suspects were cycle times to schedule, issue materials, build, transfer
Perfect Order Fulfillment
Reserve
SCOR Recv & enter Schedule Pkg, stage,
Inv. & determine Produce, test, Ship
Level 3 order production release
delivery date M1.2–M1.3 D1.4–D1.12
Process D1.1–D1.2 M1.1 M1.4–M1.6
D1.3
Recv & enter Delivery to

Schedule
Metric order customer Product quality Pkg quality On-time ship
achievement
accuracy commit date
Results 85.5% 61.3% 79% 85.3% 88.3% 85%
39.4% POF
Figure 4.12
Perfect order fulfillment.
Order Fulfillment Cycle Time Decomposition Analysis
Best in Class
Advantage
Twin City Mfg. 1-yr. improvement–3 days
Level 2 Metrics Source Cycle Time Make Cycle Time Deliver Cycle Time
Level 3 Metrics Cycle times to enter P.O., Cycle times to schedule, Cycle times for order entry,
receive material, and place issue materials, build, material receipt on dock,
in stock transfer and stage product and ship to customer
Back orders Up time
Zero-balance occurrences Changeover time
for stocked items
Up time Source Make Deliver

Changeover time
Figure 4.13
Order fulfillment cycle time.
and stage the product for shipment as well as order entry cycle times,
material receipt on the dock, and shipment to customers.
They reviewed supplier performance using their high-level supply chain
map (Figure 4.14) to identify opportunities based on process failures as
measured by perfect order fulfillment and order fulfillment lead time
decomposition analyses, and concluded the following:
1. Supplier 1 is supplying a make-to-order item. This lengthens their

lead time. The supplier has long lead times, poor quality, and
poor delivery performance. All these factors may be affecting the
delivery performance or order fulfillment cycle time of Twin City
Manufacturing.
2. Twin City Manufacturing has long make cycle times and marginal
product quality.
3. The delivery performance to request date appears to be caused by fail-
ures in schedule attainment and on-time delivery. These failures could
result from internal handling delays, carrier performance problems,
or problems at customer sites due to delays in receiving product.
Twin City Manufacturing High Level Supply Chain Map
S1, S2, M1, M2, D1, D2

Order fulfill. cycle 19 days
Contract 1st time quality 65%
Plating On-time delivery 80%
S,M,D LeBlax
S2
Supplier 1 Twin City Mfg.
D2 Mfg. Shipping
S1, M2, D2 D2
Pkg Supplier
Lead time 6 wks D1
1st time quality 89% Lead time 1 wk

On-time delivery 67% 1st time quality 98%
On-time delivery 95%

1st time quality 70%
Supplier 3 D1
MEXAms
S2
S2 Lead time 1 wk
Jonso Medical On-time delivery 60%
S2 Zyxain Medical
Order fulfill. cycle 17 days Devices
1st time quality 78% S2
Figure 4.14
Twin City Manufacturing’s high-level supply chain map with key supply chain performance data.
Suspected processes were identified, but further analysis was needed to

get to root causes and corrective actions. This was a natural time for Rick
to introduce value stream mapping—an efficient tool for detailed exami-
nation of current processes and practices and identifying root causes that
need to be resolved to eliminate these problems.
Rick Hamilton proposed completion of current-state value stream
maps, and his team committed to completing their value stream current-
state and future-state maps and defining improvements during the fol-
lowing week. The following Monday they met to document their value
stream current state beginning with shipping, continuing upstream
through all processes, and ending with receiving operations. Rick gave
basic instructions regarding what to look for and record, and trained
his team using Learning to See (1999) by John Shook and Mike Rother, a
valuable training book for value stream mapping. They were instructed
to do the following (Figure 4.15):
1. Record only important information for each operational process

and observe operators to understand how much of their time is truly
spent on value-added activity.
• Performance cycle time, yields, up time, change-over time, etc.
• Characteristics—number of operators, number of shifts scheduled
2. Document inventory with a triangle indicating days of inventory.
3. Identify types of material flow.
• Material flow that is pushed to the next process is represented
with a solid line.
• First in, first out (FIFO) flow is a striped line.
• Material flow that is pulled is represented by dashes and a Kanban
card icon.
4. Document in detail the information flow for both internal operations
and suppliers using arrows identifying flow direction. Electronic
flow is indicated by a “lightning” line.
5. Document total lead time using a step line is created at the bottom
of the chart. Days of inventory are noted on the line’s top steps and
value-added processes are represented on the lower steps. A sum-
mary box in the bottom right corner shows total lead time in days
and total value-added processing time. The ratio of value-added pro-
cessing time to total lead-time is an important measure of Leanness.
With those brief instructions, they started at shipping, the operation

closest to their customers. Shipping operations were originally in a manu-
facturing building and separate from current plant operations. Material
has to be transferred each day to shipping where complete customer
orders are assembled. The Shipping Department takes an average of
six days to assemble and ship complete customer orders. (Figure 4.15,
see 1), Customer delivery time is three days, for a total of nine days of total
order fulfillment lead time.
After completing their observations about shipping, the team walked
upstream to packaging where the products are packed in bags, boxes,
blister packs, and special packages of kits. All operations have through-
put rates high enough to be able to handle volumes 50 percent above the
current average shipping volume of one million units per day. Packaging
machines had low runtimes and scheduling methods did not level flow,
causing operator idle time (Figure 4.15, see 2). After recording key packag-
ing operations information, they moved upstream to assembly. Assembly
operations contained 15 machines capable of changing over to produce
any item in the product line. Current output on three shifts is sufficient
to meet the average daily demand. Assembly is scheduled each day based
on a review of orders to be shipped and materials in packaging and ship-
ping areas. Day-shift team leaders provide production control with daily
schedule recommendations after visual reviews of these areas. At the time,
the average inventory on hand in assembly and packaging combined was
eight days. These eight days contributed significantly to an order fulfill-
ment lead time of seventeen days (three days shipping time plus six days of
inventory in shipping and eight days of inventory between assembly and
packaging), which put Twin City at a serious competitive disadvantage.
This push scheduling system is not well synchronized with daily cus-
tomer demand and is responsible for much of the inventory pile-ups
(Figure 4.15, see 3) represented by the triangles before and after assembly.
The team completed key assembly inventory and operational informa-
tion and then moved upstream to plating and coating operations, which
were located in a separate building due to significant environmental and
personal protection requirements. Coating and plating, which are not
scheduled, have a three-day cycle time and flow material to assembly on
a first in, first out (FIFO) basis; 15 days of finished parts inventory wait
ahead of assembly operations.
Twin City Current Value Stream Map
5 Monthly Schedules Daily Orders
Supplier Production Customers
Pac Control/MRP
kag Daily
ing 1.0 Million per day
Mater 2
ials
3 Group leader
Daily Process 3 Packaging
Avg. Delivery
Weekly
Machines = 1 Bulk & Special
To Assembly Bagger time = 3 Days
Pack (XKS)
I I I 0.25
Shuttle 2
Pre Assy Brass Tubing 5X C/T = 10 M/hr 2.5
Daily C/O = 0
16 Days Sleeves D C/T = 115 Secs C/T = 4.6 Secs
Up time = 100% ai
ly 3
I FIFO Assembly 315 Pkgs./Day 647 Orders/Day
Process 1 Scrap = 0
Up time = 100% Up time = 70% Daily to
15 Days 3 Shifts weekly
Presses = 4 Daily Daily Machines = 15 8 Scrap = 0 Scrap = 0
Daily out = 1 MM
1 Shift 3 Shifts 1
5 ` Contract
C/T = 0.12 Secs Plating 7
3 Day Cycle Shuttle
C/O = 2 Hours Shuttle 15 Boxer Blister
Up time = 38% Process 2
4 C/T = 0.6 Sec. daily Shipping
5X ily
Scrap = 10% Da
Weekly
Daily FIFO C/O = 30 Mins.
3 Shifts Machines = 1
Up time = 35% 2.5 1
FIFO
0.25 Scrap = 5% C/T = 25 Secs C/T = 10 Secs
1
3 Shifts 480 Orders/Day 647 Orders/Day
C/T = 10 M/hr Up time = 50% Up time = 60%
C/O = 20 Min. Scrap = 0 Scrap = 0
Up time = 100%
Scrap = 0 3 Shifts 3 Shifts
Process 4
3 Shifts
Presses = 12 14 Performance Metrics C.S. 1 YR.
Molded Order Fulfillment L.T. Days 17 11
3 6
parts On Time Delivery 85% 95%
C/T = 15 Secs 7 Day 20 days
C/O = 5 Hours Moisturize Days of Inventory 55 45 8
I Up time = 68% (Nylon only)
Scrap = 3% Perfect Order Fulfillment 39% 80%
20 Days
3 Shifts Supply Chain Cost 13% 11%
Cost of Goods Sold 70% 68%
7
Production lead
20 Days 3 Days 18 Days 8 Days 6 Days time = 55 Days
15 Sec. 1 Sec. 1 Sec. 3 Sec. Processing time =
20 Sec.
Figure 4.15
Twin City Manufacturing’s current state value stream map.
The mapping process continued, moving upstream through metal

stamping processes 2, 3, and slit-to-width process 1 (Figure 4.15, 4).
Operations 2 and 3 are not scheduled because material from operation 1
flows through on a FIFO basis. Operation 1 is scheduled based on Material
Requirements Planning (MRP) system priorities, causing inventories to
pile up in all downstream operations because it is unable to stay synchro-
nized with daily changes in product mix and volume.
The next location tackled was the raw materials warehouse. Two
key suppliers provide 80 percent of its raw material value, so the team
focused on materials from these suppliers. Both provide weekly ship-
ments, which suggested that 15 and 20 days of current inventory could
be significantly reduced. Inventory of all key raw materials, process
information, and scheduling information flow for all operations were
noted (Figure 4.15, 5).
The final operation reviewed was insulator molding. This operation had
a cycle time of seven days, which restricted the flexibility necessary to run
the assembly product mix desired. Key process information was collected
and it was noted that cycle time needed to be reduced to one day so that
molding could be synchronized with assembly (Figure 4.15, 6).
Completing their current state, they determined the value stream’s total
value-added process time and total lead time, which are summarized in
the bottom right-hand corner of the current-state map (Figure 4.15, 7).
The total production lead time was 55 days, as noted on the benchmarking
summary (Figure 4.7), while actual value-added processing time was just 20
seconds. The SIR scorecard performance was added to provide a complete
picture (Figure 4.15, 8). The executives were shocked by what they learned
through this direct observation approach. Many of their assumptions about
how things worked proved false based on recording shop floor reality.
The information was summarized along with their team’s observa-
tions and opportunities for improvement. Eight areas needing immediate
improvement were identified and noted on the current-state value stream
map with a grey color burst (Figure 4.16).
For immediate improvement included the following:
1. Increase shuttle frequency to shipping operations to once every hour

and schedule two shifts, thus reducing the cycle time of second-shift
assembled orders by one day (grey burst 1, Figure 4.16). Increased fre-
quency and shorter cycle times through packaging (see project 2) will
Twin City Current Value Stream Map
5 System Improvement Opportunities
Supplier Monthly Schedules Daily Orders
Production Customers
Pac Control/MRP
k ag Daily
ing
M ater 2 1.0 Million per day
ials
3 Group leader
X
Daily Process 3 X Packaging Avg. Delivery
Weekly
Machines = 1 Bulk & Special time = 3 Days
To Assembly Bagger
XOXXOX Pack (XKS)
X
I I I 0.25
Shuttle 2
1
Pre Assy Brass Tubing 5X C/T = 10 M/hr 3 2.5
Daily
16 Days Sleeves C/O = 0
X
D C/T = 115 Secs C/T = 4.6 Secs
Up time = 100% ai
ly
I FIFO Assembly 6000 Pkgs./Day 11,000 Pkgs./Day
Process 1 Scrap= 0
Up time = 100% Up time = 70% Daily to
15 Days 3 Shifts
Presses = 4 Daily Daily Machines = 15 Scrap = 0 weekly
X8 Scrap = 0
Daily out = 1 MM
1 Shift 3 Shifts
5 ` Contract
C/T = 0.12 Secs Plating 7
C/O = 2 Hours 3 Day Cycle Shuttle
Shuttle 15 Boxer Blister Shipping
Up time = 38% Process 2 C/T = 0.6 Sec. saily
5X ily FIFO
Scrap = 10% Da
Weekly
Daily FIFO C/O = 30 Mins.
3 Shifts Machines = 1
Up time = 35% 2.5 1 3
FIFO 1
0.25 Scrap = 5% C/T = 2.5 Secs C/T = 1.0 Secs
FIFO 1
4 3 Shifts 10500 Pkgs./Day 12500 Pkgs./Day
C/T = 10 M/hr Up time = 50% Up time = 60%
C/O = 20 Min. Scrap = 0 Scrap = 0
Up time = 100%
8
Scrap = 0 3 Shifts 3 Shifts
Process 4
3 Shifts
Presses = 12 14 Performance Metrics C.S. 1 YR.
6 Order Fulfillment L.T. Days 17 11
3 Molded 7
C/T = 15 Secs parts On Time Delivery 85% 95%
7 Day
C/O = 5 Hours Moisturize 20 Days Production lead
Days of Inv. 55 45
I Up time = 68% (Nylon only) time = 29 Days
Scrap = 3% Perfect Order Fulfillment 39% 80%
20 Days Processing time =
3 Shifts Supply Chain Cost 13% 11% 20 Sec.
1 Day Cost of Goods Sold 70% 68%
10 Days Production lead
20 Days 3 Days 18 Days 10 Days 8 Days 6 Days time = 55 Days
15 Sec. 1 Sec. 1 Sec. 3 Sec. Processing time =
5 Days* 3 Days 20 Sec.
Figure 4.16
Twin City Manufacturing’s current value stream map illustrating system improvement opportunities.
reduce shipping area inventory from six days to three, which in turn
will reduce the order fulfillment lead time by the same three days.
2. Optimize packaging operation (Figure 4.16, grey burst 2).
• Eliminate time wasted by operators replenishing their own pack-
aging materials by setting up a central supermarket (planned
inventory of purchased materials) for all packaging items in the
warehouse and having materials handlers make scheduled deliv-
eries and pickups every hour. Localized storage of materials was
a big trend in past decades, but it is counterproductive as opera-
tor time, which is not used to produce product, impacts total flow
time through the plant and thus incurs a plant cost penalty. Lean
supplies a minimal amount of materials to the operations and
places them so they are convenient for the operator to access,
keeping operators at their station producing product.
• Material should flow on a first in, first out basis through packag-
ing to shipping operations within a couple of hours. The opera-
tion doesn’t need to be scheduled because packaging capacity is
sufficient to process assembly peak volumes and mix.
• Optimize the packaging operation into an integrated cell with
operators moving to machines when assembled product requires
packing. In addition, transfer packaging supplies replenishment
work to material handlers. These changes will reduce the number of
operators on each shift, which will provide needed resources to staff
shipping on the second shift and accelerate improvement projects.
• Implement error-proofing systems in packaging operations to
prevent packaging and order fulfillment errors.
3. Change assembly operation scheduling practices (Figure 4.16, grey
burst 3).
• Schedule case assembly and material will flow on a first in, first out
basis through packaging since sufficient capacity is available to
process peak volumes from assembly. This eliminates seven days
of inventory between assembly and packaging. (Note: In Lean
systems, only one operation is scheduled by production control.
A scheduled operation is called a pacemaker operation as it sets
the pace for other plant operations.) The current daily mix and
volume variability of orders results in a significant challenge for
scheduling to maintain the plant load level and meet customers’

request dates. (Note: The Lean solution for resolving this appar-
ent dilemma is level scheduling, which involves three principle
concepts: Takt time, small lot sizes, and a period of time in which
to accumulate orders for leveling volume.)
−− Lean establishes an operational rhythm used to optimize
resources and align cycle times of all operations to meet this
rhythm. This rhythm is called Takt time. Takt time is customer
demand divided by pacemaker operation available time. TCM
average demand is 1,000,000 per day and the three shifts have
75,600 seconds available. 75,600 sec./1,000,000 units = .0756
seconds. A unit must be produced every .0756 seconds. Takt
time is used to synchronize all operations to produce at the
rate required while using the fewest possible resources.
−− The product is packaged in 100 units per master carton. Ten
thousand master cartons are packaged for shipment every
day with orders for 10 master cartons representing 60 per-
cent of shipments. Schedules are released in increments of
100 master cartons (mctn) or 12.6 minutes of assembly time
(100 mctn × 100 units/ ctn × .0756 sec/unit = 756 sec or 12.6
minutes). This scheduling increment is called pitch. Short
scheduling cycles are important to greatly reduce lead time
and enable a level scheduling product mix.
−− Order receipt until shipment lead time is 14 days, and adding 3
days delivery time results in a 17-day total order fulfillment lead
time. Since project 2 will establish a FIFO flow through packag-
ing and it will no longer be scheduled, the 8 days of assembled
product inventory will be reduced to one day. This creates a
potential reduction of 7 days in the order fulfillment lead time.
Instead of reducing lead time by all 7 days, 4 days of this time
will be used for accumulating orders to level the volume. Orders
can be accumulated and leveled over the first 4 days after they
are received, and then scheduled for assembly, packaging, and
shipping. These processes will take 4 days, thus reliably meeting
the planned 8-day plant lead time (Figure 4.16, see lead times
for assembly, packaging, and shipping). This allows produc-
tion control to level schedule volume over 4 days ensuring a
consistent plant flow. If schedule volume for a day is below Takt

time, a future day’s orders are pulled ahead to level the schedule.
These orders are produced, held in shipping, and released for
shipment to meet the 8-day lead time. The combination of the
12.6-minute pitch to level product mix, 4-day volume schedule
leveling time, and the occasional advance production results in
consistently meeting the 8-day order fulfillment lead time and
maintaining plant operations at a consistent level.
• Material will flow FIFO through packaging to shipping within
two hours so shipping can aggregate orders and prepare them
for shipment.
4. Schedule operation 1 based on assembly’s supermarket pull signals
when inventory trigger levels are reached. Materials flows FIFO
through processes 2, 3, 4, and plating to the assembly material super-
market (Figure 4.16, grey burst 4).
• Create supermarkets to feed assembled and materials purchased
from suppliers to production. Supermarkets should maintain
only inventory needed to meet an operation’s cycle time plus a
level of safety stock. (Note: In process, supermarkets are used to
support flow between two operations with different cycle times,
changeover times, or available hours. Plating operations are an
example with a cycle time of three days compared to assembly
at 6 tenths of a second. The 15 days of plated inventory could be
reduced simply by implementing a supermarket ahead of assem-
bly with pull signals to authorize production from upstream
operations. Supermarkets are not value added, but a necessary
countermeasure until process stability and cycle times allow
value streams to operate in true flow.) In this case, implement-
ing a supermarket can reduce inventory from 15 days to 7 days.
The total plant lead time through plating will then be 10 days—3
days of processing time plus 7 days of inventory. Because plating
operations are a monument process, meaning it is not feasible in
the short term to redesign the process to have inherently shorter
cycle times, the entire FIFO flow time of 10 days will be treated
on the value stream map as 10 days of inventory.
• Initiate Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve,
control) projects to identify root causes of quality defects and
implement permanent solutions.
5. Provide suppliers with daily demand and a 12-week demand forecast

