What is Lean?
When people in industry talk about Lean they are usually thinking about Lean manufacturing and the removal of waste from a production process.
For companies who have been on the lean journey for many years, lean is certainly about the elimination of waste, but it is much more besides. And it doesn't just have validity in manufacturing but in service industries as well. Underpinning a lean approach is a philosophy which will include the following principles:
Value can only be defined by looking at a product or service from the customer's perspective
In order to improve its service to its customers, a company needs to see its key processes as adding value, as value streams
To work efficiently these value streams must not operate in lumps or batches but must continuously flow at a rate which meets customer demand
To meet customer demand exactly, products or services should be pulled through the process, not pushed by manufacturing or inventory
In serving the customer, companies should strive for perfection by continuously improving their approach
At Unipart Logistics, because we are a service organisation, we believe that these principles apply to us and can directly be enacted in our business by:
Really listening and deeply understanding our client's business, market, and plans
Using our 20 years of experience in lean to tailor a solution to precisely meet our client's needs
Continuously improving processes and proactively suggesting ideas to add value and differentiation to our client's business and products
This is what we mean by Lean and what we call The Unipart Way.
If you would like to know more about how this could improve your business, contact
Or take a look at what our clients have experienced by clicking here.