BY TOBY GOOLEY, SENIOR EDITOR
CUTTING LOGISTICS COSTS
strategicinsight
LeanLean
your warehouse your warehouse
Lean management
aims to eliminate
waste, add value, and
achieve the best
quality. When applied
properly, it can do all
that plus bring about
huge labor-related
improvements.
workforce
PHOTO COURTES Y OF APLL
WAREHOUSE AND DISTRIBUTION CENTER MANAGERS SPEND A LOT OF
time trying to figure out how to handle the greatest amount of product in as little time as possible, with the highest level of service, and at the lowest possible
cost. Yet despite their best efforts, they may still overlook opportunities to achieve
that goal.
That’s because even in the most efficient facilities, there is waste to be found:
wasted motion, wasted time, wasted inventory, and more. One way to root out
waste—defined as anything that does not provide value—is through the kind of
continuous improvement program associated with Lean, the process management discipline that grew out of the famed Toyota Production System.
Lean is a formal approach to process management that aims to eliminate
waste, add value, and achieve the best quality by using dozens of standard techniques and tools. These fall into the broad categories of visual communication
of information, process mapping, process control, and identification and elimination of defects. Some of the best-known lean tools and techniques include
value-stream mapping (a diagram of the material and information flows