(Figure 4.16, grey burst 5), which will come from production con-
trol. Establish inventory supermarkets for raw materials supplied to
operation 1, operation 4, and assembly with daily demand used to
initiate delivery of more material. Reduce inventory, utilizing cur-
rent weekly deliveries, to 10 days from the current 15 days and 20
days for raw materials.
6. Reduce moisture curing operation time (Figure 4.16, grey
burst 6) by 6 days so material flows from process 4 through
to assembly in less than 1 day. This can be accomplished by
building smaller curing chambers that can be heated up and
cooled down quickly. Complete a Six Sigma process definition
project.
Improved process value-added time and lead times are shown on the
step line at the bottom of the figure and the totals are shown in the bottom
right-hand corner (Figure 4.16, grey burst 7). SIR scorecard supply chain
improvement expected benefits are summarized in column labeled “F.S.”
or future state (Figure 4.16, grey burst 8).
The end state: Last, identified improvements and expected effects were
summarized using a future-state value stream map (Figure 4.17). Future-
state maps provide an end-state picture of the value stream when it is
operating using only Lean practices.
As the future state is reviewed, expected benefits create excitement
as TCM leadership is now able to see significant improvement pos-
sibilities beyond the year-one goals. The future-state map established
goals for their longer-term vision (Figure 4.18). The financial benefit
estimated for achieving the future state would place TCM as the indis-
putable market leader and fund strategic investments to ensure they
could sustain the number one position. This additional homework—
creating their future state—increased the team’s confidence in achiev-
ing y ear-one goals, and they could see great opportunities well beyond
the first year.
The leadership team could not wait to share its vision and action plan
with their entire product development, marketing, sales, and manufac-
turing teams. There would be many barriers to overcome, but becoming
market leaders again stimulated all executives to commit to leading their
organization to achieve these challenging goals.
Twin City Future State Value Stream
5
Supplier Production Customer

Daily Usage Weekly demand plan for 12 wks.
Control MRP Daily Orders
Daily
Bra
ss S
lee 1.0 Million/Day
ves
XOXXOX 2
Tub
in ga Daily
nd Avg. Delivery
Pre
Ass
em Brass Sleeves, time = 3 Days
blie
s Pre and Assy. Packaging
Process 3 Tubing Special Bagger
Weekly
Machines
To = 1
A ss Bulk Pack
em
b ly M
Shuttle 2 1.5
0.25 D arket
5 X Daily ai
ly 3
C/T = 10 M/hr C.T. = 115 Secs C.T. = 4.6 Secs
C/O = 0
FIFO Up time = 100% 6,000 Pkgs/Day 11,000 Pkgs./Day

Process 1
Coils Scrap = 0 Up time = 100% Up time = 70% 1 Daily
Presses = 4 Daily 3 Shifts Scrap = 0% Scrap = 0%
Contact Da
1 Shift 2 Shift
`
5 ily
Plating
C/T = 0.12 Secs 5 Day Cycle Assembly Shuttle
C/O = 2 Hours Process 2 Boxer Blister
Shuttle Machines = 15 5 X Daily Shipping
Up time = 38% Machines = 1 FIFO
Scrap = 10% 5 X Daily D aily Daily out = 1 MM
3 Shifts 7 FIFO 1.5
0.25 FIFO 2
FIFO
Weekly
C/T = 0.6 Sec. C/T = 2 Secs C/T = 1 Secs
C/T = 10M/hr 1
C/O = 20 Min. C/O = 10 Mins. 10,500 Pkgs./Day 12,500 Pkgs./Day 1
Up time = 80% 4 Up time = 50% Up time = 60% Up time = 60%
Scrap = 5%
Scrap = 0 Scrap = 0 % Scrap = 0 % 2 Shifts
3 Shifts 2 Shifts
2 Shifts 2 Shifts
Resin
6 Performance Metrics C.S. Yr 1 F. S.
Process 4 8
Presses = 12 1 Day Order Fulfillment L.T. Days 17 11 8
Moisturize On Time Delivery 85% 95% 95%
3 (Nylon only)
C/T = 15 Secs Days of Inv. 55 45 27
C/O = 1 Hours Perfect Order Fulfillment 39% 80% 80% 7
Up time = 75% Supply Chain Cost 13% 11% 7%
Scrap = 3%
2 Shifts Cost of Goods Sold 70% 68% 64% Production lead
10 Days 1 Day 10 Days 3 Day time = 27 Days
2 Days
83 Mins. 60 Mins. 100 Mins. 3 Mins. Processing time
= 245 Mins.
Figure 4.17
Twin City Manufacturing’s future state value stream map illustrating improvement opportunities.
Twin City Manufacturing SIR Future State Goals

Major Average Additional 1 yr.

Key Perspectives Opportunity
Disadvantage
or Median
Advantage Superior to Future Plan
Level 1 Metrics State
5% + 5%
+5% Pts.
Delivery performance to request Annual
Delivery growth
sales Incr.
Performance/
Quality
Perfect order fulfillment Sustain 80%
Required to improve
Upside production flexibility delivery performance
Flexibility & to request
Responsiveness
Order fulfillment lead time Reduce 3.0 7.5 Days
add’l days
Cost Supply-chain management cost $10.4 M/yr $5.2 M/yr
10 add’ln 10 Days
Cash-to-cash cycle time days
Working
Capital 1.3 Turns 1.2 Turns
Net asset turns
$12.1 M $19.3 M
Total Benefit First full year operating profit benefit $19.0 M $13.0 M
Included in
S.C. management
One time Inventory reduction $12.0 M $19.3
cost*
TCM position Advantage Superior
Figure 4.18
Twin City Manufacturing’s SIR future state goals.
References
Bossidy, Larry. Confronting reality. New York: Crown Press, 2004.
Graupp, Patrick, and Robert J. Wrona. ἀ e TWI workbook. New York: Productivity Press, 2006.
Porter, Michael. Value chain. New York: Free Press, 1985.
Porter, Michael, “What Is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review 74, 6 (1996): 61–78.
Shook, John, and Mike Rother. Learning to see: Value stream mapping to add value and
eliminate MUDA. Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 1999.
Treacy, Michael, and Fred Wiersema. ἀ e discipline of market leaders. Reading, MA:
Addison Wesley, 1995.
5
The Role of the CEO and Leadership
Team Implementing the Methodology
There are no success stories of radically improved results from trans-

formational change that have not been championed by a company’s top
leaders. Leaders do things they understand and believe because fail-
ing may cost them their jobs. This raises a question: How many CEOs
understand operational transformation methodologies well enough to
bet their jobs and their companies on implementing one? The answer is,
very few.
Leaders need to become familiar enough with improvement method-
ologies to lead them because today’s fast-moving global markets require
a continuous improvement process. Leaders who do not implement one,
risk their jobs and the jobs of their team members.
Twin City Manufacturing’s Sustainable

Improvement Roadmap
Rick Hamilton set up a two-day off-site meeting with his team to develop
their implementation plan. Rick knew from experience that his team
needed to understand key implementation points for success as well as
their leadership role in the process.
107
S u cce s s Be g in s wit h a V is io n a r y L e a d e r
Wh o S e t s a C le a r G o a l a n d T h e n Ba ck s It
U p wit h H is Own Pe r s o n a l O v e r s ig h t
When GE’s Jim McNerney joined 3M as the chairman and CEO in
December 2000, 3M became a Six Sigma company. He personally
championed Six Sigma by creating an executive leadership position
reporting to him and a training and deployment infrastructure,
and setting up an organization in each business that included a Six
Sigma director, MBBs (Master Black Belts), and BBs (Black Belts). It
was clear from the beginning that he had assigned the most talented
people to the Six Sigma program.
The cause and vision were clear—3M needed to achieve consistent
double-digit operating income and earnings-per-share growth. In
2000, 3M hadn’t grown fast enough to achieve those goals so improv-
ing the cost and use of capital was the only option until growth rates
improved. The plan for growth was to fund investments with part of
the benefits from Six Sigma. This message was delivered consistently
and everyone understood that providing our stockholders with
attractive return was not optional.
From the beginning, Six Sigma was also promoted as an important
leadership development experience, and soon all the most talented
people wanted to participate in Six Sigma. All leaders at 3M during
this period learned a great deal about leadership and the power of
Six Sigma. During the four and a half years of the McNerney era at
3M, the stock price more than doubled, free cash flow more than
doubled, and operating income increased more than 25 percent.
He started the meeting by presenting the following implementation pro-

gram to get everyone on the same page.
1. Three- to five-year implementation time horizon. It takes three to

five years to develop a mature supply chain that provides sustainable
competitive advantage. Behavioral and cultural changes take time;
for example, Lean system implementation takes two to three years.
This doesn’t mean significant results won’t be generated along the
CEO and Leadership Implementation Roles • 109
way, but sustainable change requires internalizing changes in think-

ing and practice, and this can only be accomplished with time.
The true test of leadership greatness is sustaining excellence at the
highest level. Toyota has been perfecting their Toyota Production
System for 50 years and has sustained quality, cost, service, and cus-
tomer satisfaction leadership for two decades. Top executives at Toyota
understand their operational system because they worked and con-
tributed to making the system stronger. An important thing to learn
from Toyota is that companies must have their own operational sys-
tem, their own version of the Toyota Production System. This system
provides a common language, structure, practice, and discipline, free-
ing the organization to focus on customers and improvement. This
shared operational system also enables the retention of organizational
knowledge and experience, preventing common problems that occur
in many companies as one leadership generation passes to another.
This sharing of retained knowledge prevents successive leadership gen-
erations from having to re-solve problems solved by previous leaders.
2. T op executive team leadership. Members of business organizations
act primarily based on what they see from executive leadership and
secondarily words heard. Leadership has six key implementation
roles, which are described below.
• Provide basic improvement process understanding. Imple-
mentation of a sustainable supply chain improvement process
demands leadership has at least a working-level knowledge of
process. There is no evidence of significant success without active
executive leadership, and this requires a working understanding of
improvement processes and methodologies. How many times has
an executive ordered inventory built assuming it would improve
service? While it is possible that more inventory will address the
root cause of poor service, 90 percent of the time this only creates
more problems. Inventory obscures what is really happening in the
process. This kind of behavior only demonstrates leadership’s lack of
basic supply chain understanding. Instead, leaders need to tell their
organization that current service levels are unacceptable and cus-
tomers need X level of service. They must ask for root cause analysis
or what action is being taken to reach service goals. Leadership must
act and communicate in a manner consistent with a basic under-
standing of supply chain and improvement methodologies.
• Maintain Communication. Communication is management’s

most important tool. A formalized communications process is
important, but not a substitute for taking every opportunity to
reinforce strategy, goals, successes, and failures. Larger organi-
zations require compact messages to penetrate organizational
layers and minimize misunderstanding as they cascade through
organizational levels.
Listening to every organizational level and checking its aware-
ness, understanding, and commitment to goals and initiatives
ensures leaders stay grounded in reality. This is a never-ending
effort as each level of organizational understanding will lead to
questions and concerns about what’s next. Peeling layers of strat-
egy, goals, and initiatives to their core is essential for achieving
complete organizational understanding and requires committed,
determined, persistent, and patient leadership.
• Provide resources for success. Initiatives that are only words
from the leader are doomed to failure. Inertia in an organization
must be overcome, and this only happens when commitment
actions are aligned with management’s words. Organizations
must have skills, tools, dedicated professionals, and appropriate
financial investments to be successful. Leaders must make sure
their organization has these resources in place or implement
actions to provide them.
• Make decisions on resources necessary for success. There is
a tendency for project teams to ask for everything they believe
might be needed. Leadership’s role is to sort out essential
resources required for success. This requires some challenging
team assumptions and an open door for teams to come back if
additional resources are required. Resources are always limited
so leaders must provide support for success, recognizing that
speed of implementation will depend on how many projects can
be supported simultaneously.
• Maintain operational review discipline. The priority given to
an initiative by an organization is directly linked to the priority
demonstrated by their leaders. Leaders must be present, demand
results, assist in overcoming barriers, keep the organization
focused, praise good work, and constructively criticize and apply
pressure to the 10 percent who aren’t on board.
• S tay in touch with reality. Leaders must make opportunities to

interact with all levels of the organization in order to communi-
cate and check on the level of understanding and commitment
to the initiatives. There is no substitute for the occasional deep
dive into the organization to understand how well the leader-
ship chain is communicating and implementing. The feedback
to leadership from these deep dives is powerful as it helps the
leadership chain understand that top management is fully com-
mitted and checking on progress.
People naturally tend to do the things they want to do and
think are important. If top leadership doesn’t require a change
in the priorities of the leadership chain, nothing will come of
valuable initiatives.
• T ake timely action to resolve issues. Nothing kills success like
a leader who doesn’t resolve issues on a timely basis and fails to
take decisive action, resulting in demoralized team members
who expect their leader to remove obstacles to improvement.
N e v e r Be T o o Bu s y t o T a k e a R e a lit y C h e ck
During the first year that I ran the 3M Abrasives Division, quality
problems were significant enough that my boss Harold Wiens and I
had regular reviews with Jim McNerney. The discussion was direct
and both Harold and Jim’s great experience was invaluable to me.
During one meeting, Jim said he had talked with sales people dur-
ing a field visit, asking if they were confident problems were being
fixed. Fortunately for me, they said yes. I learned that the CEO and
chairman, who had many things to improve, occasionally “stuck his
finger in the cake” to get a reality check. Audit, coach, and identify
the next improvement!
Leaders who fail to act decisively will likely damage their cred-
ibility so severely that success becomes impossible. This includes
holding their organization accountable for achieving results and
modeling company values. It demands a high level of professional
competence to succeed. Everything reasonable, which doesn’t com-

promise end goals, must be done to give people sufficient time to get
on board and acquire needed competencies, but in major transfor-
mations, everyone has to be on board. Experience tells us 10 percent
of an organization will be unable or unwilling to get on board with
transformational change. Consistently poor performers and cultural
terrorists must be removed to sustain energy and commitment.
3. A lign organizational metrics. Managing organizations by pitting one
function or department against another was a common management
practice in decades past. While this is no longer common, most orga-
nizations retained their conflicting functional metrics resulting in
behavior similar to actually pitting departments against one another.
Collaboration across organizations is accepted today as a best
practice, but leaders seldom take time to make sure measurement
and reward systems support collaboration. Metrics must be syn-
chronized across organizations to optimize the enterprise rather
than functional benefit.
The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) linked metrics
and Lean’s Hoshin Kanri process are a valuable tools for aligning
organizations, ensuring everyone’s priorities are understood and all
are pulling in the same direction.
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n cE : D a n
S u pply C h a in O pe r a t io n a l Me t r ics Mu s t Be
Alig n e d wit h C u s t o me r V a lu e Me t r ics
While working on a supply chain assessment, an examination of the
company’s Key Performance Indicators revealed over twenty-five
metrics updated weekly. They included all manner of machine and
labor utilizations, yields, and waste. The weekly updating required
one full-time person to gather and publish the data. Amazingly,
none of the metrics pointed to the customer. In fact, no measures of
on-time delivery, fill rate, or order cycle time existed. In this case, a
short list of customer-focused metrics would have served the busi-
ness much better.
4. D evelop a communications plan. Communication keeps organi-

zations informed, engaged, aligned. A structured communications
process is a valuable element of transformational change because it
• maintains a disciplined schedule for regular communications,
• keeps team members informed on the state of the business,
• communicates improvement process successes and failures,
• gives team members an opportunity to question leadership and
be heard, and
• provides an external view of the company from the perspective
of customers and investors.
Communication is leadership’s main tool for transformational
change. Confusion, misunderstanding, anger, disagreement, and
suspicion will all be present in an organization involved in trans-
formational change. Regular communication from every level of
leadership is required to acknowledge people’s feelings and at the
same time reinforce the bigger cause for change requiring continued
commitment.
Ninety percent of people are able to accept and live with things
they don’t completely agree with as long as they have had an oppor-
tunity to be heard and feel respected. Allowing people to keep their
own feelings about change also enables them to change their opin-
ion when they see growing company success. Nothing prevents
people from changing their point of view more than resentment
and anger generated from feelings that have been disrespected and
not heard.
• Transformational change is about building a wave of positive
organizational support, which naturally overcomes resistance of
all but the last 10 percent who will never get on board. This last 10
percent will be resolved as they leave, accept change, or are asked
to leave because they are no longer aligned with the organization.
• A formal communications plan has four elements:
−− Initial CEO communication of the vision to the entire
organization
−− Cascading communications throughout an entire organiza-
tion to make sure that everyone understands key messages and
that they will be provided with training for implementation
−− Quarterly organizationwide communication meetings
−− Periodic assessments by the Human Resources or Commu-

nications Department to provide feedback on leadership’s
performance and organizational understanding, acceptance,
and commitment.
5. Manage implementation through a program management office.
No one would consider building a bridge, road, or plant without a
strong project leader and dedicated project managers for the major
components. Implementing a companywide supply chain improve-
ment initiative is more complex than building a new plant. It requires
sufficient structure and skills to be successful.
Program office management and project management are not strong
inherent skills in most organizations, except in the specific groups that
build plants, design and implement new process equipment, or imple-
ment IT systems. Success requires an overall program leader who is an
accomplished project manager and organizational guide.
Top leadership must be supported by dedicated project manag-
ers and a supply chain specialist. There is no single organizational
model that fits all businesses or projects, but there are universally
required skills and leadership capabilities. Leaders must understand
the skills required for improvement so they can define appropriate
resources and structure to fit their program.
6. Build the project plan. Creating a vision using benchmarking and
value stream mapping information establishes the improvement
goals and priority projects. Project leaders must establish project
plans to meet the performance improvement goals and identify sig-
nificant stages of progress or milestones. These project milestones
are the focus of monthly project reviews.
Failure to meet milestones requires immediate intervention
with actions to get projects back on track. Frequently project lead-
ers spend hours completing detailed project plans with all activities
using project-planning software. They often focus on activity track-
ing and rescheduling, assuming that this is project management.
Unfortunately, this common practice usually leads to failure. Project
managers must do several things for the project to succeed:
• Define the project, its scope, and deliverables
• Establish and track project milestones
• Understand project risk related to each milestone and have con-
tingencies prepared if failure appears probable
• Understand milestone critical paths, which can not be off sched-

ule, or projects will not achieve their goal
• Conduct regular monthly project reviews
Executive leaders do not need to be project experts but they must
question project leaders about these five points. Only constant fol-
low up will ensure expected results and early detection of potential
failures while time is still available to get back on schedule.
7. Plan how to overcome resistance to change. Experience shows
human resistance to change is the greatest barrier to how quickly
supply chain improvement can be implemented. This issue has
such a great effect on supply chain projects because improvement is
achieved only when people do their jobs in a different way.
Project leadership, supply chain professional competencies, and
committed top leadership champions are required for success, but
eliminating people’s resistance to change is always the most signifi-
cant challenge. This is why the executive’s role as project champion
is a critical success factor for all project teams. Top leaders must take
an active role in continually communicating the vision and making
a compelling case for change to all organizational levels. Tools such
Motivators Change Force Field Inhibitors
Competition Organizational structure
Off-shore sourcing Lack of awareness
Changing markets Poor vision-setting
Customer expectations High profitability
Eroding financial metrics Lack of team work culture
Business loss Reward system
Layoffs Lack of strategic focus
As Is Improved
Performance
Figure 5.1
The change force field.
as the change force field (Figure 5.1) can be used at all organizational

