Preventive Maintenance Manufacturing Manufacturing equipment is a huge investment. The longer it stays running, the more you get out of it. You can keep your equipment running longer with preventive maintenance, sometimes abbreviated as PM. Preventive maintenance...
The Complete Guide to Kaizen Business leaders often covet lean methodology as the best way to run a business. It is extremely effective at removing waste, creating process flow, and ultimately increasing profits in an organization. A central tool of the lean...
The Complete Guide to VSM
As Brian Rome, the Senior Consultant at The Next Step, likes to put it, “value stream mapping is the key tool in the lean assessment process.” When working with our clients, it is the first step we take with operations consulting services because it is prescriptive.
What is Business Process Automation (BPA)? one-third of the work at sixty percent of jobs could be done with automation, without human intervention (McKinsley, 2019). Few jobs can be fully automated, but most have repetitive tasks that do not add value. These tasks...
Implement Manufacturing Automation Correctly and Improve Your Productivity Are you looking to reduce costs or remove bottlenecks from your manufacturing? Manufacturing automation could be part of the solution. It is estimated that automating different tasks can...
Does My Business Need an ISO 9001 Certification? Some people say that you must have an ISO 9001 certification if you want to have a successful manufacturing business. They’ll say that it is ‘required’ and that you won’t get anywhere without it. On the other hand,...
Sourcing Partner Considerations What to Consider When Looking for New Manufacturing Sources; Latin America vs Asia You want to move your supply base closer to lower shipping costs. Or maybe you’re expanding your manufacturing because you need more capacity. We know...
Your manufacturing plant’s layout has a larger impact on your business performance than you may think. Most people aren’t aware that a production plant layout should be continuously improved to meet its money-saving potential. A Lean plant layout does this. Creating a...
Procurement, Purchasing, and Supply Chain Management Overview The terms purchasing and procurement are often used interchangeably but have very different meanings. Both are related to supply chain management but play different parts in the process. For small...
As your business grows and evolves, you should continue to reevaluate your distribution strategy. One major part is deciding what kind of warehousing to use. When looking at warehousing, you have two main options: an internal warehouse or a distribution center....
