SAP LEAN WHITE PAPER AND WEBCAST PREVIEW PAGE

This page contains brief descriptions of all the lean white papers and Webcasts. Click here to download these free lean information assets.

Lean Manufacturing White Papers:

• Aerospace & Defense – Early Lean Adopters Embrace Technology
  According to the Aberdeen Group report The Lean Supply Chain, aerospace and defense manufacturers are 40% more likely to be best-in-class performers – companies that are characterized by having an integrated lean approach and solution with technology enablers – than their peers from other industries. One of the reasons for this performance difference is their early adoption rate for lean. The maturity of this industry is reflected directly in its increased rate of technology and lean tools utilization on the shop floor.
  
• ERP Plays a Vital Role in the Automotive Lean Supply Chain
  The results of data collected from 104 automotive respondents to a recent lean supply chain survey (reported in Aberdeen Group’s The Lean Supply Chain), a subset of the full complement of 319 participants, are contained in this white paper. Because of the significant impact enterprise resource planning (ERP) can have on lean manufacturing and corresponding lean supply chain efforts, Aberdeen looked specifically at the 40 SAP automotive customers and 31 Oracle automotive customers who responded to the survey, and conducted follow-up interviews with several survey participants. This “deep dive” uncovered that automotive manufacturers that rely heavily on their ERP systems and have had lean programs in place for four years or more have been most successful in bringing benefits to both the shop floor and across the enterprise.
  
• Lean Adoption – What Are Canadian Manufacturers Not Doing?
  Results from a recent Aberdeen Group report Roadmap to Lean Success indicate that 35% of Canadian manufacturers do not have any activity planned for lean adoption. While still early in their lean adoption journey, Canadian manufacturers need help from lean consultants as well as technology to achieve their primary goals: improving operational factors and profitability and sustaining lean culture.
  
• Chemical Manufacturers Are Adopting ERP for Their Lean Journey
  Customer focus is key for organizations that want to be successful in this competitive marketplace. To that end, more and more manufacturers are recognizing the capabilities that a lean-enabled production environment can have for delivering product when the customer wants it, right when the customer requests it. As lean adoption continues to grow outside the automotive industry as a viable option for all industries, chemical manufacturers in particular are investing heavily in lean practices and basic philosophies, driven to serve the customer while simultaneously trying to drive down inventory and deliver products just in time.
  
• The Impact of Lean on Consumer Product Manufacturers
  Compared to other consumer products (CP) companies, CP manufacturers are early on in pursuit of their lean strategy, with 56% less than 3 years into the journey. Nonetheless, by leveraging external expertise and taking small steps in their lean programs, CP manufacturers are setting their sights on reducing cost, driving down inventory, and sustaining a culture of lean throughout the enterprise. You can see it in the emphasis these companies place on monitoring the metrics tied with success, including inventory and on-time delivery, to maximize the competitive advantage of being responsive to the customer.
  
• High-Tech Manufacturers – Ahead in the Lean Journey
  Results from the Aberdeen Group report The Lean Supply Chain indicate that manufacturers in the high-tech industry are 81% more likely than the general population of manufacturers to have had a lean initiative in place for more than five years. The lead high-tech manufacturers have taken as early adopters of lean is evident, as are the results – greater operational performance across the industry.
  
• Enhancing Lean Practices – Lean Adoption in the Industrial Machinery and Components Industry
  With pressure mounting to improve operational performance while meeting escalating customer requirements, companies across all industries are adopting lean techniques in manufacturing plants and lean strategies in executive suites around the globe. While 66% of industrial machinery and components (IM&C) companies are relatively new adopters of lean, with initiatives less than three years old, those companies with a best-in-class approach to lean deployment are already reaping the benefits. While many IM&C companies have already secured top management approval for lean, the companies that identify and measure critical performance frequently are the ones positioned for success.
  
