I’ve been saying this in my presentations to supply chain leaders: from mid-sized businesses to Fortune 100 companies and I’ve written about the insufficiency of continuous improvement here. Now Gartner releases data to confirm the growing concern. Sustainable innovation (i.e., continuous improvement) is not enough. Supply chain leaders have typically squeezed as much blood from […]
What do product line extensions, in-store merchandising, and coupons have in common with supply chain continuous improvement programs like Lean and Six Sigma? They’re necessary but insufficient. Driving Forces Three macro trends are having a profound impact on the competitive landscape for every business. Macroeconomics– The trends in the aggregate economy of the U.S. and […]
The farm is where I learned that to keep things running at peak performance you had to listen carefully for squeaks, grinding or other out of place sounds that signaled adjustments and repairs were needed before things got worse. The same goes for business. Here’s what to do about the sounds coming from your business […]
Incremental growth and productivity are essential for businesses: incremental revenue growth, incremental cost of goods sold productivity and as a result, incremental earnings growth. Many companies have become well-oiled machines at growing incrementally. In fact, you can use the tools of continuous improvement to calculate their consistent capability (Cpk). But there will come a time […]
The traditional approach to productivity in your business is going to dry up, if it hasn’t already. At some point, every department will have squeezed out what they think are the last remaining pennies by cutting overhead costs, improving yields or utilizations, applying lean/six sigma to their areas of responsibility, or squeezing their suppliers one […]
