Inventory Management The Lion of Lean

Inventory Management-The Lion of Lean
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Inventory Management-The Lion of Lean
The article titled “The Lion of Lean and Interview with James Womack” articulates the long-run benefits that are acquired from the lean management style of business. Reading this article is not only interesting but also acts as an eye-opener on how businesses and organizations can maximize benefits realized from their operations and reduce the cost associated with wastage through lean management method. A peculiar analysis of this article reveals that the success of any business lay on how efficiently it manages its process (Quinn, 2005). Interestingly, the article helps to understand that in best-performing companies such as Toyota unlike the American automotive companies, it is how well employees are taught the applications that challenge them to figure out the associated principles.
Another important aspect of lean management articulated in this paper that is neglected by most businesses is the ability to reduce process wastage. This eats into business resources and reduces their ability to meet consumer’s value and consequently renders business operations unnecessarily expensive (Quinn, 2005). Moreover, business failure is also catalyzed by addressing the process from a manufacturer perceptive rather than from a consumer’s point of view. Therefore, it is recommended that managers should start with the consumers’ needs or values and then plan backward, an important aspect of the value stream map.

Therefore, management linkage is an important tool that helps to optimize business operations and meet the consumer’s value simultaneously.
This article helps to offer insight on how the application of the lean process can help the organization to leverage its operations. James Womack in response to the interview questions cites his experience with various companies that he has interacted with and gives advice with reference to his expertise which reveals how companies blindly copy the lean process of other successful business without understanding the underlying Value Stream Map. Moreover, a process requires not only time but also proper planning, a point that is missed by most CEO and managers. Various steps involved in the process require to be handled in a timely and orderly manner in order to create value for the customer.
Work Cited
Quinn, F. (2005). The lion of lean: an interview with James Womack. Supply Chain Management Review, 9(5), 28-33.