Waste #1: Waiting—Part 2 of 8 Addressing the 7 Wastes in LEAN Manufacturing with Corporate Kiosk
On Tuesday, I kicked off a series that builds upon one of our most popular posts of all time. It dealt with the seven wastes identified in LEAN manufacturing. I promised to discuss each one of the seven in more detail in future posts. Today I’d like to focus on the first commonly found area of waste: waiting.
When a business adopts LEAN manufacturing principles, it must challenge its existing ways of doing things. The business must look at the sequences and progressions in many of its procedures, including the manufacturing process itself.
With LEAN, “One Thing At A Time” Doesn’t Work
LEAN manufacturing proposes that things be done simultaneously whenever that is possible. Sequential processes slow things down. Therefore, businesses should identify opportunities to accomplish multiple tasks at once.
Modern assembly lines already do that, to a degree, in the name of efficiency. First, the production process utilizes sub-assemblies constructed (simultaneously) elsewhere. Second, on the line itself, workers or robots attach multiple parts at the same time.
But think about other processes in your organization. Do new initiatives lose momentum because of a hierarchy that requires meeting after meeting? What about the approval chain for reports, documents, marketing materials and more? Do things move from desk to desk waiting for a series of people to okay them? Do business trips and vacations introduce delays in those approvals?
Corporate Kiosk—Your Valuable “Wait-Reduction” Tool
Corporate Kiosk™, our e-procurement technology, can bring LEAN benefits to your printing and promotional product procurement. That’s because Corporate Kiosk eliminates waiting in many significant areas:
- Employees order (or reorder) forms without waiting for approvals. With documents pre-approved and loaded into the system, authorized employees simply order them as needed. That eliminates the approval step entirely.
- Salespeople order and get materials without waiting. With Corporate Kiosk, authorized users can order materials any time, from anywhere, and have them shipped to where they are needed.
- No need to wait for outdated materials to be used up. With Corporate Kiosk’s variable print-on-demand technology, your materials are always current. Furthermore, they can be customized for specific customers.
- Don’t wait for ideas (or delivery) on promotional products. Corporate Kiosk is also an access point for promotional items pre-selected by the owner or manager. And we do the vendor selection to ensure reasonable cost and timely delivery.
Call Today- No Waiting
Superior Business Solutions offers the tools and technologies to tackle all sources of waste in your business printing needs. We’ll look at a few more of them next week, so be sure to check back.
But why wait? Contact us today to find out what Corporate Kiosk can do for your business. Or get in touch with one of our knowledgeable sales reps.