levels to help understand and overcome resistance to change.
Top leadership also needs to recognize three groups of people in
the organization: early adaptors, observers, and hard-core resistors.
These three groups will be present in every transformational change.
Leadership needs to take a specific approach to each group.
Early adaptors need to be reinforced and encouraged to become
active change agents. This is normally very easy as they are inclined
to support change that improves business results. Observers are
the pivotal group for success. Leadership must work very hard to
get observers to get off the fence and join with the early adaptors.
Getting observers moved to active supporters is critical to building
majority organization consensus, which gives legitimacy to change.
Leaders must be patiently firm with strong resistors. Many of them
have what they think are legitimate reservations but will eventually
get on board. The remaining resistors and organizational terrorists
will frequently opt out when they feel pressure from peers, but, if
they don’t, leadership must step in and take action to remove them.
8. Conduct regular operational reviews at all levels. This review
process must occur at all levels of the organization with greater fre-
quency as it moves from top level operational performance reviews
to daily shop floor reviews.
S t a n d a r d iz e W o r k a t All Le v e ls
Along with 3M manufacturing leadership, Rick Harris of Harris
Lean Systems conducted operational Lean reviews with all 60 facility
managers in North America, with 6 to 10 facilities per session, held
every four months. Harris devoted one of the sessions to teaching
standardized work for managers.
Daily shop floor reviews are essential for maintaining opera-

tional discipline, continuous improvement, and employee develop-
ment. Lean, for example, is a people- and leadership-based process
with layered audit control plans. Operators, floor supervisors, and

area managers have a daily standardized work routine to audit cer-
tain areas. Plant managers spend their first couple of hours each day
reviewing shop floor operations to audit, coach, and identify the next
area of improvement.
• A udit: Leaders at all levels audit an area others have audited,
ensuring real accountability because everyone knows that at some
point their work is inspected. Audits are a preventive and act as
an early detection system by identifying small deviations that
may cause quality, service, safety, or cost failure if not corrected.
• Coach: Lean teaches practitioners to see with new eyes and seek
the perfection that is fundamental to continuous improvement.
Tools and methods obviously assist in this process, but a greatly
increased sensitivity to waste and its sources changes managers’
thinking. This skill needs to be coached and nurtured every day
by questioning, for example, why the hourly production target
wasn’t achieved, or why something is done in a particular way.
Why, why, why, why? This drive to understand processes, iden-
tify root causes, and implement solutions is also an opportunity
for leadership to share their knowledge and experience.
• Identify next levels of improvement: In addition to auditing and
coaching, time must be spent observing operations, not only to
understand the details of a particular process, but also to see how the
entire system is functioning. This experience reinforces something
most leaders know (but do not do), which is that time dedicated to
operational reviews is critical to both process improvement and
leadership development. Many times reviews turn into a search
for the guilty and punishment for the innocent. Leaders frequently
want to show their knowledge, but instead demonstrate their arro-
gance and ignorance about their supply chain. Leaders must con-
stantly remind themselves that they must also be learners.
9. B uild and maintain momentum by achieving early results.
Nothing provides energy, credibility, and confidence to an organi-
zation like success. Early benefit is an important criterion in proj-
ect selection because it provides organizational reinforcement.
Early success is also crucial to overcoming resistance, convincing
uncommitted observers to get on board thus isolating hard-core
change resistors.
10. R elentlessly pursue the end state. Organizations are frequently criti-
cal of their leadership for focusing on only the short term. This has
become a greater leadership challenge as investment analysts push for
continuous quarter-by-quarter improvement in financial performance.
Leaders must continually remind the organization of the reasons for
the improvement journey and that achievement of short-term ben-
efit is an important first step toward achieving the long-term visions.
Leaders must model a focused commitment to end-state achievement.
This builds their credibility for dealing with the inevitable unexpected
events that require short-term reprioritization of projects to sustain
overall improvement. These events will be viewed in their proper per-
spective once an organization has experienced sustained leadership
commitment to their transformational end-state journey.
Factors Affecting the Success of an Implementation Plan

The success of supply chain improvement depends on applying lessons
learned by incorporating them into implementation plans. These suc-
cess factors should be used as an assessment tool for plan completeness.
Following is a checklist for successful implementation plans:
• Top executive leadership as its champion

• A vision and cause created by the CEO
• Top talent as resources
• All employees—including executives—trained and contributing
to projects
• Established cost, cash, and growth targets
• Measurable hard savings against leadership targets; soft savings
should count only when directly connected to future strategic goals
• Improvement expectations integrated into every operational review
• Disciplined project scope to ensure completion in four to six months
• Using Six Sigma only when root causes are unknown and difficult
to determine
• Coaching from statistical experts
• Project leaders, Master Black Belts, and Black Belts held accountable
for project results by leadership champions
• Stakeholders who buy into solutions
• Rigorous control plans measured by an independent organization
• Operating budgets and plans that, after one year, factor in a percent-
age of the expected improvement process benefits (30 to 50 percent)
Twin City Manufacturing’s

Implementation Program
The Twin City Manufacturing leadership team was eager to move into
implementation. Their vision was set, their performance improvement pri-
orities had been validated by customers, and first improvement cycle proj-
ects were defined. Rick knew that aligning organizational performance
review metrics, establishing project implementation leadership resources,
preparing for resistance, and agreeing on communications plans would be
good investments in overall implementation speed.
The Twin City executives learned, through SCOR training, how Level
1 through Level 3 metrics were directly linked and effectively enabled
alignment of supply chain performance objectives throughout their
organization.
Improving service (defined by their scorecard metrics) to an advantage
position was their highest priority. The executives understood that this
did not mean that budgets and other cost-related goals could be ignored;
instead it meant that when one of their teams faced a decision, cost-related
constraints that conflicted with meeting service goals should be discussed
so teams and leaders collectively resolve the issue.
There was also an implied understanding costs would improve from effi-
ciencies gained as they implemented their six value stream programs. Rick
and his executive team reviewed each key operating department using the
SCOR Levels 1 to 3 metrics and Hoshin Kanri to make sure every operation
was on the same page by eliminating all conflicting metrics. With metric
alignment complete, they organized the project structure. The plant process
engineering manager was named the Lean implementation manager because
she had significant project implementation experience. Four factory manag-
ers were assigned as leadership team members responsible for implement-
ing the seven projects. Three process engineers were assigned full time to
project implementation and more resources would be added as productivity
improved and key operators could be added full time. Force field analysis was
done at three levels:
1. Corporately, by focusing on cultural barriers

2. By functional departments to understand how all would view
planned transformation and its effect on their areas
3. By project to understand how the groups involved might resist
implementation
Examining their culture and its strongly held organization views, they
came up with four strongly held beliefs that would need to be changed
or modified to enable transformational change to be embraced (see
Figure 5.2).
Next, six motivating forces that could be used to overcome current belief
barriers were identified. Leadership team members saw what was needed
but were unsure how to successfully make these changes to move their
transformation ahead. Rick Hamilton drew on his experience and shared
with his team the five key leadership communication principles needed for
successfully persuading an organization to modify its beliefs and embrace
significant change:
1. Respect and reinforce past organizational successes

2. Define what made successes possible
3. Share the goals and objectives required for continued success
Twin City Fan Change Force Field
Motivators Twin City Manufacturing Inhibitors
Loss of market leadership We have won with innovation

and will keep winning
Vision to regain leadership We are still the market leader
Company pride The competitors are not

sustainable
Customer loyalty The competitors don’t
have our innovation
Market leadership
Customer expectations
As-Is Improved
Performance
Figure 5.2
The Twin City Manufacturing change force field.
4. Explain the benefits of achieving organizational goals and objectives

5. Communicate action plans and accountability for implementation
Application of these five principles maintains focus on moving forward

and using past successes to create forward momentum for implementing
change. Applying force field analysis and Hamilton’s five communications
principles, the team created its communications plan content. Rick could
see his team was moving from having significant reservations to being
excited about getting started with communications. They saw a positive
approach to co-opting their organizations to join the transformational
journey.
The marketing and communications executive shared key points of good
communication plans and leadership’s role in the process. The following
communications expectations were agreed upon:
• Communication of the initial vision by Rick was scheduled in a series

of meetings with all company team members.
• Each executive team member would follow up with communications
through the entire organization, making sure all understood the mes-
sage how it would impact their function and training plans.
• Quarterly follow-up communications meetings were scheduled by
all executive team members with an agenda and expectation of pub-
lishing a summary of results to all executive team members.
• The Human Resources department would randomly sample 10 per-
cent of the organization each quarter to assess their views on lead-
ership and understanding, acceptance, and commitment to the
improvement initiative.
• Every six months the national sales manager would survey key cus-
tomers by personal interview. This survey would include owners,
sales managers, logistics managers, procurement managers along
with operational-level people in each function.
The executives now felt completely ready to push the button and begin.
The vision was clear; customers validated the improvement priorities, the
first cycle of projects had been identified, and a plan to overcome orga-
nizational resistance to change and a communications plan were both in
place. It was time to get the entire organization up to speed, on board, and
committed to making the necessary changes.
Over the following two weeks, round one of communications was com-
pleted, and everyone had an opportunity to express doubts, concerns,
and criticisms.
With initial communications complete, Rick’s leadership team reviewed
their original change acceptance plan to consider feedback from all levels
of management on issues and concerns voiced during the initial commu-
nications meetings. They reviewed the companywide force field analysis
and concluded that no significant changes were needed, but they reminded
themselves to use the five leadership communication principles and stay
aligned with the communication plan.
It was time to get everyone fully engaged in moving implementation
forward. They invited Susan Zoelzer, engineering manager, and her imple-
mentation team to join them in a two-day workshop to start implemen-
tation. The first half day focused on reviewing benchmarking results,
customer value analysis and value stream maps, improvement goals, and
implementation plans to be sure implementation team members were com-
fortable discussing the vision with their colleagues. Rick recommended they
carefully consider their organizational capacity for change and resources
to complete improvement projects. After some discussion, they concluded
that given their organization’s maximum capacity, they could complete
improvements through project 3 in 90 days. Reviewing each project led to
the establishment of the following three-month goals (Figure 5.4):
1. Reduce order fulfillment lead time from 17 days to 11 days

2. Increase on-time delivery service from 85 percent to 90 percent
3. Decrease number of days of inventory from 55 to 49
4. Increase perfect order fulfillment from 39 percent to 70 percent
5. Reduce supply chain cost from 14 percent to 13 percent
6. Reduce cost of goods sold from 70 percent to 69 percent
Once agreed-upon goals for the next three months were established, it
was time for Susan’s team to take ownership of plan implementation.
The remainder of the first day focused on a detailed review of value
stream maps and improvement projects one, two, and three (Figure 5.3),
which were selected because they would be felt by customers and provide
early successes that would be visible across the company. In addition,
these projects would take maximum effort by the entire organization; it
was Twin City Manufacturing’s limit.
Twin City Value Stream Map Three-Month Improvement Plan

Control MRP Daily Orders
Daily
1.0 Million/Day
XOXXOX 2
Daily
Brass Sleeves,
Pre and Assy, Packaging
Weekly
Machines = 1 Bulk Pack
Shuttle D 2 1.5
0.25
5 X Daily ai
ly 3
C/T = 10 M/hr C.T. = 115 Secs C.T. = 4.6 Secs
C/O = 0
FIFO Up time = 100% 6,000 Pkgs./Day 11,000 Pkgs./Day
Process 1
Contact Da
1 Shift 2 Shift
`
5 ily
Plating
C/T = 0.12 Secs 5 Day Cycle Assembly Boxer Blister Shuttle
C/O = 2 Hours Process 2
Shuttle Machines = 15 5 X Daily Shipping
Up time = 38% Machines = 1 ily Tubing Daily out = 1 MM 1.5
Scrap = 10% 5 X Daily Da
3 Shifts 7 FIFO C/T = 2 Secs C/T = 1 Secs
0.25 FIFO 3
FIFO 10,500 Pkgs./Day 12,500 Pkgs./Day
Weekly
C/T = 10 M/hr C/T = 0.6 Sec.
C/O = 10 Mins. 1 Up time = 60% Up time = 60%
C/O = 20 Min. 1
Up time = 80% Up time = 50% Scrap = 0% Scrap = 0%
Scrap = 5% 2 Shifts 2 Shifts
Scrap = 0 2 Shifts
3 Shifts 2 Shifts
Goal Goal
Resin Process 4 Performance Metrics C.S. 3 Mo. 1 Yr.
Presses = 12 1 Day Order Fulfillment L.T. Days 17 11 8
Moisturize On Time Delivery 85% 90% 95
3 (Nylon only)
C/O = 1 Hours Perfect Order Fulfillment 39% 70% 80%
Scrap = 3%
3 Days
83 Mins. 60 Mins. 100 Mins. 3 Mins. Processing time =
245 Mins.
Figure 5.3
Twin City Manufacturing’s three-month improvement plan.
Twin City Value Stream Scorecard
Current State Three-Month Twin City Operational Plan Improved State
Twin City Current Value Stream Map Twin City Value Stream Map
Three-Month Improvement Plan
Action Plans Value Stream Metrics

Three-Month goals
• Implement 5S & TPM in assembly, pkg., and shipping Current Plan
• Implement J.I. in assembly, packaging, and shipping Delivery performance 85% 90%
• Implement improvement projects 1, 2, & 3 Order fulfillment L.T. 17 11
Perfect order fulfillment 39% 50%
On or ahead of schedule
Inventory 55 Days 49 Days
Off schedule <10% Productivity—assm. & pkg. +15%
Off schedule by >10% Supply chain cost 13% 12%
Cost of goods sold 70% 69%
Figure 5.4
Twin City Manufacturing’s value stream scorecard, three-month operational review.
Step 1 for Lean to be successful is to establish stability based on a founda-

tion of order, discipline, standardization, and reliability. This foundation
requires the implementation of 5S (Sort, Set in order, Straighten, Shine,
and Sustain), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), a key element of Lean
stabilization (the methodology was documented by Seiichi Nakajima in
his 1984 book TPM), standard work instructions, and cell optimization.
Rick personally trained the implementation team on 5S and held weekly
coaching meetings with the team until all members were comfortable with
implementation.
TPM is an equipment maintenance methodology that ensures high reliabil-
ity and availability of equipment in a very cost-effective manner by involv-
ing all plant team members. Fortunately, Susan Zoelzer, who had recently
attended a maintenance seminar, was energized by the thought of being
supported to implement TPM at TCM. The goal was zero breakdowns.
TPM deals with machine stability while Training Within Industry
(TWI), a tried and true method for standardizing work instructions, sta-
bilizes work methods and minimizes team member variability in com-
pleting each work task. TWI was a U.S. government program, established
during World War II, and developed and refined for five years as hun-
dreds of thousands of workers were trained. After the war it was used in
Japan, which had lost many skilled workers. TWI was vitally important
in enabling the rapid development of a well-trained manufacturing work-
force in Japan. Toyota was an early adaptor of TWI as the foundation for
continuous improvement. Earlier, Rick Hamilton had assigned Charlie
Dubey (the human resources executive) to take ownership of providing
Job Instruction (JI) training and establishing a center of excellence to sus-
tain it. JI is one of three training components of TWI.
TWI has three components: Job Instruction (JI) for training workers to
perform a specific job; Job Methods (JM) for improving safety, produc-
tivity, and quality of a job; and Job Relations (JR) to prepare employees
to work with others. Charlie supplied each of the implementation team
members with ἀ e TWI Workbook (2006) written by Patrick Graupp and
Robert J. Wrona. The managers and supervisors from the shipping, pack-
aging, and assembly areas were invited to join the project team in learning
TWI during a two-week, two-hour-a-day training class.
JI focuses on only the essential job information and knowledge a per-
son needs to perform the job. The job is broken down into three areas: (1)
important steps, (2) key points about each step, and (3) reasons for each
step. Often more detailed procedures are created that are used as input for
creating JI, but they are often not easy for shop floor team members to use.
JM and JR will be deployed later when team members can immediately
apply them.
Cell optimization is the final methodology required to achieve stabiliza-
tion; it focuses on optimizing the value-added work performed by opera-
tors and ensures the cell operates at a cycle time slightly less than Takt
time (customer demand divided by available production time expressed
in seconds per part). This ensures the cells can support flow and pull at
the rate of customer demand. The second day was spent reviewing project
resources, potential barriers, implementation risk, and contingency plans,
and establishing operational review dates and agendas.
Implementation of Priority Projects

Susan and her team put together implementation plans for value stream
projects one, two, and three. These three projects would improve deliv-
ery performance, perfect order flexibility, and supply chain response time,
closing benchmarked performance gaps.
Before implementing priority projects, foundational projects—5S, TPM,
TWI, and cell optimization—had to be implemented to create basic order
and consistency in performing each job, as well as to engage shop floor
team members in continuous improvement. They had to be implemented,
operationally, in the same order as the initial three project implementa-
tions. Each project was reviewed and if it could not be completed in three
months, it was broken down into subprojects with a clear scope, objec-
tives, and resources. Susan summarized their plan as follows:
1. Operational environment and discipline will be established first

through implementation of 5S, TPM, JI, and cell optimization in
shipping, packaging, and assembly.
2. Shuttle frequency of product from packaging to shipping operations
will be immediately increased to one every hour and two shifts in
shipping will be scheduled to support same-day shipment of second
shift–produced product (value stream improvement project 1).
3. Packaging operation implementation sequence (value stream
improvement project 2) will be established.
• Perform packaging operation cell optimization.
• Implement error-proofing systems to prevent packaging and

order fulfillment errors.
• Eliminate practice of operators replenishing packaging materi-
als by establishing central supermarket and having material han-
dlers make scheduled deliveries every hour.
• Provide daily usage to packaging supply vendors and receive
daily replenishments.
• Stop scheduling packaging operations and flow materials (FIFO,
first in, first out) through packaging to shipping.
4. Change assembly operation scheduling practices and apply Six Sigma
to resolve current quality issues (value stream improvement project 3)
• Establish assembly as the pacemaker operation using level schedul-
ing techniques to efficiently make mix and volume requirements
−− Establish Takt time.
−− Implement scheduling with a 12.6-minute pitch (10 master
cartons).
−− Implement level scheduling of customer orders by utilizing
the first four days and releasing on the fifth day to meet the
five-day order processing lead time.
• Initiate Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve,
control) projects to identify root causes of quality defects and
implement permanent solutions.
The first order of business was training project implementation team
members and shop floor team members in shipping, packaging, and
assembly in 5S, TPM, JI, and cell optimization. Each team leader was
assigned responsibility for implementing it in his or her area. They were to
meet once per week to share what they learned, critique one of their areas
to help the leaders make progress, and keep a consistent approach to 5S
across the plant. An excellent resource for training shop floor team mem-
bers on many of the Lean tools and practices is Just-in-Time for Operators
(1998), which was written and illustrated for shop floor training.
The department managers made daily walks through their areas each
morning to audit 5S and TPM compliance. This is a very important step
because sustaining Lean system continuous improvement depends on
active management shop floor involvement to audit standardized work,
achieve schedules, and maintain safety. Three months later the teams had
completed their projects and Lean was beginning to take hold in the plant.
Results were coming ahead of expectations and shop floor team members
were engaged because management finally solved some basic job-related

issues.
The first executive team review was scheduled after three months of
implementation, and executive team members all arrived early for their
first Sustainable Improvement Roadmap (SIR) review. There was a sense
of anticipation as they all felt very good about what had been accom-
plished. The entire organization had responded enthusiastically to their
call to regain market leadership. Implementation of projects 1, 2, and 3
was completed ahead of schedule, and they were hoping Rick Hamilton
would acknowledge this success.
Rick reviewed the agenda and his expectations from the meeting: a review
of SIR scorecard progress and value stream improvement status would be
completed, scorecard goals and value stream projects for the next three
months would be discussed, and key action items would be summarized.
Quarterly SIR progress reviews were jointly presented by Operations Vice
President Eaton Oesterlein and CFO Fred Gilligan. Fred reviewed the SIR
scorecard (Figure 5.5), and minimum progress to plan was 100 percent.
Twin Cities Manufacturing SIR Scorecard

3-Month Operational Review
Major Average or 1 yr.

