When most teams map a lean value stream, they tend to focus on internal processes, and many organizations have reaped the benefits of implementing lean within their own facilities. The total value stream, however, for a typical product crosses many different organizations and suppliers. In Improving the Extended Value Stream: Lean for the Entire Supply Chain, Darren Dolcemascolo presents a step-by-step plan for extending lean manufacturing across the entire supply chain. He makes the case for improving the extended value stream by demonstrating the benefits: increased profitability, reduced lead times and inventory, and better quality. He then presents proven methods for sustaining success and continuously improving the entire supply chain. The techniques addressed include extended value stream mapping, process kaizen, outsourcing strategy, supplier evaluation, and supplier integration activities as they relate to a lean supply chain. Readers of this book will learn how to extend lean manufacturing to the entire supply chain, magnifying the benefits of lean manufacturing to their bottom line.

This book discusses a system for extending lean manufacturing across the entire supply chain. It is divided into three parts: planning and analysis of the lean extended value stream, implementation of a lean supply chain and sustaining and continuously improving the lean extended value chain.

Lean production is the gold standard in production systems, but has proven famously difficult to implement in North America. Mass production relies on large inventories, uses "push" processes and struggles with long lead times. Moving towards a system that eliminates muda ("waste") caused by overproduction, while challenging, proves necessary for improved efficiency. Often overlooked, value stream mapping is the essential planning stage for any Lean transformation. In Mike Rother and John Shook's essential guide, you follow the value stream mapping undertaken for Acme Stamping, for its current and future state. Fully illustrated and well-organized, Learning to See is a must-see for the value stream manager.

In today's hyper-competitive world, organizations need to make high performance and continuous improvement their highest priority. From a variety of process improvement philosophies and methods, one has emerged as the clear winner: Lean. Based on work by pioneers like Frederick Winslow Taylor, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, matured by global organizations like the Toyota Motor Company, and adapted world-wide since the 1980's, companies that have embraced Lean have consistently risen to the top of their industries. This is true for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing organization, like hospitals. The heart of the Lean method for manufacturing is flow, the ability to do work as a continuous, uninterrupted process, without waste, mistakes, or delays. The more that work can flow, the closer the company gets to high profitability, fast response time, zero waste, happy customers, and a host of other benefits. All of the extensive tools of Lean are focused on this objective: to be able to flow work. More specifically, organizations need to flow work of different types, the concept of Mixed Model production. The Complete Guide to Mixed Model Line Design is a practical guidebook that explains the Lean line design method, step-by-step and in plain English. This data-driven approach has been implemented successfully thousands of times, and has been proved in every industry. The Complete Guide to Mixed Model Line Design, and the methodology it explains, should be a part of every organization's improvement strategy, and be a part of the training for everyone involved in continuous improvement.

Lean Thinking was launched in the fall of 1996, just in time for the recession of 1997. It told the story of how American, European, and Japanese firms applied a simple set of principles called 'lean thinking' to survive the recession of 1991 and grow steadily in sales and profits through 1996. Even though the recession of 1997 never happened, companies were starving for information on how to make themselves leaner and more efficient. Now we are dealing with the recession of 2001 and the financial meltdown of 2002. So what happened to the exemplar firms profiled in Lean Thinking? In the new fully revised edition of this bestselling book those pioneering lean thinkers are brought up to date. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones offer new guidelines for lean thinking firms and bring their groundbreaking practices to a brand new generation of companies that are looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.