How the fittest survive
The war is on. Supermarket chains have declared it and are fighting it with their army of price cuts and special offers. This is putting enormous pressure on you, the food manufacturers and suppliers. Promotional activity is increasing but you are given even less notice. The level of service you are expected to deliver is at its highest to ensure no sale is missed, yet the demand is more volatile than ever.
Right now, there is no time to debate whether you should go for Lean, 6 Sigma or the Theory of Constraints (TOC). You no longer have the luxury of hesitation because you may be running out of time. Stop trying to decide which approach is best for you. Just get on with it!
Purists will hate me for saying this, but Lean, 6 Sigma and TOC are all based on the same fundamental principle: continuous improvement. Common sense will tell you that you cannot go wrong with continuous improvement. It will also tell you that unfortunately, it does not happen overnight ...
In essence, 6 Sigma is about continuously reducing variability because it costs your business dear. Lean is about continuously reducing waste because it costs your business dear. TOC is about repeating a five-step process to gain better control of resources and increase the profitability of your business. Can you spot the family resemblance? It is ultimately all about making your business and supply chain perform better with less cost and shorter lead-times.
I get really frustrated when companies tell me that they have adopted one of these approaches, and yet on the ground I see their people unable to challenge a minimum order quantity that forces them to pump more stock into the chain than is needed. The devil really is in the detail! If continuous improvement is not yet an integral part of your company culture, you have no time to lose. It is no longer just about personal objectives and product quality. Continuous improvement is the determining factor in the survival of the fittest.
Hugh Williams is founder of supply chain planning specialist consultancy Hughenden.