Key Perspectives SCOR Level 1 Metrics Opportunity Disadvantage Median Advantage Superior Plan
140% 5% + 5%
Delivery + $3.9 M yr.1
Performance/ 100%
Quality Perfect order fulfillment + 31% pts*
100%
Required
Upside production flexibility capability
Flexibility & 100%
Responsiveness
100%
–2.0%
$5.2 M/yr
100%
10 Day
100% reduction
Working
Capital 1.2 Turns
reduction.
Total Benefit
First full year operating profit benefit $13.0 M
Included in S.C.
management cost* One time inventory reduction $19.3 M
TCM position TCM progress Advantage Superior
Figure 5.5
SIR scorecard.
1. Delivery performance to request date reached 92 percent versus the

goal of 90 percent. This resulted from shorter assembly through
shipment flow time and implementation of their new level schedul-
ing process.
2. Order fulfillment lead time was right on target with a reduction of 6
days to a plant lead time of 8 days and total lead time of 11 days as a
result of implementation of a single scheduling point and FIFO flow
from assembly through shipping.
3. Perfect order fulfillment improved from 39 to 50 percent based on
improved delivery performance and reductions in shipping errors.
4. Upside production flexibility was improved by 20 days (from 40 days
to 20 days), creating an advantage position, through implementation
of cross-training of operators, operator certification, and creation of
a part-time work team willing to flex their hours from a minimum
of 20 per week to a maximum of 40 hours per week.
The scorecard reflected great progress on their value stream, as all of the
goals established for the three-month period were met or exceeded. Odair
Brazil, sales vice president, interrupted the presentation, starting his com-
ments by acknowledging that 90 percent of the time he is very critical of
operations because they cause so many problems for customers, but today
he had to admit that customers were asking sales people, “What is going
on at Twin City?” They were experiencing better delivery reliability and
fewer errors. Sales representatives were receiving many questions from
customers who wanted to know if the improvement was just a coincidence
or a permanent change in delivery and quality performance. The sales
force, still dubious about improvement sustainability, explained that TCM
was putting effort into supply chain improvement, but they were reluc-
tant to promise it would continue. Their credibility had suffered over the
years from poor performance, so they were not going sell improvements
too hard until they saw a longer period of improvement. His final com-
ment was, “I am going to send an e-mail to our entire sales force today,
encouraging them to believe and sell these improvements to customers.”
Eaton was in shock for a few seconds. He had rarely heard a positive com-
ment from Odair about his operations. After taking a moment to recover,
he took over and presented the value stream scorecard (Figure 5.6). The
group knew there had been good progress, but was surprised by the level
of progress after just three months. They felt the shop floor team member
Three-Month Twin City Value Stream Scorecard
Current State Three-Month Twin City Operational Review Improved State
Twin City Current Value Stream Map Twin City Value Stream Map Three-Month Improvement Plan

• Implement 5S & TPM in assembly, pkg., and shipping Three-Month Results
• Implement J.I. in assembly, packaging, and shipping Plan Act

Delivery performance 90% 92%
• Implement improvement projects 1, 2, & 3
Order fulfillment L.T. 11 11
On or ahead of schedule Perfect order fulfillment 50% 50%
Off schedule <10% Inventory 49 Days 49 Days
Off schedule by >10% Productivity—assm. & pkg. +15% +20%
Supply chain cost 12% 12%
Figure 5.6
Twin City Manufacturing’s value stream scorecard, three-month operational review.
enthusiasm from lunchroom conversations and shop floor visits. Now

they understood why everyone was so energized: Results were reinforc-
ing changes being made from improvement project implementation. Shop
floor team members routinely commented that management was finally
listening. Long-standing issues that interfered with getting things done
right were being solved every day.
Eaton reviewed only those results that had not shown up on the SIR
scorecard: inventory, productivity, and cost of goods sold.
Implementation of JI standard work, TPM, 5S, error proofing, and opti-
mizing work cells produced significant improvement in safety and qual-
ity and resulted in a 20 percent productivity gain. These changes also
improved product flow and stabilized operations resulting in improved
production output consistency. Improved flow and shorter cycle times
were critical to successful implementation of FIFO flow from assembly
through packaging. An assembly materials inventory supermarket was
created as a countermeasure to accommodate imbalances between assem-
bly operations cycle times and the cycle times of upstream processes
that provide assembly materials. This supermarket smoothed out vol-
ume demand on upstream operations, resulting in a six-day reduction in
assembly materials inventory. The improved speed through the plant and
productivity improvements contributed to reducing the cost of goods sold
by one percentage point. Odair couldn’t contain himself: “Those are great
results, but I have a question: You guys aren’t just cutting inventory, which
will start to hurt service, are you?” “No,” replied Eaton, “you can be confi-
dent that won’t happen. Everyone has been trained and is held accountable
for making sure customers are always protected when changes are made.
Inventory reduction is possible because we are producing exactly what
customers order and replenishing parts based on actual consumption.”
Moving on with his presentation, Eaton displayed the three-month
improvement plan value stream map, it showed a three-day cycle time
achieved for assembly and packaging product. He explained the actual
improvement had been six days, but three of those days had been taken by
scheduling to accumulate customer orders to level the schedule before the
orders were released to assembly in time to meet the ship date. “Does this
new level scheduling mean we can quit wasting our time with Sales and
Operations Planning meetings each month?” retorted Odair. “Certainly
not,” responded Eaton. “We can stop spending time on near-term demand
as our system is now much more flexible and able to handle short-term
variation. The meetings can be more valuable, focusing on future expec-

tations from customers, market place events, responding to unplanned
opportunities, and taking actions to gain additional business at key cus-
tomers.” Odair commented, “Now that sounds like value-added to me.
When do we start this new agenda?” Eaton answered, “We are starting
this month and will measure ourselves by sales to our major customers.”
Odair looked at Rick Hamilton and joked, “I must have come to work
at the wrong place this morning. This all sounds like my dream come
true. Operations is finally going to help us sell and we won’t have to carry
them around on our backs anymore. Did I die and go to heaven?” The
room burst out in laughter as Rick looked at him and said, “You are right.
Starting today, this is a new company, and the customer comes first.”
Eaton next presented the six-month plan (Figure 5.7) and reviewed spe-
cific projects (Figure 5.8). Team members sat in silence, stunned by what
they saw. Eaton explained that he had worked with their improvement
team and consulted with Rick about taking an aggressive view of accel-
erating improvement in the six-month plan. They all agreed; they would
share the risk of coming up short but were all committed to the plan. The
plan presented would achieve year-one goals in six months. If this could
be done, they would be able to regain their market leadership in one year—
nothing short of a miracle.
Rick coached, challenged, and encouraged the group by saying, “This is
just the beginning. With relentless commitment to perfection, there is no
limit to what Twin City Manufacturing can achieve. It is up to us.” Eaton
had taken notes of the action items and presented a summary:
1. Three-month progress indicates improvement can be made at a rate

faster than anticipated. Susan Zoelzer and her team will be challenged
to complete remaining year-one projects in the next three months.
2. Charlie Dubey will prepare a companywide communication of three-
month progress, the accelerated plan for the next three months, and
customer feedback.
3. Eaton Oesterlein will focus sales and operations planning meetings
aimed at increasing sales at key customers.
4. Odair Brasil will send customer communications to all sales repre-
sentatives explaining improvements made and reinforcing commit-
ment to adding customer value.
Six-Month Twin City Value Stream Scorecard
Current State Six-Month Operational Plan Improved State
Twin City Current Value Stream Map Twin City Value Stream Map
Six-Month Improvement Plan

• Implement 5S & TPM in all plant operations
3-Mo. Act 6-Mo. Plan
• Implement J.I. in all plant operations
Delivery performance 92% 95%
• Implement improvement projects 4, 5, & 6 Order fulfillment L.T. 11 9.5
On or ahead of schedule Perfect order fulfillment 50% 70%
Off schedule <10% Inventory 49 Days 45 Days
Off schedule by >10% Productivity plantwide +15%
Supply chain cost 12% 11%
Figure 5.7
Twin City Manufacturing’s value stream scorecard, six-month operational plan.

Twin City Value Stream Map
5 Six-Month Improvement Plan
Control/MRP Two Days to Level Schedule
Daily
Bra
ss S
le e 1.0 Million/Day
ves
XOXXOX 2
Tub
i ng Daily
Pre--
A sse Brass Sleeves,
mb
l i es Pre and Assy. Packaging
Weekly
Machines
To = 1
Ass Bulk Pack
em
bly M
Shuttle 2 1.5
0.25 Darket
5 X Daily ai
ly 3
C/T = 1 hr C.T. = 115 Secs C.T. = 4.6 Secs
C/O = 0
FIFO Up time = 100% 6,000 Pkgs./Day 11,000 Pkgs./Day

Process 1
Contact Da
1 Shift 2 Shift
`
5 ily
Plating
C/O = 2 Hours Process 2 Boxer Blister
Machines = 15 5 X Daily Shipping
Up time = 38% Shuttle Machines = 1 ily
Scrap = 10% 5 X Daily Da Daily out = 1 MM
3 Shifts 7 FIFO 1.5
0.25 FIFO FIFO
FIFO
Weekly
C/T = 0.6 Sec. C/T = 2 Secs C/T = 1 Sec.
C/T = 10 M/hr
C/O = 20 Min. C/O = 10 Mins. 10,500 Pkgs./Day 12,500 Pkgs./Day 1
Scrap = 5%
Scrap = 0 Scrap = 0% Scrap = 0% 2 Shifts
3 Shifts 2 Shifts
2 Shifts 2 Shifts
6 3 Mo. 6 Mo. Future

Resin Process 4 Performance Metrics actual plan state
8
Presses = 12 1 Day Order Fulfillment L.T. Days 11 9.5 8
Moisturize On Time Delivery 92% 95% 95
3 (Nylon only)
C/O = 1 Hours Perfect Order Fulfillment 50% 70% 80% 7
Scrap = 3%
2 Days
246 Mins.
Figure 5.8
Twin City Manufacturing value stream map: six-month improvement plan.
5. Odair Brasil will complete EVA (Economic Value Added) feedback

of improvement with key customers.
Susan Zoelzer and her team accepted the challenge to complete year one
projects in six months and felt motivated by their executives’ confidence
in their work. Project teams worked all out during the next three months
and progress went very well—the total plant was now on board with Lean
and enthusiastic about contributing to regaining the company’s market
leadership.
The projects to implement 5S, TPM, and JI plantwide were quickly
accomplished as teams and supervisors didn’t want to be left behind and
were already applying them in their own areas. Because supervisors were
taking ownership of these projects, Susan and her team could concentrate
on projects 4, 5, and 6. Project 4 was to eliminate the scheduling of opera-
tions 1 through 4 by using Kanban signals from the assembly supermarket
to authorize making product at operations 1 and 4. The materials pro-
duced from operation 1 would flow FIFO through operations 2, 3, and
plating into the assembly supermarket.
Their first challenge was the two-hour changeover time at operation 1.
To flow the mix through the downstream operation to assembly, change-
over time had to be 20 minutes or less. Rick taught Susan Zoelzer, her
team, and the maintenance supervisors how to apply SMED (Single
Minute Exchange of Dies) methodology, a process developed by Shigeo
Shingo and well-publicized in his book, A Revolution in Manufacturing:
ἀ e SMED System (1985). Applying this methodology, a cross-func-
tional team identified opportunities to reduce changeover time by one
hour taking work currently done within the changeover process and
having it done either before or simultaneously during changeover by
another operator. Team maintenance technicians and machinists iden-
tified changes they could make to set up tooling the machine to reduce
an additional 45 minutes. This was ideal because the 15-minute setup
time was less than the 20-minute set-up at operation 2, which meant
they could cycle operation 1 so that operation 2 would be supplied on a
FIFO basis and inventory would not be sitting between them to buffer
operation 2. Improvements were implemented within 40 days and after
60 days flow from operation 1 through to assembly was working perfectly.
Operation 4 was an entirely different challenge. Molding operations
were very flexible because molds could be quickly changed, and the process
could be tuned to making a new part in less than 15 minutes. Curing oven
design, which required large batches, was the constraint. It took a long
time to fill the oven with parts, get it up to temperature, and after curing,
get it back down to ambient temperature and remove the parts. Actual
curing time was only 18 hours, so engineering was challenged to come up
with an inexpensive process requiring only one day. The current process
had evolved by trial and error over the years, so process conditions were
not well understood. This became the first project for engineering.
Six Sigma DMAIC was used to define the best process conditions and
ranges for all key variables. The outcomes of designed experiments were a
surprise. First, material curing was complete enough after only 12 hours.
This meant that it was technically feasible to get the ovens up to tempera-
ture, cure parts, and cool down to ambient temperatures in less than 24
hours. Second, reducing the time required to heat material and cool it
down had no detrimental effect on its performance. These two facts led the
engineers to develop a concept for smaller ovens capable of rapidly reach-
ing curing temperatures, and with enough exhaust and cooling capability,
to bring material back to ambient temperature in an hour. The result was
6 small curing operations able to complete curing in less than 24 hours.
All the materials needed for the new curing process were commercially
available, so they were built by plant machinists and installed before the
quarter’s end, just in time to have results for the next review.
Implementation team members assigned to reducing supplier inventory
had underestimated the challenge of getting key suppliers on board. They
were not resisting change, but it was all new to their organizations and
it took them time to really understand and embrace Lean. Projects were
moving forward as the next review approached, but only partial results
would be achieved and another month was required to completely achieve
project inventory goals.
Susan and her team were eager to put together the review update and
hoped their slight miss on supplier projects wouldn’t detract from great
overall progress and everyone’s extremely hard work. They also wanted to
see how SIR scorecard metrics improved as a result of their work, but for
this, they would have to wait until the meeting.
Eaton and Fred put together the SIR scorecard and value stream project
update. They were very pleased with the plant’s progress despite missing on
supplier material inventories goals. They were sure Rick and the others would
be pleased.
At the six-month review meeting, Rick announced they would spend

an hour at every review on the shop floor in addition to their update pre-
sentations. Eaton Oesterlien presented project team progress since the last
review (Figure 5.9). The value stream metrics showed order fulfillment
lead time, perfect order fulfillment, days of inventory, productivity, supply
chain cost, and cost of goods sold exceeded targets, while delivery perfor-
mance achieved its target.
The 5S, TPM, and JI projects had gone smoothly, which was fundamental
to the implementation team’s success because it allowed project teams to
focus entirely on projects 4, 5, and 6. Shop floor team members had spread
the word plantwide that management was finally listening; productivity,
quality, and service had improved; and jobs were easier and safer, which
motivated everyone to get engaged in Lean. Supervisors from assembly
and packaging were trained in other plant operations in 5S, TPM, and JI,
creating a self-sustaining capability. Project 4 (see Figure 5.10), implement-
ing assembly supermarket Kanban signals to schedule operation 1 (cut
to width) with FIFO flow through operations 2, 3, and plating had gone
smoothly once the setup time on operation 1 was reduced to 15 minutes.
Project 6, reducing the cycle time of insulator molding from seven days
to one day, was completed and working successfully. Six smaller curing
thermal chambers had been installed and cycle time was now less than
24 hours. With shorter process cycle times, molded insulator assembly
materials supermarket inventory was minimized and the operation could
respond to required daily assembly mix changes.
Project 5 was not completely successful. It took longer than expected to
get supplier organizations to understand, embrace Lean, and change the
materials replenishment process. Although the project was off schedule,
each day’s inventory goal was still exceeded because the SIR six-month goal
was to maintain 45 days of inventory, which had already been achieved.
Working with suppliers, project 5 would be completed within 30 days.
Rick Hamilton summarized his observations and then coached the group
on his expectations: “We didn’t achieve every goal or every project on time, but
I would rather achieve 90 percent of aggressive stretch goals than 100 percent
of small incremental goals. So, congratulations to Susan, her team, and our
entire plant. We now have our Lean System basics in place and I mean basics,
we have a lot of hard work to do now to accelerate our improvement rate.”
Fred Gilligan presented the SIR scorecard update (Figure 5.11). He was
always a believer in Lean and results after 6 months just confirmed his
Value Stream Scorecard
Current State Six-Month Twin City Operational Review Improved State

Six-Month Improvement Plan

• Implement 5S & TPM in all plant operations 6-Mo. Plan 6-Mo. Act
• Implement J.I. in all plant operations Delivery performance 95% 95%

Order fulfillment L.T. 9.5 8
• Implement improvement projects 4, 5, & 6
Perfect order fulfillment 70% 75%
On or ahead of schedule Inventory 45 Days 32 Days
Off schedule <10% Productivity plantwide +15% +15%
Off schedule by >10% Supply chain cost 11% 10%
Figure 5.9
Twin City Manufacturing value stream scorecard, six-month operational review.
5 Six-Month Operational Review
Supplier Daily Orders Customer

Daily Usage
Production
Weekly demand plan for 12 wks.
Control/MRP Two Days to Level Schedule
Daily
Bra
ss S
lee
ves
1.0 Million/Day
XOXXOX 2
Tub
ing Daily
and
Pr--e
A ss
em Brass Sleeves,
blie
s Pre and Assy. Packaging
Weekly
Machines
To = 1
Ass Bulk Pack
em
b
ly M
Shuttle 2 1.5
0.25 D arke
5 X Daily ai t
ly 3
C/T = 1 hr C.T. = 115 Secs C.T. = 4.6 Secs
C/O = 1 hr
FIFO Up time = 100% 6,000 Pkgs/Day 11,000 Pkgs/Day
Process 1
Contact Da
1 Shift 2 Shift
`
5 ily
Plating
C/O = 15 mins. Process 2 Boxer Blister
Machines = 15 5 X Daily Shipping
Up time = 38% Shuttle Machines = 1 ily
Scrap = 10% 5 X Daily Da Daily out = 1 MM
3 Shifts 7 FIFO 1.5
0.25 FIFO
FIFO
Weekly
C/T = 0.6 Sec. C/T = 2 Secs C/T = 1 Sec.
C/T = 10 M/hr
C/O = 20 Min. C/O = 10 Mins. 10,500 Pkgs/Day 12,500 Pkgs/Day 1
Scrap = 5%
Scrap = 0 Scrap = 0% Scrap = 0% 2 Shifts
3 Shifts 2 Shifts
2 Shifts 2 Shifts
6 Performance Metrics 6 Mo. 6 Mo. 8

Resin Process 4 pln. act.
Presses = 12 Order Fulfillment L.T. Days 9.5 8
1 Day
Moisturize On Time Delivery 95% 95%
3
C/T = 15 Secs Days of Inv. 45 32
C/O = 1 Hours Perfect Order Fulfillment 70% 75% 7
Up time = 75% Supply Chain Cost 11% 10%
Scrap = 3%
2 Shifts Cost of Goods Sold 68% 67% Production lead
2 Days
246 Mins.
Figure 5.10
Twin City Manufacturing value stream map, six-month operational review.
belief. Scorecard results showed all seven metrics at 100 percent or better
(see Figure 5.11). Cash-to-cash cycle time had improved 230 percent of
goal, despite delays in implementation of the supplier inventory replenish-
ment project. Improving cash-to-cash cycle time by 10 days was modest,
but had been given a lower priority in their strategic plan as speed, flex-
ibility, and reliability were more important to their goal of regaining mar-
ket competitiveness. The lesson learned was that working on speed and
flexibility to service customers naturally reduced inventories and cash-to-
cash cycle time. Fred was particularly happy about this as the bottom line
improved by 3 percentage points to 67 percent from 70 percent, and just 3
percentage points short of best in class at 64 percent. The improvement in
inventory also freed up 20 percent of their plant’s floor space, and while
this didn’t show up in the current profit and loss, Fred noted it as impor-
tant to future costs as this space could be used as growth accelerated.
Charlie Dubey reported that he surveyed people from all departments
and overall feedback was very positive. The strongest positive came
from shop floor team members who expressed only their doubt that to
Twin City Manufacturing SIR Scorecard

Six-Month Operational Review
Supply-Chain Performance versus Custom Population
Major Average or 1 yr.

