Loughrin Says:

By targeting each phase as a separate initiative, an organization can make dramatic improvements and lay the foundation for the subsequent initiatives. What do you say? Send us your comments here

The journey to World Class performance involves both dramatic change and continuous process improvement. In addition, the vision and leadership of the senior executive is required for an extended period of time. This is not a journey that involves heaping numerous “programs of the month” onto an organization with the hope that somehow, somewhere, something will improve. In reality, many companies have found that the journey to World Class contains three phases:

• Predictable Performance
  
• Eliminate Waste
  
• Reduce Variability
  

Predictable Performance is best characterized through programs such as Process Simplification, Class “A” MRP II and, to a lesser extent, ISO 9000. These programs seek to establish an understanding of business processes and the need for these processes to be well defined and documented.

The objectives are for an organization to:

(A) create processes that operate at relatively high levels of performance, and

(B) develop a culture focused on continuous process improvement.

Eliminate Waste is best characterized through programs such as Lean Manufacturing and will also leverage concepts such as KanBan and Supplier Collaboration. These programs seek to drive unnecessary cost out of an organization and to significantly improve overall cycle time.

The objectives are to:

(A) improve processes so they are extremely effective and efficient, and

(B) extend management of the end-to-end supply chain to include suppliers.

Reduce Variability is best characterized through programs such as Six Sigma and Total Quality Management and will also leverage concepts such as Customer Collaboration. These programs seek to dramatically improve the quality of processes and products by focusing on customer requirements.

The objectives are to:

(A) improve processes and products so they meet customer requirements within very tight tolerances, and

(B) extend management of the end-to-end supply chain to include customers.

In general, the three phases on the journey to World Class are not undertaken all at once. By targeting each phase as a separate initiative, an organization can make dramatic improvements and lay the foundation for the subsequent initiatives. The challenge is defining the concepts and scope of each phase in a manner which best meets the organization’s business objectives and customer
requirements.

Agree or disgree with our expert's perspective? What would you add? Let us know your thoughts for publication in the SCDigest newsletter Feedback section, and on the web site. Upon request, comments will be posted with the respondents name or company withheld.