Reinventing Supply Chains the KAIZEN™ Way

Reinventing Supply Chains the KAIZEN™ Way

Global supply chains are facing the worst disruption in 50 years due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, production closures in China, and other crises we need to handle simultaneously.

Supply chains drive economic growth, yet the models they operate on are not equipped for uncertainty, according to our partner World Economic Forum.

At Kaizen Institute, we fully support this point. We need to re-invent supply chains in fundamental ways to ensure security of supply, advance energy transition, be attractive employers, and address the emerging geopolitical landscape. To create resilient supply chains despite multiple crises, we need a different level of agility. We need more transparency across the extended supply chain, with data and analytics accelerating decision-making. To prepare for unknown risks, companies need to diversify supply bases, make distribution centers flexible, potentially build inventories, and have a close eye on the customer.

For a long time, many businesses focused their supply chain activities on optimizing costs. Today the capability to handle supply chain risks and uncertainties is core. KAIZEN™ and its focus on Continuous Improvement and involving management, employees and customers alike, provide a framework that ensures the necessary agility along the entire supply chain.

Saying this, to develop a Lean resilient supply chain, we recommend companies to learn and master seven key capabilities:

Capability #1: Strategic mapping of the supply chain
Capability #2: Implementing a pull planning system
Capability #3: Creating material & information flow
Capability #4: Increasing resource efficiency
Capability #5: Reinforcing the KAIZEN™ culture
Capability #6: Increasing supply chain resilience
Capability #7: Piloting, assessing, benchmarking & scaling

To learn more, contact our local business unit experts in your country.

To read the full article posted at World Economic Forum, click here.

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