Key Perspectives SCOR Level 1 Metrics Opportunity Disadvantage Median Advantage Superior Plan
100%
5%+ 5%
Delivery + $3.9 M yr.1
Performance/ 113%
Quality Perfect order fulfillment + 31% pts*
100%
Required
Upside production flexibility
Flexibility & 120% capability
Responsiveness
150%
–2.0%
$5.2 M/yr
230%
10 Day
125% reduction
Working
Capital 1.2 Turns
reduction.
Total Benefit
First full year operating profit benefit $13.0 M
Included in S.C.
management cost* One time inventory reduction $19.3 M
TCM position TCM progress Advantage Superior
Figure 5.11
Twin City Manufacturing’s SIR scorecard, six-month operational review.
management would stick with this plan, but would do what they normally
did and change to some new program. Results from other groups were
positive, although there was some skepticism. Engineering was concerned
that demands for equipment changes would strain their limited resources.
Plant maintenance technicians, who had been moved to specific plant
areas to be close to the operation they supported, were not sure that this
was the best way for them to work.
Production control analysts were initially very skeptical, but with pace-
maker scheduling and Kanban systems working plantwide, they felt very
good, particularly because for the first time Production Control was actu-
ally controlling the plant. Some managers had mixed feedback at this
point. They couldn’t argue with the results, but this change in thinking—
that operators were the only plant people who truly added value directly
to the customer—was not yet fully accepted. They were accustomed to past
command and control methods and moving to daily shop floor engage-
ment, layered audits and quick response expectations to problems, had
reduced their flexibility to do what they wanted to do individually. Top
leaders in their group were adapting quickly so this was only a transition
issue, but it was clear that 10 percent of current leadership would not suc-
ceed in this new Lean System. Charlie recommended that the sooner this
was dealt with the better.
Odair had been sitting tapping his foot; finally, he had his chance to
present. He had a great story to tell and just wanted to get on with it. He
reported on progress with their four top customers and his view of S&OP
(Sales and Operations Planning) meetings (Figure 5.12). Odair reported
the surveys showed that customers were very pleased with the delivery
speed and reliability improvements. In fact, the buyers from LeBlax and
Jonso Medical told him that their boss made it clear that if this service
improvement continued, he would instruct the sales force to sell TCM
products first and substitute another product only when a customer
insisted after having been informed about the superior features of TCM
products. Buyers from all four companies also indicated they wanted to
see more improvement in order processing and other paperwork-related
failures as this was still a TCM deficiency. Therefore, this had to be a focus
of the project team for the next three months because credibility with key
customers must continue to increase.
Odair finished his presentation expressing his satisfaction with the
S&OP process, specifically TCM’s responsiveness, which allowed Twin
Customer Priorities
Other Order
TCM Actual 1st 2nd On-time Delivered Perfect Order
Performance Priority Priority Delivery Quality Fulfillment
Issues Cycle Time
Delivery
LeBlax Responsiveness 62%–94.5% 77.4%–90.2% 85% 40.8%–75% 19–9 Days
reliability
Responsive- Delivery
MexAms 59%–92% 87% 36.1%–70% 16–7 Days
ness reliability 70.3%–83.1%
Jonso Delivery
Medical Responsiveness 64%–96% 74%–86.8% 84% 39.8%–75% 17–8 Days
reliability
Zyxain Delivery
Medical Responsiveness 60%–96% 79.2%–92% 86% 40.9%–80% 16–8 Days
reliability
Delivery
Overall Responsiveness 61.3%–94.5% 75.2%–88% 85.5% 39.4%–75% 17.0–8.0 Days
reliability
Other Order
Best On-time Delivered Perfect Order
Performance Delivery Quality Fulfillment
Issues Cycle Time
LeBlax 88% 88% 99% 85% 9 Days
MexAms 92% 95% 97% 65% 8 Days
Jonso Medical 95% 93% 95% 70% 7 Days
Zyxain Medical 91% 97% 95% 55% 9 Days
Benchmarks 91.5% 93.3% 96.5% 69% 8.25
Figure 5.12
Twin City Manufacturing’s customer satisfaction survey.
City to take advantage of a competitor’s quality and delivery failures

by quickly shipping product to help customers not miss their customer
delivery dates. He had personally reviewed EVA improvements with
their four key customers and they were surprised and pleased by the
amount of increased contribution by TCM. Using the EVA analy-
sis with customers had been a grand slam homerun. This teamwork
was changing TCM’s image from service laggard to service leader. He
reported morale in the sales force had never been so high during his
twenty-five-year career, and salespeople were having fun making cus-
tomers happy.
With all the action items from the last meeting completed, Rick made
the following points to his team:
1. Great progress has been achieved because we are all working together,
pulling the same rope in the same direction.
2. Customers are feeling our improvement as we have established align-
ment with value in their businesses and we can measure it.
3. We need to spend more shop floor time between review meetings

coaching people and seeing the next opportunities.
4. We must protect ourselves against “taking a rest” or complacency,
which could set in as our team realizes that we are regaining our
number one market position. To do this we must change our think-
ing about what is possible. Benchmarking has great value, but just
being better than the rest at a point in time is not sufficient; we must
measure ourselves against perfection, using it as our metric for prog-
ress. It is the difference between talking about improving 99 per-
cent quality conformance and reducing the 10,000 parts-per-million
defects that exist in our products. We must continually find ways to
increase the power of our microscope in order to always have chal-
lenging goals that move us closer to perfection. For our next meeting
we need to restate our value stream goals in terms of perfection and
the gap to achieving it.
Odair interrupted, “But Rick, we have achieved so much and we are in a

very strong position. Why do we want to find more ways to make ourselves
look bad?” Rick replied, “We must appreciate what we have accomplished.
I certainly am very proud of our entire team. We also need to remember
that if we don’t manage differently, we will likely repeat our past and fall
from the number one position again.”
Rick and the team then moved to the shop floor where they were each
assigned an operation to review. Rick accompanied Eaton Osterlein, as
he wanted to coach him on pushing for the next level of improvement.
He was confident that a growth surge was imminent and challenged
Eaton to push hard for productivity improvement of another 30 percent
so that the existing shop floor team members could be used to make the
new volume. In addition, the 20 percent available space created from
inventory reduction had to be expanded to at least 30 percent of the
plant space.
Eaton was thinking as he listened to Rick, “we have already achieved a
15 percent plantwide productivity improvement; where in the world will
we find another 30 percent?” They went to the assembly area and started
reviewing an audit of automated final assembly completed earlier in the
day by the area manager. They talked first with operators about how their
jobs were going; they let them know what they were doing there and that
they would share the audit summary with them when it was complete.
The standard work instructions are posted at each operation (Figure 5.13).

Observing workplace organization and the operator making an order, they
found no nonconformance. Rick complimented the operator on her work
and asked if she had any suggestions for improving her job. She replied
that she had submitted two ideas to her team leader that she thought would
allow her to operate three or four machines instead of the current two.
Eaton and Rick listened closely as she explained that much of her time is
spent checking incoming parts and tooling, loading parts in the machine,
and moving finished parts to the pickup area. This is mostly done while
the machine sits idle. Output could be increased at least 20 percent just
by having the material handler do these tasks. They thanked her for the
great suggestions and started to walk back to the conference room. Before
Rick could say anything, Eaton blurted out, “OK, I got it; there are huge
Standard Work Instructions

No. Assembly–03 issue 04 Date: 04-07-05 Name: Dan Friesen
Operation: Automated final assembly order production

Parts: Metal body, sensors, flexible circuit, connectors
Tools & Materials: Assembly tooling, conductive adhesive, test fixture
Important Steps Key Points Reasons

Anything in a step that might—
1. Make or break the job
A logical segment of the operation when
Step Nbr.
2. Injure the worker Reasons for the key points: What defect, safety
something happens to advance the work
3. Make the work easier to do, i.e. “knack,” risk, productivity loss it will prevent
in a segment that is transferable
“trick,” special timing, bit of special information
01 Verify and install assembly tooling 1. Engage safety devices at each tooling station Eliminate risk of injury
2. Check for and remove excess lubricant Eliminate quality defects at the customer
3. When finished check all stations to be sure Eliminate risk of damage to tooling and the
they are clear of tools and remove safety equipment
devices before starting
02 Verify parts supplied are correct Compare parts to the bill of material Avoid assembling scrap product
03 Clear and fill input material feeders Make sure all feeders are loaded Avoid producing assemblies with missing parts
04 Turn on the machine and produce a part Verify the finished part meets specifications Eliminates the risk of producing a run of scrap
05 Test the first part Be sure the part is clamped securely in the Eliminate false test readings
test fixture
06 Remove the part from the test fixture and
place in the output container if it passed
and in the defects container if it failed
07 Review failed parts and repeat the start up If the failure cause is not obvious, stop the Problems need to be identified immediately and
instructions correcting for the failure cause operation and turn on the call supervisor light corrected
08 Place passed parts in the finished product
container
09 Start the machine and run the order
10 Test the last part made for the order 1. Be sure the part is clamped securely Eliminate false test readings
in the test fixture
2. If part test good, mark order complete and place Parts will be picked up by material handler for
the finished parts container on the pick up delivery to packaging
station
Figure 5.13
Standard work instructions.
productivity opportunities in assembly as the value added work content of

the operators is extremely low. We have just started to go through each cell
again to optimize it with operator balance charts. Maybe your 30 percent
improvement is not so ridiculous.”
The review team had reassembled and was buzzing about the progress
they saw and even more about the many opportunities for improvement
shop floor team members and team leaders had told them about. The shop
floor teams’ enthusiasm had infected them all. Odair had the most telling
summary. He told of the operators in packaging (whom he had audited)
and their improvements in the past week after visiting with MexAms.
They had called the MexAms purchasing agent to get feedback on their
last shipment. “It was amazing. I didn’t even know there was a problem,
and they had already solved it and confirmed it with the customer. Shop
floor team members know our key customers personally and respond to
their requests without being told. I never would have believed this was
possible, but I have seen it with my own eyes.”
Eaton then presented five action items for their next review meeting.
1. Charlie and Eaton will see that coaching of the laggards is intensified
with the goal of either bringing them up to the needed level or find-
ing a position in the plant where they will be successful in the next
three months.
2. Charlie will increase his weekly plant walk-though focusing on
auditing safety to get the momentum going in the right direction so
results start to improve.
3. A project team will be assigned to improve order processing and
other paperwork-related failures during the next three months.
4. The executive team shop floor walk-through will be scheduled a
week before next quarter’s meeting so results can be summarized
and presented at the next meeting.
5. The future-state values stream map will be updated and new targets
will be set for improvement, with perfection as the goal.
Rick closed the meeting with an enormous challenge to his team. He

told them Eaton had committed to free 30 percent of their plant’s floor
space and improve productivity another 30 percent. He looked at Odair,
and with a wry smile stated, “The ball is in your court. I expect we will all
support you in increasing sales 10 percent in the next six months.” Odair
took it in stride, and thought that with greatly improved operations and
leadership from the shop floor team, there was no reason this could not
be achieved. He looked at his peers and declared, “You have 100 percent
commitment from your sales team; 10 percent growth will be delivered in
six months.”
Rick went back to his office feeling very satisfied with their progress and
couldn’t wait to report at next month’s quarterly board meeting. He also
started to develop plans for how to sustain continuous improvement for-
ever and make it an integral part of TCM’s culture. He needed to ensure
that all the enabling capability was in place and sustained at levels required
for supporting their aggressive goals. Longer term, they had to put in place
processes that would continue to push TCM to higher levels of perfor-
mance even after market leadership was regained.
References
Graupp, Patrick, and Robert J. Wrona. ἀ e TWI workbook. Cambridge, MA: Productivity
Press, 2006.
Nakajima, Seiichi. TPM. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1984.
Productivity Development Team. Just-in-time for operators. Cambridge, MA: Productivity
Press, 1998.
Shingo, Shigeo. A revolution in manufacturing: ἀ e SMED system. Cambridge, MA:
6
The Role of Leadership in Creating a
Why is it that two companies, both desiring to make improvements, both

with significant opportunity for improvement, with training in the Supply
Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model, Lean, or Six Sigma, and with
resources allocated to the task, deliver dramatically different results? Some
companies can leverage these three basic requirements into world-class
performance while others languish; that is, they talk about improvement
but generate minimal real improvement.
The presence of these three core requirements—training, opportunity,
and resources—while essential, is not a guarantee of results.
Consider this painful example. A company was quite successful with a
record of steady growth and profitability. They were interested in improv-
ing their performance because competitive pressures were increasing
both domestically and globally. Following a supply chain assessment,
numerous and specific improvement opportunities were identified worth
approximately 2 percent of revenue. An executive alignment workshop
was conducted, basic improvement training was conducted for key staff
members, project plans were developed, and a management steering pro-
cess was put in place. Results? After one year, no significant savings had
been booked.
Initial project team meetings were scheduled and conducted with con-
sultants facilitating, but as soon as the consultants stepped aside, the meet-
ings stopped. The forces pushing for change failed to overcome the forces
of resistance—therefore no results were achieved. Such stories are tragic
because long-term viability of the company is at risk and, along with it, job
security and employee well-being.
147
In previous chapters, methods for creating continuous improvement

were explored as we followed Twin City Manufacturing through a cycle
of improving its operations. The methodologies are certainly critically
important, but not sufficient without underlying support from critical
enablers, including
• Culture
• Skills
• Metrics
• Leadership
• Rewards
• Information Systems
Culture
The first and most important enabler in this list is culture. What is cul-
ture? It is the predominate attitudes and behaviors which characterize the
functioning of a group or organization. Culture impacts everything that
happens in our organizations from the way customer service represen-
tatives behave to the way employees respond to problems. Following are
examples of two different cultures. The 3M culture can be described as
having the following characteristics:
1. A desire for education and cross-training are valued employee

characteristics.
2. The open-door policy is accepted companywide; all employees can
approach any management person whenever and wherever they desire.
3. Everyone is on a first-name basis, even the CEO.
4. Chronic complaining isn’t welcome; showing initiative is.
5. Mistakes are acceptable as long as they aren’t due to negligence or
carelessness.
6. Participation at all levels is welcome.
7. Lack of participation is not welcome.
At other companies though, this list might look much different, for
example,
The Role of Leadership in Creating a Sustainable Improvement • 149
1. Mistakes are likely to be fatal. People are fired regularly for unknown
reasons.
2. No reward is offered for risk-taking; avoiding blame equals job sec
urity.
3. Suggestions are not encouraged.
4. Chain of command is the order of the day.
5. Performance rewards are intermittent and poorly understood.
6. Expediting and firefighting earn the biggest accolades from manage
ment.
An important question at this point is: What should a company culture

look like in order for it to become an “improvement” company? In a 1985
Harvard Business Review article titled “From Control to Commitment,”
Richard Walton said, “There are two radically different strategies for man-
aging a company’s workforce—a strategy based on imposing control and a
strategy based on eliciting commitment” (p. 9). Some of the characteristics
of these two strategies are listed below:
Control Commitment
• Individual attention limited to • Individual responsibility extended to
performing individual job upgrading system performance
• Accountability focused on individual • Frequent use of teams as basic
accountable unit
• Fixed job definition conditions • Flexible definition of duties, contingent
on changing
• Measured standards define minimum • Emphasis placed on higher “stretch”
performance, stability seen as desirable objectives,” which tend to be dynamic
and oriented to the market place
• Structure tends to be layered, with • Flat organization structure with mutual
top-down controls influence systems
• Employees regarded as variable cost • Assurances that participation will not
result in loss of job
• Business information distributed on • Business data shared widely
strictly defined “need to know” basis
Increasing Rate of Improvement
The list on the right suggests a couple of things. First, the level of employee
commitment is directly related to the rate of improvement. Traditionally,
Typical Organization
Structure The Power Pyramid
Decision Making
Perks
Access to Data
Participation
Offices
Dress
Shop floor employees
Figure 6.1
Typical organization structure.
direct labor employees are viewed as relatively unimportant and as hav-

ing low decision-making skills. A control-based management process and
culture restricts and limits their contributions. If you are serious about
continuous improvement, it is important for management to identify this
issue and take steps to correct it.
Figure 6.1 is a depiction of a typical organizational structure. It shows
that power, including such things as decision making, problem solving,
and general business involvement, is often concentrated at the top of the
organization even though value added activities are concentrated at the
shop floor level. It is a serious fallacy to conclude that only management has
anything to contribute. Companies often find that the more their employ-
ees behave as co-owners or stakeholders, the better companies perform.
To alter culture, the starting point must be management. It is management’s
responsibility to outline a vision of their “to-be” culture and style. They
must then start by altering their own attitudes and behaviors to support
those changes. For example, if employees are expected to exhibit a higher
level of ownership and decision making, then some potential changes might
include the following:
• Training employees in subjects such as basic problem solving

• Sharing business information
• Asking for employee input and taking it seriously
• Providing opportunities to participate in planning meetings, oppor-

tunity identification, and problem-solving teams
E mplo y e e Pr o ble ms Ma y Be In d ica t iv e

o f W o r k pla ce Pr o ble ms
When I managed a warehouse operation for 3M, I had an employee
I would describe as a “problem.” This employee seemed unmotivated
and was continually being counseled or reprimanded for marginal
attendance. Complaints about how things were being done or deci-
sions that were being made were commonplace. I was frustrated and
the employee was unhappy.
One day, however, I was surprised to learn that this employee was
in charge of the Scout program for the city. He managed a number
of scout troops and associated programs and was clearly in charge,
making decisions, and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. It was
then that I realized the problems at work were with management,
that is, with me. I was witnessing firsthand the difference between
control performance and commitment performance. The employee
was demonstrating far more capability in his personal life than at
work. If the workplace functioned differently, he could have taken
more of a leading role at work. This is often the case.
Hardly rocket science, but changes such as these require management to

reexamine their closely held attitudes and egos.
A second important aspect of company culture is what is recognized
and valued by management. If you ask any employee, what it takes to get
ahead or achieve recognition at any company, which responses are more
likely to be heard—list 1 or 2?
List 1 List 2
Ability to firefight Teamwork
Whom you know Initiative
Image/personality Problem-solving ability
Autocratic style Ability to communicate
On the flip side, what can get a person fired?

