If time is money, then being lean is both. Thanks to mega retailers worldwide, lean principles have rapidly spread to a variety of different manufacturers, such as consumer foods, apparel and food/beverage. Over the past few years, these retailers have dramatically changed how they do business in order to stay competitive in the marketplace. How products are ordered, how inventory is moved throughout distribution centers and barcodes vs. RFID technology for inventory management have all been taken into consideration in order to work as swiftly and efficiently as possible. While lean thinking has been rapidly expanding amongst large manufacturers and retailers, there are still a lot of companies that have hardly implemented any lean concepts. At the end of the day lean is about adding value for customers; but how can companies do that while also reaping in benefits for themselves?

Best practices for implementing Lean techniques in retail and wholesale “Essential reading for those who want to learn how Lean provides a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced, multi-channel, and cost-conscious environment.” --Mark Temkin, Director, Demand Planning, Barnes & Noble, Inc. “Provides an enlightening perspective on the applications of Lean principles to the increasingly challenging worlds of the retail and wholesale sectors.” --Professor C. John Langley, Jr., Penn State University Featuring real-world case studies, this practical, streamlined guide reveals how utilize a comprehensive Lean methodology throughout retail and wholesale businesses to reduce costs and improve productivity, quality, customer service, and profitability. Lean Retail and Wholesale examines Lean opportunities from the viewpoint of retail strategy, merchandise management, and store and distribution operations and provides a holistic, systematic approach for identifying and eliminating non-value-added activities. The Lean techniques presented can be applied to traditional brick-and-mortar wholesalers and retailers as well as e-businesses. Coverage includes: Using Lean as a tool to survive and thrive in retail and wholesale (R)evolution of retail--from the general store to e-commerce The Lean journey from goods to services Lean retail and wholesale: early signs of promise Basic Lean concepts and tools: building a solid foundation Advanced Lean concepts and tools: K.I.S.S. (keep it simple and straightforward) Retail strategy: sales and marketing, location, human resources management, IT, supply chain management, and customer relationship management Merchandise management: planning, buying, pricing, and communications Store operations management Lean retail and wholesale distribution Lean assessments and value stream mapping Leadership, culture, teams, and training Partnering, outsourcing, import, technology, and Six Sigma Critical thinking and continuous improvement: methodology, education, training, and analytics Defining and measuring success—measurements and current statistics The road ahead: thoughts and suggestions on the future of Lean in retail and wholesale

This groundbreaking book describes the Lean journey as it extends to a business area that is mission critical, yet has been virtually untouched by the Lean transformation. Lean for Sales: Bringing the Science of Lean to the Art of Selling provides sales professionals, and their management teams, with a structured, fact-based approach to boosting sa

"A powerful and urgent introduction to lean marketing and the magic of getting it right." -- Seth Godin, author, This is Marketing You may be familiar with the Silicon Valley expression about the iterative approach to software development, "We’re learning to fly the plane while we’re building it." If so, think of a startup—with all its moving parts, phases, and personalities—as flying a plane, while you’re building it, booking passengers, marketing the airline, interviewing co-pilots, and serving coffee. In this book, Orly Zeewy navigates the turbulence and provides a flight plan so you know when you’ve landed in the right airport. Orly Zeewy is a brand architect who helps startups cut through the noise. She has worked with dozens of founders and entrepreneurs to uncover their brands’ DNA. In Ready, Launch, Brand: The Lean Marketing Guide for Startups you will learn how to close the marketing gaps that can slow down sales and make it harder to scale your business. Orly shares her brand process for building the right team, attracting brand evangelists, and cultivating a sustainable company culture. Prior to starting her brand consulting practice, Orly ran the award-winning Zeewy Design and Marketing Communications firm and directed marketing programs for national clients such as CIGNA, Kraft Foods, and Prince Tennis. She has lectured at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, taught at the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship at Drexel University, and been featured in the business section of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Saturated markets, a decreasing valuation of fashion by a part of consumers paired with missing impulses by some companies has brought along a crisis in retail, especially in Europe. Changing consumer demand, customer sophistication, customer empowerment via the internet and rapid industry change are just a few challenges global retailers are facing today. The consequence is big pressure on prices and margins and a need for process excellence. As in the 1990s the American and European automotive industry struggled with similar challenges, a concept named lean production was imported from Japan. It helped some Western automotive companies, like Porsche, and big parts of industry to find their way back on the path of success. Is the route to success via lean production exclusive to industry? Or might retailers today benefit from lean production philosophy? In this book Simon Fauser approaches these questions by analysing lean production philosophy, extracting lean principles and applying these to retail and its challenges.

"Kirk Zylstra's focus on the customer is a fresh approach to lean. Companies that can bear the burden of variability will develop a strategic advantage in today's volatile market." —Travis Jarrell Institute of Industrial Engineers Program Committee Chair "Lean Distribution is a comprehensive yet concise work with clear leanings. Kirk's experience across a range of industries brings a unique understanding of common opportunities and solutions available to optimize distribution processes. Lean techniques, typically effective in manufacturing processes, are applied in the downstream supply chain in a practical and productive manner that will offer something to any business distributing tangible goods." —F. Jeff Duncan Jr. VP, CIO, and Director of Technology Louisiana Pacific Corp. "Lean Distribution has robustly captured the revolution occurring in today's increasingly competitive and global supply chain. Eliminating losses through lean manufacturing and lean distribution initiatives will become even more critical enablers to organizations developing cost-advantaged supply chains." —Rick McDonald Director of Manufacturing The Clorox Company

Industrial engineering affects all levels of society, with innovations in manufacturing and other forms of engineering oftentimes spawning cultural or educational shifts along with new technologies. Industrial Engineering: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications serves as a vital compendium of research, detailing the latest research, theories, and case studies on industrial engineering. Bringing together contributions from authors around the world, this three-volume collection represents the most sophisticated research and developments from the field of industrial engineering and will prove a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and practitioners alike.