• Different Paths to the Same Destination – Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Manufacturers Seek the Same Goal
  Results from the Aberdeen Group Lean Supply Chain Benchmark Report indicate that medical devices manufacturers are more mature in the utilization of lean tools and technology than their peers in the pharmaceutical sector. To achieve the common goal of improving operational performance and reducing cost, pharmaceutical manufacturers are more likely to be taking small, pragmatic steps and seeking top management commitment, while medical devices manufacturers are more than twice as likely to engage lean consultants.
  
• Metals Manufacturers Set a Solid Lean Pace with a Customer Focus
  As customer demand continues to rise, metals manufacturers are increasingly meeting the challenge by adopting lean principles and practices in their production processes to ensure customer deliveries are met with demand-driven lean efficiency. For these manufacturers, enabling lean manufacturing techniques today is the key to success tomorrow – the fulcrum that balances just-in-time customer deliveries while driving down inventory.
  
• Plastic Manufacturers Need to Automate Lean Tools
  Results from a recent Aberdeen Group report, Lean Scheduling and Execution, indicate that plastics manufacturers – companies producing plastic products using a variety of molding and extrusion processes – are more than twice as likely to adopt lean technology, when compared with the industry average. However, it was surprising to find that plastics manufacturers are falling behind the curve in automating lean tools. To fill this gap, plastic manufacturers need to establish executive ownership for lean initiatives to provide necessary resources and support to lean professionals.
  

Lean Manufacturing Webcasts:

• Six Sigma, Lean, or Kaizen? Using the Right Tool for the Right Problem – Terence T. Burton, founder and president of the Center for Excellence in Operations Inc.
  Should you be using a kaizen blitz for your latest problem? Would lean be a better answer? How about the statistical tools and processes offered by Six Sigma? Too often, executives want to apply mountainous tools to molehill problems; or, conversely, approach complex issues such as process variation or strategic challenges with an overly simplistic fix. This Webcast helps your colleagues and you understand how to apply the right improvement tools to your organization’s problems.
  
• Avoid Random Acts Of Lean – Tony Gorski, chief executive officer of JCIT International
  We all know it sounds like the right thing to do – lean this or lean that to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. But far too often, great lean improvements are made in granular microcosms of the business, leaving the business head searching for P&L improvements and game-changing transformation. In this session, you learn how to prevent “random acts of lean” and how to create quantum leaps in fulfillment strategy. A review of industry conditions, common pitfalls, and case studies is used to help drive discussion on the topic that sits on many executives’ minds.
  
• Correcting the ills of conventional planning – Pascal Dennis, lean expert and two-time Shingo Prize winner
  “The hardest part of planning isn’t deciding what direction to go in but how do we get there, how do we motivate the troops, how do we correct course,” says Dennis. His presentation illustrates why firms must correct the ills of conventional planning. He shows you how strategy deployment, when implemented properly, can inspire meaningful, company-wide, continuous improvement. You can understand immediately why Toyota uses this powerful management tool throughout its global operations.
  
• How Lean Accounting Helps A Company Work Together To Reduce Waste And Increase Efficiency – Jean Cunningham, co-author of Real Numbers: Management Accounting in a Lean Organization, and Brian Maskell, co-author of Practical Lean Accounting: A Proven System for Measuring and Managing the Lean Enterprise
  For years, when it came to lean principles, manufacturing and operations professionals complained that “accounting just doesn't get it.” However, a growing number of accounting professionals have listened and are seeking ways to be a support, rather than a barrier, to lean. Does joining the lean accounting discussion intimidate you? Here’s your chance to learn from the experts what the movement is all about and what your role can be in it. Discover how lean accounting can help your company work together to reduce waste and increase efficiency.
  
• Toyota's Misunderstood, but Powerful, Lean Management Tool Webcast – Strategy Deployment – Art Smalley, president of Art of Lean
  The famous tools of the Toyota Production System, like kanban, standardized work, and replenishing material, all rest upon a key assumption: that process uptime, quality, employee capability, and overall operational stability are in place. The main points Smalley discusses in this Webcast pertain to the 4Ms of manufacturing — man, machine, material, and method. For each “M,” he highlights three items that Toyota worked upon for many years, starting in 1950 and moving forward.
  

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