List 1 List 2
Disagreeing with management Ethics violations
Making a mistake Negligence
Unpopularity Poor attendance
Whether done consciously or unconsciously, our companies have a clear

reward system that shapes employee behavior. Desired behaviors need to
be rewarded. Undesirable behaviors should not be rewarded.
T h e C a r r o t W o r k s Be t t e r T h a n t h e S t ick
At 3M we did not require employees to become cross-trained or vol-
unteer for problem-solving teams, both desired behaviors, but those
who did these things received better performance reviews and ulti-
mately more pay and opportunity for advancement.
Skills
Skills required for design, management, and improvement of supply chains
are required enablers. Skills are sometimes confused with training. Training
is essential, but practice and mentoring are also required to build and sustain
continuous improvement competencies. Learning basic problem solving is
one thing, but it is quite another to execute it by applying this knowledge.
At one company, heavy investments were made in Six Sigma. This included
the training of Green Belts, Black Belts, and support staff even including a
full-time program director’s office to oversee training and project execu-
tion. In spite of having all these resources, project after project consumed
double the expected time and yielded low or no real savings. Project teams
were easily stymied by data collection difficulties, management resistance
to change, and the inability to create “perfect” solutions. Although Master
Black Belts and champions were in place, they lacked the experience to
effectively remove obstacles and set expectations for the teams. Managing
significant change for improvement is an experience that few, if any, have.

Since it is a wall that hasn’t been breached, no one is quite sure how to do
it. The result was a costly program yielding minimal results.
Below are a few issues and examples of the skills needed for the success-
ful completion of a project:
1. Selecting the right tools: Six Sigma contains over forty tools or analyt-
ical methods that must be learned and applied. Selecting those that
best fit the problem can be difficult and requires a certain experience
level to be done efficiently. Selecting the wrong tools leads to wasted
effort and time.
2. Gather data: In spite of huge investments in systems, accessing data
in the desired format often requires an expert at extracting data and
organizing it properly.
O n e T h in g Is Almo s t C e r t a in :
G a t h e r in g D a t a W ill Be D if f icu lt
In one company where a supply chain analysis project was under-
taken, we determined that on-time delivery data by supply chain was
needed. We quickly learned that their systems could not provide this
information and we were forced to examine customer orders manu-
ally in order to calculate on-time delivery. In another, we needed
order history data such as order entry date, ship date, back-order rate,
etc. Unfortunately, neither company’s IT system could produce the
needed data. This sadly is the rule rather than the exception. In the
majority of improvement efforts in which I have been involved, the
improvement pace was determined by the amount of time required
to obtain usable data.
3. Overcoming obstacles: A team functions best when someone who has

been with the company can innovate when the time comes.
What happens when obstacles arise that stop a project cold?
Sometimes a team is ready to implement a solution and management
balks. Months of work are wasted when this happens, not to mention
the damage to team morale. At one company, the scheduling of pro-

duction in a large plant had been in the hands of a single individual
for years. She was the plant’s “go to” person and was on call twen-
ty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A review of her scheduling
process revealed that instead of making use of the firm’s enterprise
resource planning (ERP) system, she employed several forms she
had created, a large spreadsheet, and colored pens, which she used to
keep track of different products.
In the meantime, their ERP scheduling system was sitting idle.
Their system was creating excess inventory of work in progress (WIP)
and finished goods, and at times, the right product was not available.
A team was assembled, a project plan was created, and the first two
meetings were held. As soon as consultant support was withdrawn,
all meetings stopped and the project was dead. “Too busy” was the
excuse, but the real reason was that the scheduler, in spite of all the
complaints about the job she was doing, did not want to change
anything. Management failed to hold the team leader and team
accountable for results. Often something as simple as holding people
accountable, reworking the business case, or addressing other issues
that management perceives as showstoppers is all that is required to
keep a project moving forward. It may also require a strong project
sponsor to overrule management when their resistance is unjustified.
Metrics
It is imperative that key performance indicators (KPIs) correctly capture
and focus our attention on important areas of performance. In Chapter
4, we explored the importance of establishing a balanced set of metrics
for measuring supply chain performance. This concept of balance ensures
that no one performance characteristic is overemphasized. For example,
consider the company where the focus of manufacturing was on equip-
ment utilization. Their focus was on running their equipment as much
as possible regardless of customer demand or the concept of continuous
flow. Consider a company focused on improving delivery performance.
In eighteen months they found themselves facing horrendous inventory
growth. A company, which focused exclusively on cost, found they lacked
the ability to achieve high delivery performance or high responsiveness to
customer orders. Lack of balance often leads to unintended consequences.
Consider the potential consequences of focusing on a single metric:
Metric R esult When U sed A lone

Equipment utilization Producing more product than needed
On-time delivery High inventory levels
Unit cost High inventory levels
Overall cost Poor service
Production rate Poor quality
In addition to balance, other characteristics of good metrics can also sig-

nificantly improve their usefulness. These characteristics are as follows:
1. Customer alignment—Line of sight to the customer: Metrics have a way

of being created in isolation; that is, they may not have a clear connec-
tion to the business, external customers, or shareholders. A well-aligned
set of metrics (see Figure 6.2) that reflects customer needs and pri-
orities should be able to survive management changes or any other
organizational shifts. Conversely, metrics that reflect the organization
more than the customer will always be subject to whim. Unaligned
metrics tend to proliferate. It is easy to add metrics but rarely are any
eliminated. At a recent client engagement, over 200 metrics were iden-
tified within one organization. When analyzed against the “balance”
test, some categories were unmeasured and others were grossly over-
measured. A better level and quality of information could have been
gathered with less than half the number of the right metrics.
2. Accuracy: “Provide a single unvarnished version of the truth.” All orga-
nizations want their metrics to look good, especially if they are seen as
a reflection of performance. This creates an irresistible desire to tweak
the numbers. Certain values might not be included because “they are
not under our control.” In addition, “high flyers” or bad data points
may be deleted because there was a “known reason for the problem.”
N e v e r A s s u me : Lo o k f o r H id d e n Pr o ble ms
Recently, we were tracking the origin of a particular on-time delivery
metric for a client. In talking with the person responsible for pulling
data, we discovered that this individual was responsible for running
(continued)
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n cE : D a n ( Continued)
the system query and providing a copy of the data to the depart-
ment manager, who identified all out-of-spec data points and omit-
ted those that were either explainable or “not under our control.”
This approach is typical of a company where organizational con-

cerns are more important than understanding how well the process
is working. This has the effect of hiding problems. Leaders must be
resolute in encouraging all employees to tell the unvarnished truth.
If any flinching or data screening occurs, the ability to identify and
solve all the problems that exist is limited. Without honesty, our
improvement efforts cannot be properly prioritized.
It takes a concerted effort to let the data tell its story no matter
how painful it might be.
3. Sound metrics: The metrics must direct effort to the true root causes
to ensure results. Once the metric is sound, the next step is to dis-
sect the data in order to understand the root causes of the problems.
For example, if order fulfillment cycle time is 10 days, it is necessary
to understand how those 10 days break down. (See Figure 6.3) Only
then is it is possible to understand where to focus attention so results
can be improved.
Metric Alignment
Supplier Purchasing Manufacturing Shipping/Warehouse Customer
On-time On-time Production On-

On-time
supplier supplier plan time
shipment
shipments delivery compliance delivery
Figure 6.2
Metrics alignment.
Order Fulfillment Cycle Days
= 10 days
Reserve Pkg,
Recv. &
Inv. & Schedule Stage,
SCOR Enter Produce, Test Ship
Determine Production Release
Process Order M1.2–M1.3 D1.4–D1.12
Delivery Date M1.1 M1.4–
D1.1–D1.2
D1.3 M1.6
Results 0.2 days 0.3 days 0.5 days 3 days 4 days 2 days
Figure 6.3
Order fulfillment cycle.
Leadership
Making decisions is the role of leadership, who should be focused on the
decisions only leaders can make. By encouraging and expecting people at
all organizational levels to make decisions that are within their scope of
authority, everyone becomes committed to organizational goals and proj-
ects. Before making a decision or committing to a specific improvement
project goal, leaders must ensure that their executive teams understand
the answers to the following questions:
• Where are we as a company?

• Where do we need to be?
Without answers to these two questions, improvement efforts can be

aimless and subject to the opinions and whims of everyone in the com-
pany who is stakeholder in improvement initiatives.
The question of “where are we” relies heavily on our earlier discussion of
accuracy. The question of “where we need to be” is a leadership question.
Several strategies can be used to answer this question. The most common
ones are the following:
1. Incremental goal setting: This means a modest improvement is

selected, added to the charts, and then tracked through the year to
monitor progress toward the target. Using this method, goals the
organization knows it can hit are set. Goal-setting like this keeps
stress levels low and applies little pressure to the organization. It fails
to sustain a constructive organization tension and ensures the rate of
improvement will be slow.
2. Stretch goal setting: Stretch goal setting on the other hand increases
the pressure and requires some planning to identify how the goal
will be achieved; it requires rigorous follow up to keep improvement
plans on track.
3. Benchmarking: As discussed in Chapter 4, benchmarking refers to
the level of performance the business requires relative to its competi-
tors or other industry participants. This can be a great way to capture
organizational interest and buy-in senior management, but it may
not be the most aggressive way to approach improvement.
4. Perfection: The idea of perfection is a strategy that stimulates innovation.
Perfection means an organization must ask itself the questions: What
would order fulfillment cycle time, cost, or on-time delivery be if
everything ran perfectly? If there were no waste, rework, errors, etc.,
what would the order fulfillment cycle time be? Identifying perfection
performance levels causes organizations to think about problem solv-
ing in a very different way.
The business environment is moving at a rate requiring much more than

incremental change to sustain competitiveness. The goal-setting choices
leaders make are a test of their leadership ability. Leaders take risks and
stretch their organizations to reach beyond what they know can be done. A
clear metric with a clear target leads to action and provides a good barom-
eter of success as it allows executive leadership teams to ask themselves
“Where are we?” and “Where do we need to go?”
Le a d e r s h ip Me a n s Pu s h in g t h e
O r g a n iz a t io n b e y o n d It s L imit s
While producing diskettes for 3M, we improved unit cost 20 percent
per year for more than 10 consecutive years. Our perfection target
was still out of reach. We needed to reduce cost another 40 percent.
While brainstorming ways to meet our goal, someone asked, “Why do
we have to cover both sides of the diskette with fabric? What if we used
only enough fabric to clean the recording surface? At first this seemed
like a crazy idea, but after testing it, we found it not only was feasible,
but also improved other performance characteristics of the product. An
incremental goal would never have identified this potential solution.
Organizations should have the fewest KPIs possible to provide a bal-

anced view of performance and unvarnished measures with clear justifi-
able targets. Much like equipping a car with a dashboard, it should provide
enough information to understand how the car is performing and identify
desired performance ranges without distracting the driver with too many
gauges.
Rewards
The lack of alignment of metrics and rewards is frequently an obstacle to sup-
ply chain performance. Sustainable supply chain competitive advantage is
not achievable in organizations with conflicting metrics among various func-
tions. If manufacturing is measured mostly on cost, they are likely to make it
a higher priority than service and inventory to meet their objectives. When
sales are measured only on top-line sales, they are likely to sell products that
are easier to sell regardless of the profit margin or capacity available.
Company leadership must ensure that the metrics and rewards sys-
tems of all functions are tightly aligned in support of supply chain per-
formance improvement. SCOR methodology facilitates the alignment
and prioritization of metrics across organizations to increase supply

chain improvement success probability.
IT Systems
Effective information systems are fundamental to institutionalizing the
processes, practices, data, and metrics that support continuous improve-
ment. Effective continuous improvement activities are data driven and
availability of data expressed through supply chain metrics is critical to
process analysis and decision making.
The use of SCOR’s hierarchical decomposition models (see Chapter 3)
allows users to begin at supply chain Level 1, and progress to deeper levels
until analysis identifies and ranks improvement opportunities. This gen-
erates a true end-to-end view of a company’s supply chain.
This view often changes one’s perspective about company business data,
how it should be defined in databases, and used to measure and operate
desired processes and practices. Traditionally, data tends to be readily
available along business unit lines and primarily for financial reporting.
For example, cost of goods sold (COGS) data is readily available by busi-
ness unit, but if a business unit consists of three supply chains, measure-
ment and process data will not be available without manual or ad hoc
manipulation. The same thing occurs when measuring on-time delivery,
order fulfillment cycle time, inventory days of supply, and so on.
The question is, what is required from company systems to bring more
value to business processes, effective process measurement, and improve-
ment activities? When it comes to upgrading our IT systems, it is common
to put the cart before the horse. To optimize supply chain processes and
to support continuous improvement, the following questions should be
answered before making a major IT investment.
• Is current data integrity sufficient?

• Do process and systems islands exist because there are multiple
sources of data?
• Are there clear owners and governance rules for company data?
• What supply chains are being supported?
• How well are these processes functioning now?
• Should poor processes be streamlined or automated first?
• What processes within these supply chains require IT support that is

not currently available?
• Is data defined and organized in databases to support a single source
for use in end-to-end processes across the company?
• What information is needed from company systems to effectively
measure company supply chains?
• Is company supply chain data organized to provide a product view
and market segment/channel view?
An important but little-understood fact is that systems must be con-

figured during installation to provide data and information that enables
company business processes. Undertaking a systems implementation or
upgrade without answering the above questions will likely lead to disap-
pointment because the new or modified information system doesn’t sup-
port the way the business is run or the way supply chains are managed.
The processes must be well defined and operated to truly support a
company’s business models before IT investments are made. Once sys-
tems are configured, it is extremely expensive to later decide that the ini-
tial configuration doesn’t fit the business models, support processes, and
specific practices that collectively define a company’s competitive differ-
ence. Spending a year or more on the front end in order to make sure that
current processes are well understood and that a “to be” state with all
data requirements is defined is a sound investment for success in any IT
system upgrade or new installation.
Another common failure is the temptation to move quickly to IT sys-
tems to “help” implement a supply chain or Lean System before having
reduced a process to actual practice. Operating a process manually in
order to ensure thorough understanding can be invaluable when it comes
time to design the IT process. Most people do not understand the pro-
cesses being performed by the computer. They view it as a black box. Even
though manual processes appear inefficient, it is often the best way to con-
firm the existence of firsthand process knowledge.
Lean, for example, relies heavily on simple, visual, transparent systems.
Lean visual management increases everyone’s involvement and strength-
ens the functionality of a team. The Lean operating system is built on the
premise that only the direct production operations team member adds
value; therefore, IT systems must be designed and implemented in support
of the frontline operators.
Another common type of failure that happens to companies installing

new IT systems is not defining their processes and ensuring that chosen
practices can be properly enabled by the system. Every IT system is stan-
dardized by programming logic, which defines how the user is to apply the
system. In other words, it defines implied processes or process alternatives
the system has the ability to enable. If a company does nothing with their
processes prior to implementing a system, the implied processes are forced
upon the organization, which may not be prepared to completely change
the way they work.
IT systems are important to effective supply chain management, but they
must be designed to enable the operational processes, not define them.
Failure to have clear and well-defined processes that are to be enabled will
result in significant disappointment after the IT system’s implementation.
This failure has led to catastrophic consequences for some companies.
Another issue that frequently causes failure is a company’s IT organiza-
tion structure. It should not stand alone but should have strong connec-
tions through the reporting structure to operational groups. This ensures
IT does not become an entity unto itself and is not making decisions in
a vacuum. Only when IT designs have a supply chain perspective and are
built to support the desired end-to-end processes can maximum function-
ality and value for investments be achieved.
Reference
Walton, Richard. “From Control to Commitment.” Harvard Business Review. March–April
(1985).
7
The Role of Absolute Commitment
in Creating and Maintaining
Sustainable Improvement
Constancy of purpose—absolute commitment to TPS (Toyota Production

System)—is the major factor contributing to Toyota’s becoming the world’s
number one car company. Toyota’s leadership actually understands TPS as
indicated by the way they manage operations; in addition, every Toyota
plant uses the same operating system.
Is it really any wonder that Toyota’s service, quality, inventory, and prof-
itability are the industry benchmarks? Their executives believe strategy
only becomes real to customers as they experience it through the excel-
lence of their supply chain execution. Customer and market expectations
are constantly changing, but Toyota has built their operational system
to be adaptive, while at the same time, it is the industry’s most efficient.
They have a total business model designed and operated every day in every
detail to ensure customers experience the Toyota brand promise.
Every company needs to have its version of the Toyota Production
System, a system with core principles that do not change over decades and
are imbedded in leadership’s thinking and the company’s culture and ritu-
als. This is an extremely challenging goal for most companies, but one that
is a stewardship obligation of CEOs and their executive teams. Currently,
most companies are a long way from having their version of TPS, but
they must start where they are with purposeful commitment to build this
important capability to ensure current and future company success.
Frequently, supply chains evolved over years rather than being pur-
posefully designed, resulting from organizations having not given much
thought to supply chain design as a significant factor in performance. It is
163
still not the norm for companies to place thoughtful emphasis on improv-
ing total supply chain performance to gain competitive advantage. Supply
chain benchmarking, target setting, and improvement planning should be
a standard part of every business’s strategic plan and planning process.
The planning process should answer several important questions:
• Which performance metrics should be used?

