Lean has rolled through our factories and generated profits at every turn. Now it’s time to get serious and realize the next level of savings. Companies are pushing lean into the back office, but that won’t get it done. The savings will be good, but not great. After picking low-hanging factory fruit, there’s uncertainty around what’s next for lean.
Make it where you sell it, that’s next for lean. Like a central theorem, this simple phrase will become lean’s mantra, and it will change everything, including our organizations themselves. The big multinational companies have already started their journey, and we can take our cues from them.