What's your secret to meeting customer requirements in Lean Manufacturing?

1 Voice of the Customer

The first step to meeting customer requirements is to understand what they are. You need to listen to the voice of the customer (VOC), which is the feedback, preferences, expectations, and needs of your target market. You can collect VOC data through surveys, interviews, focus groups, reviews, complaints, and other methods. Then, you need to analyze the data and identify the critical customer requirements (CCR), which are the features or attributes that your customers value the most and that influence their satisfaction and loyalty. You can use tools like quality function deployment (QFD) or Kano model to prioritize and translate CCRs into measurable specifications for your product or service.

2 Value Stream Mapping

The next step to meeting customer requirements is to map your value stream, which is the flow of materials and information from your suppliers to your customers. Value stream mapping (VSM) is a tool that helps you visualize your current state, identify the value-added and non-value-added activities, and design your future state. By using VSM, you can eliminate waste, reduce lead time, improve quality, and align your process with your customer requirements. You can also use VSM to monitor and improve your performance indicators, such as cycle time, inventory, defects, and customer satisfaction.

3 Pull System

The third step to meeting customer requirements is to implement a pull system, which is a way of controlling the flow of work based on the actual demand from your customers. A pull system helps you avoid overproduction, which is one of the most common forms of waste in Lean Manufacturing. By producing only what your customers want, when they want it, and in the right quantity, you can reduce inventory, save space, lower costs, and increase flexibility. You can use tools like kanban, which are visual signals that trigger the production or delivery of a specific item, or heijunka, which is a method of leveling the production volume and mix to avoid fluctuations and bottlenecks.

4 Continuous Improvement

The final step to meeting customer requirements is to embrace continuous improvement, which is the mindset of constantly seeking ways to eliminate waste and increase value in your process. Continuous improvement helps you adapt to changing customer needs, market conditions, and technological innovations. You can use tools like PDCA (plan-do-check-act), which is a cycle of problem-solving and learning, or kaizen, which is a system of small and incremental improvements involving everyone in the organization. By applying continuous improvement, you can achieve higher quality, lower costs, faster delivery, and greater customer satisfaction.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?