• Which ones are most related to business success?
• What capability is most important to improve?
These critical questions deserve thoughtful analysis before responses are

defined. In most companies, operations has the greatest resources to sup-
port improvement projects. These precious resources should be focused
very precisely on the most important improvement needed. However, it
is common for targets to be arbitrary and unrelated to differentiated per-
formance that customers will pay for in price or with a larger share of a
product category.
Multimarket companies frequently set supply chain performance goals
companywide, a practice that can only be described as value destroying.
Investments in supply chain benchmarking research are as valuable as in
market research. Identifying market growth opportunities will only turn
into sales and profits if operational execution levels are sufficient to enter
and win business, especially if the business must be taken from a competi-
tor. Supply chain assessment, target setting, and implementation planning
must be an important component of business strategic planning for any
company serious about achieving sustainable operational excellence.
Some companies, who are suppliers to such industries as automotive or
consumer retail, have been forced to develop a level of excellence to meet
their customers’ expectations; others commonly focus on some specific
performance metric that is viewed as a disadvantage or simply because
cost of goods sold is the largest expense for most companies.
Assuming a company has a strong strategic supply chain plan, skills and
knowledge are required to turn plan capability and performance require-
ments into reality. Supply chain expertise is seldom viewed as a strategic
capability that must be built and sustained, supplying needed leadership
and support for supply chain improvement initiatives. Supply chains are not
thought of as areas for investment in highly skilled people in the same
way most companies invest in product, technology, and marketing, yet it
The Role of Absolute Commitment • 165
is operational excellence or the lack of it that customers feel. Supply chain

excellence is about strategy. Unfortunately, operational excellence is often
pigeonholed into being about cost or a reaction to a loss of business or top
position with a key customer. Significant investment choices are often made
by considering only factory cost benefits, or at best their total delivered cost,
without understanding the effect on inventory, service, responsiveness, and
flexibility of the supply chain.
Today, with rapidly increasing transportation costs and exploding
growth in developing markets, companies are forced to rethink sup-
ply chains to compete in global markets. Many companies have missed
opportunities for lack of forward thinking, investments in supply chain
modeling, research, and highly skilled professionals. Supply chain knowl-
edge professionals can model supply chains that enable companies to con-
tinually develop improvement options, stay abreast of best practices and
sustain regular benchmarking versus peer companies in their markets.
There are five practices that every company should invest in to drive bet-
ter decision making and continually improve supply chain performance’s
contribution to competitive advantage. They should be a part of the strate-
gic and operational planning of every company. They are as follows:
1. Proper design of supply chains

2. SCOR customer satisfaction performance benchmarking
3. Financial performance benchmarking
4. SCOR process benchmarking
5. Assessment versus supply chain maturity models.
S o u n d Mo d e lin g Is E s s e n t ia l t o S u ppo r t
In v e s t me n t D e cis io n Ma k in g
At the end of 2003, I became corporate vice president of 3M Supply
Chain Services. Among our responsibilities was supporting the wide
range of 3M businesses in order to improve their supply chains.
(continued)
Le a r n e d f r o m E x pe r ie n cE : Pa u l (Continued)
At the time, there were no people left who focused on supply chain
modeling to support businesses in making better design choices.
3M has among the best total global reach of any company in the
world, particularly for its size. Manufacturing in more than sixty
countries, utilizing an extremely broad range of technologies, and
producing products shared across many markets are great strengths
of 3M, but it is also a complicated environment in which to make
choices about investing in new capability and requires sound model-
ing to support investment decision making.
We made three investments to move 3M capability forward: We
hired highly skilled professionals, purchased modeling software,
and developed a rigorous methodology for making supply chain
investment choices. These capabilities were quickly in high demand
by our internal clients because of their meaningful contribution to
3M businesses.
How to Properly Design Supply Chains

Most supply chains are products of evolution. Their current state results
from many changes often made over an extended period. Everything in
all supply chains is constantly changing—suppliers and supplier perfor-
mance, customers and their expectations, product designs, production
processes, business rules, etc.
Change constantly makes its way into supply chains and, for several
reasons, frequently goes unrecognized. First, unless a robust supply chain
dashboard is in place, small changes in performance can go unnoticed.
Second, very few people have their eye on the entire supply chain. People live
and work in their own functional corner of the business. Until they reach
the highest organizational levels, few people are aware of end-to-end per-
formance or, if they are, they find it difficult to convince others to change.
Even the idea of “designing” a supply chain is rare in most companies.
In L a u n ch in g a N e w Pr o d u ct , t h e T e n d e n cy
Is t o Imple me n t a Flo w Mu ch L ik e O n e
U s e d Be f o r e ; T h is C a n Be a n E r r o r
While working with a client recently, I was asked to help design
a supply chain for a new product that was to be launched in two
years. As we began to identify customers, suppliers, and so on, I
asked if a path had been identified for the flow of materials, work,
and information. The answer was “Yes!” In the absence of a new
design, they were moving to implement a flow much like an older
existing product. Upon completing a flow map of existing prod-
ucts, the client quickly identified design changes to make. This is
our tendency.
If current models are working, the tendency is to gravitate toward stay-

ing with them unless someone intervenes or a crisis occurs. Unfortunately,
this approach ensures that new supply chains will follow the pattern of
current designs with all of their problems, issues, and shortcomings. It
takes vision and courage to rethink and replace existing systems and pro-
cesses. Supply chain design must consider these factors:
• Customers and markets served

• Customer and market supply chain expectations
• The development of a meaningful supply chain dashboard
• Material flow design
• Work and information flow design
• Level 1 metrics (SCOR Level 1) aligned upstream to suppliers and
suppliers’ suppliers if possible
• Financial effect
• Project management capability
• Operational capabilities
• Risk management
• Alignment with business strategies
How to Define Customers

and Their Expectations
As demonstrated in Chapter 4, a clear understanding of who your cus-
tomers are and what must be done to successfully compete for and win
their business is essential. For most businesses, customers can be seg-
mented into multiple groups, each with its own unique needs and expec-
tations. For example, mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart and Target
have very different supplier expectations than OEMs (original equip-
ment manufacturers), distributors, government customers, or others
have of theirs.
Supply chain designs that meet low cost expectations may not look the
same as those designed for maximum responsiveness. This is the power of
the SCOR methodology and its decomposition model. Starting with the
service metrics, which reflect the most important attributes of any cus-
tomer, SCOR links multilevel metrics to Level 1 process definitions, which
must be designed using current best practices or by innovating new ones
in order to ensure that the capability exists to achieve targeted levels of
performance of selected top-level metrics.
How to Create a Supply Chain Dashboard

Few design activities will be as important as selecting Level 1 metrics that
will provide needed visibility into how the supply chain is performing.
Doing this correctly dictates leaving aside organizational and individual
paradigms, current metrics, and opinions. The goal is to create a dash-
board that provides the following:
1. Balanced view of performance with both external (customer)-facing

and internal-facing metrics
2. Organization that measures performance along supply chain lines
3. Unflinching measurements; that is, metrics designed to reveal actual
performance
4. Links to actions; that is, metrics that reveal actual performance com-
pared with required performance
5. Performance targets aligned with business objectives
How to Design Material Flow

1. Once competitive priorities are understood, a “to be” material flow plan
should be developed incorporating desired best practices and address-
ing disconnects in the material flow of existing products. Key questions
to ask before designing a material flow plan include the following:
• Who are the key suppliers and where are they located?
• What internal company locations will be part of the supply chain?
• What is the distance to (key) markets and what is the transit
time to customers? This is a leading indicator of service and
inventory levels.
• What is the distance from (key) suppliers and what is the transit
time from suppliers to the company’s plant locations? This is a
leading indicator for inventory and supply reliability.
• What is the overall supply chain cycle time?
• What are the operational capabilities of the supply chain?
• What is the organizational rating of the quality and availability
of a workforce capable of operating and improving production?
• What specific functional expertise is required and is it available
to supply chain locations?
• What is the supplier rating of local practices for managing
suppliers?
• What about the design?
• How will the product be distributed and what distribution facili-
ties are involved?
• Which disconnects within existing material flows should be
eliminated?
• What material flow is required to achieve targeted supply chain
performance?
Network design options developed should be modeled using one of the

many available software modeling tools. These tools allow users to enter
all known factors related to unit labor cost, local materials cost, transpor-
tation, duties, and many more to allow modeling of outcomes for each
scenario related to service predictability, cost, inventory levels, total trans-
portation costs, etc.
Tools such as SCOR supply chain mapping identify high-level supply
chain structures or scenarios of various structures. Details about these
scenarios can then be developed to load modeling tools with complete

data to determine how a proposed supply chain will perform.
Supply chain models can also be used to evaluate and assess risk, such
as increases in transportation costs. What if labor cost inflation increases?
What if the government increases or decreases import taxes? Design sce-
narios can be challenged by a multifunctional team to be sure assump-
tions and risk assessments are as valid as possible. Modeling tools and
highly skilled professionals trained to use them are critical to making
smart decisions.
How to Design Work and Information Flow

In an approach similar to designing material flow, key transactional pro-
cesses such as order management, purchasing, work orders, and planning
cycles should be examined for improvement opportunities. Process map-
ping of current processes can identify practices that need to be improved.
SCOR’s decomposition structure provides a structure to ensure all nec-
essary elements of each needed process are considered during mapping.
SCOR’s “as is” mapping process creates detailed step-by-step documenta-
tion of how information and documents flow through a company. This
gives the opportunity to see and identify disconnects and defects through-
out the process. Identified disconnects and defects can then be resolved
using problem-solving tools that result in process improvement.
The last step is to create a “to be” process map. This SCOR map can be
used to show the process once all disconnects and defects are resolved,
or it can be used to define a new process that might streamline the flow.
Usually these more radical change proposals require upgraded or new
information technology tools to enable proposed processes and practices.
Risk Considerations
Projects always include myriad assumptions about such issues as
resources, timelines, import and export laws and regulations, intellec-
tual property protection, expected changes in transportation, duties,
and handling costs. All project assumptions have associated risks that
affect the probability of achieving each assumption. The risks related to
each assumption must be assessed to determine if they have a significant
probability of happening or a low probability of happening but with a
catastrophic effect on the project. Once these critical risks are identi-
fied, plans must be developed to mitigate their consequences should they
occur.
• What is the project’s timeline?

• Are the required resources identified and available to complete the
project on time?
• What human resource and spending uncertainties exist?
• What happens if supply chain cost factors increase?
• What operating costs or performance risks exist that will result if
expected values are not met?
• What risk exists with new supply chains that could adversely affect
performance resulting in a loss of revenues?
• What intellectual property–related risks exist?
Financial Considerations
The direct or indirect goal of improvement projects is improving finan-
cial performance. It is critical to understand specifically how projects
will affect the final financial results. These questions and the customer
and supplier economic value added tool shown in Figure 4.3. allow
you to evaluate projects based on the effect they will have on financial
results.
• What net impact on operating income will result from changes to

factory cost, freight, duties, and other costs?
• What are the potential tax consequences of each alternative?
• What will effective income tax rates do to changes in operating
income?
• What will be the working capital effect of design alternatives?
How to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Lean, Six Sigma, and SCOR all agree that the customer is king. No business
exists without customers, so it is fundamental to have a way to measure
customer satisfaction. Measurements must align with customer needs and
expectations, be measurable, and simple enough to be easily understood by
all employees. SCOR lists three customer-facing performance attributes:
• Delivery reliability
• Responsiveness
• Flexibility
The Supply Chain Council recommends a supply chain scorecard (Level

1) contain at least one metric from each of these categories. These are sub-
sequently decomposed to lower-level metrics. For example, perfect order
fulfillment is a common Level 1 metric under the delivery reliability attri-
bute. Perfect order fulfillment is typically composed of percent of orders
delivered on time, percent of orders delivered with no damage, percent of
orders delivered in full, and percent of orders delivered with correct paper-
work. Though not listed in the SCOR model, percent of orders delivered
meeting customer specifications is often added as well. These Level 1 and 2
metrics meet the criteria mentioned in the first paragraph in this section.
How to Create a Maturity Model

Many supply chain consulting companies have developed maturity mod-
els. One example comes from PRTM Consulting—the Supply Chain
Maturity Model created in 2000; it is described in Strategic Supply Chain
Management (2005). PRTM’s Maturity Model describes four stages: Stage
one is functional focus, stage two is integration, stage three is external
integration, and stage four is cross-enterprise collaboration.
PRTM’s research demonstrated strong correlation between performance
and the maturity stage of a particular practice. If, for example, a company’s
planning practices are assessed as practices associated with maturity stage
three, it is highly probable that supply chain performance related to planning

will also exhibit a performance level commensurate with stage three practice.
The power of this model is in measuring the current practice level using
a scale that represents best practices regardless of industry. This is some-
thing that should be used at some frequency—every two or three years—to
calibrate the business’s current practice state versus state of the art.
Companies who are in the top tier of supply chain performers in their
market will also find this model useful as their maturity model because
it is particularly powerful for generating new levels of capability that will
help them maintain their leadership position.
Edward Deming talked repeatedly throughout his career about con-
stancy of purpose. This is a hard principle to imbed in a company over
time with changing executives and market pressures for quarterly perfor-
mance. It is also one of the most important for companies if they are to be
able to survive and maintain excellence through decades. A critical factor
in achieving constancy of purpose is building supply chain strategic plan-
ning into company rituals in a way that is market relevant.
No competent CEO is going to come into a company and, in the annual
planning rituals, modify practices that obviously demonstrate the addition
of value for customers. This is particularly true if other executive team
members are strong supporters of this practice. Strategic supply chain plan-
ning must be owned by every company’s executive committee; it must be
understood and practiced as a key responsibility of company leadership.
Challenges to Maintaining Your

Company’s Supply Chain
Too often business leaders underestimate the scope and difficulty in
designing, implementing, managing, and improving supply chains. It
has become increasingly hard in the last two decades of globalization
and constant change in political and trade conditions, emerging markets,
and global information. Competitive advantage is short lived as compa-
nies from any country can reach markets anywhere. Conduct an Internet
search for almost any product, and you will find global sources that are
ready and willing to sell and deliver products.
This means investment mistakes quickly become a disadvantage. Making

an incremental investment in home country capacity seems cheaper than
building a new site in emerging markets and from a short-term cost stand-
point is often cheaper. However, not having a strong supply chain in place
to support growing a local business in an emerging market will have seri-
ous and damaging consequences that can take years to rectify. These are
very difficult decisions with significant financial consequences requiring
thorough analysis, plans to manage risk, and a longer horizon than a deci-
sion based on immediate considerations.
For a supply chain to be successful, every company needs to adopt a rigorous
methodology as a key component of maintaining supply chain excellence.
A d a pt t o L o ca l Be h a v io r s a n d Bu ild a C o r e
S u pply C h a in o r S u f f e r t h e C o n s e q u e n ce s
While I was managing director of 3M Brazil, one of the biggest U.S.
retailers entered the Brazilian market. It did not go well. It had some
strong regional competitors, including French retailer Carrefour,
which started much earlier and was entrenched in key cities across
Brazil.
In addition, the U.S. retailer, which had built its competitive
advantage on supply chain superiority, made a series of signifi-
cant mistakes that ranged from not understanding local market
behaviors to not building a strong local supply chain to support
its first stores. For example, after many years of high inflation,
Brazilians were accustomed to buying their monthly necessities
as soon as they received their paychecks. In addition, local retail-
ers and Carrefour built their stores with two or more times as
many checkout stations than seen in a typical U.S. store.
I went with our local account manager to the opening of the first
store. When we arrived, I was shocked to see that the large parking
lot was half-full of tents; material was piled everywhere; it was an
incredible mess. I knew that my sales manager had been called by the
store’s commodity buyers many times to assist them in finding some
3M products located in the tents.
(continued)
When we entered the store, we saw customers waiting to check out
in a line that ran all the way to the back wall of the store. Before we
finished our visit, we noticed people walking out and leaving their
carts. The consequences of this failure to adapt to local behaviors
and build a core supply chain were serious and set back their expan-
sion plans by years.
The Importance of Training

One irrefutable fact is that leadership in any endeavor is a first-order require-
ment. Yet far too often it is thought this will happen automatically, that
employees will learn and gain experience from the managers they work with
and the school of hard knocks. This is unrealistic. Most people’s early career
years involve working in limited positions and frequently in one functional
area of their company. This is not sufficient, as people must develop a work-
ing knowledge of all enterprise functions, which only happens if there is a
purposeful development program in place. In addition, working on cross-
functional teams as well as learning to lead and follow are all necessary skills.
They must also learn to overcome difficult challenges, achieve challenging
goals, and demonstrate the ability to lead an organization to be its best. It
can no longer be acceptable to allow leadership development to just happen;
companies cannot afford the cost of failure that results from this approach.
D e v e lo pin g L e a d e r s h ip Is E s s e n t ia l
t o a C o mpa n y ’s S u cce s s
During four years of Jim McNerney’s leadership at 3M, he per-
sonally led Six Sigma implementation, which he repeatedly said was
principally a leadership development program. This was reality as
Black Belts and Master Black Belts faced very challenging targets in
cost, growth, and working capital improvement.
(continued)
Because they also worked on projects across all company func-
tions, this project depth gave them a meaningful learning experi-
ence about other functions. In addition, a leadership development
program and multimillion-dollar facility to house this program was
high on McNerney’s agenda. Great leadership was reinforced as his
highest priority to improve 3M performance.
Set stretch Goals

There is always an argument between the “go-for-it guys” and the incremen
talists who believe in setting realistic and achievable goals. The trouble
with incremental goals is that, too often, current thinking and practices are
enough to achieve these incremental goals, but if significant improvement
is needed, stretch goals, sometimes even ridiculous goals, are essential.
Stretch goals, which people realize can’t possibly be achieved with
their current thinking and practices, force people to examine all current
assumptions and search for other ideas and perspectives. Stretch goals
challenge an organization to reach levels they did not think were possible
and, when properly managed, are very motivating.
Bu ild S t r e t ch G o a ls i n t o Y o u r
O r g a n iz a t io n ’s O pe r a t in g Pla n
During my plant manager years, we adopted stretch goals to improve
the cost of diskettes. We repeatedly set targets that we had no idea
how to achieve. After some success, this process became almost an
addiction for the organization, which had experienced a high from
achieving what appeared to be impossible goals.
(continued)
Later, this experience was reinforced under Jim McNerney’s lead-
ership at 3M. Six Sigma goals for every organization worldwide were
very challenging and most people had never experienced making
improvement at the rate required to achieve these goals. With expe-
rience and success, confidence grew and a general excitement and
pride accompanied the success of 3M organizations. Once estab-
lished, some percentage of expected improvement was built into
every organization’s operating plan.
Every business must have a road map that provides direction to its
organization and creates a compelling case for change. We only have to
examine Toyota to know that a roadmap and compelling case must be
implemented to achieve excellence in operational processes. The road map
always has the same destination—satisfying existing customers and creat-
ing new satisfied customers.
There have to be a strategy and tactical plans that include and align mar-
keting, product development, and supply chain. Frequently, companies
rely on their personal knowledge of customers and markets in addition to
market research to bring in outside information, improving the quality of
their plan. They are also very comfortable investing in product develop-
ment to maintain the value of their current offering or to introduce truly
new products to the world.
Supply chain is a different matter. A lot of money is spent on plants and
distribution centers, but little is normally invested in process and people
capability, the factors that are most critical to supply chain contribution.
How many strategic plans actually describe the specific capability required
from company supply chains? How many strategic plans use outside
research to quantify best market performance in delivery, flexibility, and
responsiveness?
Strategic plans without a supply chain component are really a state-
ment of intentions, as the operational capability to source, plan, make,
deliver, and manage returns to meet the strategic plan requirements is
simply assumed. Top business leaders can no longer afford to assume sup-
ply chains will perform to meet their business plan; they must include a
supply chain component in all strategic business plans.
Implement an Evaluation Process

Each decision adds a brick to today’s path or builds a new path. All sup-
ply chain investment, whether it is skilled people, facilities, equipment, or
IT systems, must be very carefully evaluated. The evaluation process, in
addition to validating alignment to strategic objectives, must look at end-
to-end outcomes of service, costs, and working capital. It must examine
operational capability to be certain it will be sufficient.
Too frequently an overly simplified cost evaluation becomes the deci-
sion driver. The evaluation process must include consideration of a wide
range of factors that contribute to end performance and simulations to
test assumptions and risk. It is important to think about the direction in
which a specific investment decision is taking the business. Is it building
another brick on the present path or is it creating a new path, one that is
linked to future growth and management of risk? We need to be sure to
seek the best, not just the good.
Commit Yourself to Hands-On

