The Toyota Production System adopted a methodology in 1930 making production processes highly efficient. In recent years this methodology has been lauded for the successes of Toyota and has been defined and named Lean Manufacturing. According to Kettering Global, these “lean techniques have been adopted by more than 72 percent of machine shops across the country”.
There are five core principles of lean manufacturing:
- Identify value of the product to the customer
- Map the value stream
- Keep an efficient flow of the value stream
- Have a pull system,
- Strive for perfection.
The most challenging task in any manufacturing or warehousing environment striving to stay lean is to keep an uninterrupted flow of raw materials, work-in-process materials, finished goods, and even information. In order to maintain an efficient flow from production to shipping, visibility to each step in the flow is key. Another important factor to maintain a good work flow is easy communications and good collaboration to resolve issues quickly as well as be prepared for changes in supply and demand. Covid-19 has tested firms’ abilities to adapt to changes in the supply chain, and many companies performing well in these uncertain times have increasingly turned to cloud-based solutions to keep flow uninterrupted.
StrataFlows is the cloud-based platform to proactively plan for and keep up with changes in material movement and supply chain. Our platform is an incident command center allowing users to have end-to-end real-time visibility when a part goes missing or a supplier is late. We help clients keep production flowing by tracking suppliers, demand, and issues, and give them the tools they need to take action. The Hot Parts and Issue Tracker modules help our clients keep their continuous improvement goals by giving visibility and collaboration tools to stay agile in a changing market. Click here for a free trial of StrataFlows.