Leadership—Don’t Delegate
Business success is built and sustained customer by customer. The only
reality of a supplier’s brand promise is their customer’s everyday product
and service experience. Customers experience a company’s supply chain
through every transaction and touch point. Without supply chain excel-
lence, brand promises are empty promises. Sustainable market leading
businesses use their supply chain as a competitive weapon to protect exist-
ing business, respond to opportunities more effectively than competitors,
and increase customer share by taking business from competitors. There
are no examples of long-term sustainable market leading companies that
don’t have supply chains that effectively deliver their competitive advan-
tage to customers every day.
There are five final thoughts for business leaders to take and apply to
their company’s supply chain.
1. Supply chain is too important to business success to leave it solely

in the hands of company manufacturing executives. This is not to
say business leaders must be supply chain experts—they don’t, but
it is important to have a sufficient working knowledge to be able to
integrate into strategic and operational planning, set necessary per-
formance targets, and assess supply chain performance.
2. Invest in educating top leadership team members in supply chain
improvement methodologies and making a collective commitment
to implementation. Have them all read this book as a starting point
to gain a working knowledge is only a matter of investing some time
in learning the essence and fundamentals of SCOR, Lean, and Six
Sigma. This investment will have a significant and lasting return.
3. Develop the three-to-five-year supply chain vision required to sup-
port the growth, income and return goals. Use the Sustainable Lean
Improvement Roadmap as a winning plan model.
4. Invest in companywide leadership of the supply chain excellence ini-
tiative that is positioned and resourced for success.
5. Hold all leadership team members accountable for active leadership
and participation in making implementation of your company’s
Sustainable Lean Improvement Roadmap successful.
It is time to fix your supply chain!
Reference
Cohen, Shoshanah, and Joseph Rousel. Strategic supply chain management. New York:
McGraw Hill, 2005.
Resources
Training Services
Sigma Breakthrough Technologies—Six Sigma Training
Lean Enterprise Institute—Lean training courses
Supply Chain Council—SCOR training
Books
Valuable Books about Lean
Andy and Me, Pascal Dennis, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 2005.
ἀ e Toyota Way, Jeffrey Liker, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
ἀ e Machine ἀ at Changed the World, James Womack, Daniel Jones, and
Daniel Roos, New York: Rawson Associates, 1990.
TPM Introduction, Seiichi Nakajima, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press,
1988.
Lean ἀ inking, James Womack and Daniel Jones, New York: Free Press,
2003.
ἀ e SMED System, Shigeo Shingo, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press,
1985.
Lean Production Simplified, Pascal Dennis, Cambridge, MA: Productivity
Press, 2002.
Zero Quality Control, Shigeo Shingo, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press,
1986.
Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno, Cambridge, MA: Productivity
Press, 1988.
ἀ e New Manufacturing Challenge, Kiyoshi Suzaki, New York: Free Press,
1987.
181
182 • Resources
Implementation Tools
ἀ e Toyota Way Fieldbook, Jeffery Liker and David Meier, New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Creating a Lean Culture, David Mann, Cambridge, MA: Productivity
Press, 2005.
Mistake-Proofing, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1987.
Quick Changeover, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1986.
Just-in-Time for Operators, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1988.
TPM for Every Operator, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1996.
Kanban for the Shopfloor, Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 2002.
Getting the Right ἀ ings Done, Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute,
2006.
Learning to See, Mike Rother and John Shook, Cambridge, MA: Lean
Enterprise Institute, 2003.
Creating Level Pull, Art Smalley, Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise
Institute, 2004.
Creating Continuous Flow, Mike Rother and Rick Harris, Cambridge, MA:
Lean Enterprise Institute, 2001.
Making Materials Flow, Rick Harris, Chris Harris, and Earl Wilson,
Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2003.
ἀ e TWI Workbook, Patrick Graupp and Robert Wrona, Cambridge, MA:
Reference Books
ἀ e Encyclopedia of Operations Management, Art Hill, Cambridge, MA:
Clamshell Beach Press, 2007.
Lean Lexicon, Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2006.
references
Chapter 1
Goldratt, Eli, and Jeff Cox. ἀe goal. Great Barrington, MA: North River
Press, 1984.
Porter, Michael. Competitive strategy. New York: Free Press, 1980.
Resources • 183
Treacy, Michael, and Fred Wiersema. ἀ e discipline of market leaders.

Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1995.
Womack, James, and Daniel Jones. Lean thinking. New York: Free
Press, 2000.
Womack, James P., Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos. ἀ e machine that
changed the world. New York: Rawson Associates, 1989.
Chapter 2
Bolsdorf, Peter, and Robert Rosenbaum. Supply chain excellence. New
York: Amacom, 2003.
Goldratt, Eli, and Jeff Cox. ἀe goal. Great Barrington, MA: North River
Press, 1984.
Ohno, Taiichi. Toyota production system: Beyond large-scale production.
Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1988.
Rother, Mike, and John Shook. Learning to see. Cambridge, MA: Lean
Enterprise Institute, 2003.
Schonberger, Richard. Japanese manufacturing techniques. New York: Free
Press, 1982.
Chapter 3
Cohen, Shoshanah, and Joseph Roussel. Strategic supply chain manage-
ment. New York: McGraw Hill, 2005.
Lambert, Doug. Supply chain management. Sarasota, Florida. Supply
Management Institute, 2004.
Lambert, Doug. Supply chain management. Sarasota, FL: Supply
Management Institute, 2006.
Ohno, Taiichi. Toyota production system: Beyond large-scale production.
Cambridge MA: Productivity Press, 1988.
Chapter 4
Bossidy, Larry. Confronting reality. New York: Crown Press, 2004.
184 • Resources
Graupp, Patrick, and Robert J. Wrona. ἀ e TWI workbook. New York:

Porter, Michael. Value chain, New York: Free Press, 1985.
Porter, Michael. “What is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review 74, 6 (1996):
61–78.
Shook, John, and Mike Rother. Learning to see: Value stream mapping to add
value and eliminate MUDA. Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute,
1999.
Treacy, Michael, and Fred Wiersema. ἀ e discipline of market leaders.
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1995.
Chapter 5
Graupp, Patrick, and Robert J. Wrona. ἀ e TWI workbook. Cambridge,
MA: Productivity Press, 2006.
Nakajima, Seiichi. TPM. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1984.
Productivity Development Team. Just-in-time for operators. Cambridge,
MA: Productivity Press, 1998.
Shingo, Shigeo. A revolution in manufacturing: ἀ e SMED system.
Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1985.
Chapter 6
Walton, Richard. “From Control to Commitment.” Harvard Business
Review. March–April, 1985.
Chapter 7
Cohen, Shoshanah, and Joseph Rousel. Strategic supply chain manage-
ment. New York: McGraw Hill, 2005.
About the Authors
Paul C. H usby completed a 38-year career with 3M that included execu-
tive management positions such as managing director of 3M Brazil, vice
president of the Abrasives Division, and corporate staff vice president
of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Services. He graduated from the
University of Wisconsin, Stout, with a BS degree in industrial technol-
ogy. Paul’s career included a significant number of operational leadership
assignments in manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain prior to the
executive leadership assignments. Twelve years of his career were spent on
international assignments in places such as Belgium, the United Kingdom,
and Brazil; he speaks Portuguese as a second language. Currently a sup-
ply chain consultant with a passion for Lean manufacturing, he is also
involved with Hope Unlimited of Brazil as a member of the International
Advisory Board. Hope is a nonprofit organization that rescues and trans-
forms the lives of Brazilian street children.
D an Swartwood is director of Process and Supply Chain Design for Satellite

Logistics Group, headquartered in Houston, Texas. Prior to his current posi-
tion, Dan worked as the director of the Value Chain Center of Excellence for
PRAGMATEK Consulting Group. In this role he assisted clients in the aero-
space and defense, pharmaceutical, medical, industrial, automotive, chemi-
cal, and high-tech industries to analyze their supply chains and identify
competitive performance gaps and improvement opportunities. During the
first 25 years of his career, he held a wide range of management positions for
3M Company and Imation Enterprises, developing his Six Sigma and Lean
skills. He is a Certified SCOR instructor with the Supply Chain Council,
a certified CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management)
through APICS (the Association for Operations Management), and an
American Society for Quality (ASQ) -certified Quality Engineer. Dan fre-
quently speaks on topics in business and business improvement and has
published numerous articles. In the area of supply chain technology, Dan
has filled many roles within the Supply Chain Council, including mem-
ber of the board of directors, chairman of the Technical Development
Steering Committee, membership in the International Society of Six Sigma
Professionals, and Dean’s Advisory Council of Arizona State University,
West. Dan and his wife Kathy reside in Houston, Texas.
185
Index
3M C
adaption to new circumstances,
xxi, 159 Capital
authors’ experiences with, invested, 73
xi–xiii, xxiii working, xviii, 9, 21, 54, 90, 171, 178
continuous improvement Cause, xviii–xix, 8
strategies and Change, organizations and, 9
methodologies, 3 Constancy of purpose, xx, 15
culture, 148 Continuous improvement strategies
ERP and, 85 and methodologies,
leadership and, 9, 175–176, 177 xviii, 3–8
Lean system and, 57 Cost, defined, 74
local behavior and, 174 Creating maturity models, 172–173
meeting expectations Creating supply chain
and, 70–71 dashboards, 168
reality checks for, 111 Culture, 148–152
resolution of workplace defined, 148
problems, 151–152 management and, 150–151
Six Sigma and, 7, 19, 108 values and, 151–152
sound modeling and, 165–166 Current Reality Tree, 35
standardization of work, 116 Customer intimacy, xv, xvi, 10, 83
Customer value-driven
operational model, 3
A Customers
Accuracy, metrics and, 155–156 alignment, 155
American Productivity and defining and meeting
Quality Council expectations, 168
(APQC), 77 groups, 71
AMR, 4, 20 measuring satisfaction, 172
Asset management, defined, 74 value creation for, 10–11,
71–76, 85–105
B
D
Balance, importance of, 154–156
Barriers to implementation, 43–45 Data gathering, 153
Benchmarking, 77, 158 Day by hour production charts, 31
Black Belts (BB), 7, 23–24, 56, Defect correction, defined, 26
108, 118, 152, 175 Defining customers and
Brainstorming, 6, 36, 159 expectations, 168
Bullwhip effect, 19 Delegating responsibility, 178–179
187
188 • Index
Delivery reliability, defined, 74 I

Designing material flow, 169–170
Designing work and information Imation Enterprises, xi, xiii, xxiii
flow, 170 Implementation
DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, barriers to, 43–45
improve control), factors affecting, 118
6–7, 21–22, 56, 102, supply chain, 11
127, 136. See also Six Sigma Improvement methodologies, xviii
Improvement opportunities,
Lean and, 57
E Infrastructure requirements,
Employee problems, 151 Six Sigma, 23–25
Enablement, xx, 12–14 Inventory, defined, 26
culture, 12 IT systems, 14, 160–162
IT systems, 14
leadership development, 14 J
metrics and rewards, 12–13
JIT (just-in-time) manufacturing, 19
organizational structure, 13
skills, 13
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) K
systems, xii, 3, 45, 85, 154
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators),
Entitlement level, 6
73, 75, 154, 159
Entitlement thinking, 9, 22
EVA (Economic Value Added),
11, 73–75, 87, 135, 142 L
Evaluation processes, 178 Leadership, xviii, 157–159
Evaporating Cloud, 35–36 building and, 68
Execution process, 51, 62–63 delegating responsibility,
178–179
F development of, 14, 175–176
managing expectations, 70–71
Fear, as motivator, xxi pushing organization
Financial and operational beyond limits, 159
benchmarking, 77 reality and, 69
Financial considerations, 171 success and, 108
Flexibility, defined, 74 Lean supply chain system, 5–6
Flow, defined, 6 Lean system, 25–33
Future Reality Tree, 36 assessing lean, 33
implementation, 27–29
G improvement opportunity
identification and
Goal setting, incremental, 158 problem solving, 32
Green Belts (GB), 7, 24, 152 lean practices, 29
limitations, 53–54
H metrics, 30
monitoring and control, 31–32
Hoshin Kanri, 30, 52, 112, 119 repetition of cycle, 32
Index • 189
roles and processes, 29–30 Problems, uncovering, 155–156

strengths, 52–53 Product launches, 167
Product leadership, xvi, 10, 83–84, 87
Product leadership strategy, 83
M Proper design of supply chains, 166–167
Maintaining supply chains, 173–174 PRTM Consulting, 4, 20, 50, 63, 172
Master Black Belts (MBB), 7, 24, Pull, defined, 6
108, 118, 152, 175 Push planning, 19, 56
Material flow, 169–170
Material Requirements R
Planning (MRP), 17–19,
55–56, 62, 98 RACI (Responsible, Accountable,
Maturity model, creating, 172–173 Consulted, and
Measuring customer Informed) analysis, 2
satisfaction, 172 Reality checks, 111
Metrics, 154–156 Responsiveness, reliability, 74
accuracy, 155–156 Rewards, 159–160
aligning, 112 Risk considerations, 170–171
customer alignment, 155 Rules of market leaders, xvi, 10, 83
rewards and, 12–13
soundness of, 155–156
Modeling, investment decision S
making and, 165–166 Satellite Logistics Group, xxiii
Motion, defined, 26 Schedule attainment, 51, 92, 93
Motivation, xix SCOR. See Supply Chain Operations
Motorola, xv, 3, 19 Reference model (SCOR)
Six Sigma, 6–7, 21–25. See also DMAIC
O infrastructure requirements, 23–25
limitations, 55–57
Operating models, 83 strengths, 54–55
Operational excellence, xv, xvi–xviii, Sustainable Improvement
xx, 10, 44, 51, 83–84, 164–165 Roadmap (SIR), 20–23
Operational reviews, 116–117 Skills, 152–157
Organizational culture, 12 data gathering, 153
Organizational structure, 13 metrics and, 154–156
Overprocessing, defined, 26 overcoming of obstacles, 153–154
Overproduction, defined, 26 tool selection, 153
Skills, supply chain and, 13
Standardization of work, 116
P
Statistical process control, 19
Perfect plan assumption, 17, 19 Stretch goals, 158, 176–177
Perfection, 6, 158 Supply chain
Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and cause and vision, 8–9
Return, 1, 4, 37–38, 51, 63 challenges to maintaining, 173–175
Plan Do Check Act (PDCA), 32 constancy of purpose, 15
PRAGMATEK, xiii, xxiii continuous improvement strategies
Prerequisite Tree, 36 and methodologies, 3–8
190 • Index
creating dashboard, 168 conducting regular operational

defined, 1 reviews, 116–117
defining and meeting customer developing communications
expectations, 168 plan, 113–114
enablement, 12–14 managing implementation
how to properly design, 166–167 through program
implementation, 11 management office, 114
IT systems, 14 planning to overcome resistance to
leadership development, 14 change, 115–116
local behavior and, 174–175 pursuit of end state, 118
mapping, 88 time horizon for
metrics and rewards, 12–13 implementation, 108–109
organizational culture and, 12 top executive team
organizational structure, 13 leadership, 109–112
skills, 13
top leadership champion, 2–3
T
value creation for customers
and, 10–11 Tacit knowledge, 53
Supply Chain Council (SCC), Takt time, 29, 101–102, 126, 127
xiii, 1, 4–5, 20, 40, 77, 172 Theory of Constraints
Supply chain dashboards, 168 (TOC), 7–8, 33–37
Supply chain operations reference, 4–5 Current Reality Tree, 35
Supply Chain Operations Reference Evaporating Cloud, 35–36
model (SCOR), 37–43 Future Reality Tree, 36
defined, 37–39 key metrics, 34
limitations, 50–51 limitations, 58–59
overview, 40–43 Prerequisite Tree, 36
strengths, 48–50 steps in, 34
Sustainable Improvement Roadmap strengths, 57–58
(SIR), xix, 20–23, 59–65 Transition Tree, 36
attributes of, 63–65 Tool selection, 153
complex unique language, 61–62 Top leadership champion, 2–3
difficulty in scaling, 61 Toyota
impact of, 63–65 continuous improvement strategies
lack of execution management process and methodologies, 3
definition, 62–63 JIT (just-in-time)
lack of supply chain collaboration manufacturing, 19
process definition, 63 leadership and, 69
reality and, 70–71 Lean system and, 5, 15, 33, 78
superficial top management motivation and, xix
understanding, 61 roadmaps and, 177
Sustainable Improvement Roadmap TWI and, 125
(SIR), TCM, 107–118 Toyota Production System (TPS), 17–19,
aligning organizational metrics, 112 25, 29, 44, 53, 62, 109, 163
building and maintaining Training, importance of, 175
momentum, 117 Training Within Industry
building project plan, 114–115 (TWI), 125, 126
Index • 191
Transition Tree, 36 strengths and solutions for, 63–65

Transport, defined, 26 superficial top management
Twin City Manufacturing (TCM), 77–105 understanding, 61
assessment of business, 77–79
assessment of supply chain using
V
SCOR, 80–82
gathering customer info, 86–90 Value, defined, 6
implementation plan, 92–103 Value creation for customers, 10–11,
implementation program, 119–146 71–76, 85–105
making business case, 90–92 Value stream, defined, 6
overview, 77–78 Value Stream Mapping (VSM),
review strategy, 82–84 xix, 6, 27, 32, 59, 67,
Sustainable Improvement Roadmap 70, 95, 98, 102–103,
(SIR), 107–118 114, 122, 131, 145
value creation for Vision, xviii–xix, 9
customers, 85–105 formulating, 68–70
SIR and, 70–71
Visual management, 28, 31–32, 161
U
Unmitigated limitations, SIR
W
complex unique language, 61–62
difficulty in scaling, 61 Waiting, defined, 26
lack of execution management Work and information flow, 170
process definition, 62–63 Workplace problems, 151

Supply Chain

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Supply Chain

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Supply Chain

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fix Your

Paul C. Husby and Dan Swartwood

© 2009 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

No claim to original U.S. Government works

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-56327-381-0 (0)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

and the Productivity Press Web site at

Chapter 1 The Seven Components of Sustainable Supply

Chapter 2 Improvement Methodologies Six Sigma, Lean,

Chapter 3 Sustainable Improvement Roadmap Comparing

. Attributes of the Sustainable Improvement

Chapter 4 The Role of the CEO: Creating the Vision...................... 67

Chapter 5 The Role of the CEO and Leadership Team

Chapter 6 The Role of Leadership in Creating a

Chapter 7 The Role of Absolute Commitment in

About the Authors............................................................................... 185

encouragement. He summarized his observations from those visits in his

Launching my career in 1975 with 3M Company was the beginning of an

1. The opportunity to improve is inexhaustible. The manufacture of

2. There is no substitute for persistence. While faced with a nagging

As a management consultant for the past seven years, I have helped

1. Provide the best marketplace offering by excelling in a specific

Three of these rules are particularly relevant to our discussion of supply

improvement requires that a company evaluate current performance

Also, it can feel as if continuous improvement is being achieved even

1. Top company leadership. Top company leadership is responsible and

perceived threats. One trait of visionary leaders is their ability to

7. Constancy of purpose. Constancy of purpose has to live on even

This book brings together the authors’ collective 70 years experience in

Why You Need This Book

discipline or have limited experience, this book provides a valuable road-

The book is based on our collective experience, which we share both

How to Use This Book

1. Chapter 1 to understand the requirements for continuous impro­

Top Leadership Champion

champions who are actively engaged, the probability of achieving signifi-

Continuous Improvement Strategy

• The continuous improvement approach was mandated companywide.

The conclusion from examining these continuous improvement approa-

Supply Chain Operations Reference

In the 1990s, PRTM (a management consulting firm with a long his-

SCOR Improvement Process

1 Basis SCOR level 1

3 Performance Intra-company Inter-company SCOR level 3

of supply chain configuration is completed. The configuration ensures

Lean Supply Chain System

Lean is a supply chain operational system based on the Toyota Production

• Value is defined by the customer.

Lean applies a unique process mapping approach called Value Stream

A Cause and a Vision

• How do you stack up versus the best supply chain practices?

Value Creation for Customers through

• Provide the best marketplace offering by excelling in a specific value

The last three rules are critically dependent on a company’s supply

“In a competitive marketplace, improving customer value is the market

proposition obsolete. ἀ e operating model is the market leader’s ultimate

Customer value is created through supplier contributions to increasing

1. Service, which includes delivery, product, information, and post sales

1. Chapter 1 to understand the requirements for continuous impro