A new study from the AberdeenGroup suggests that 75 percent of companies that have adopted a “lean” philosophy are, well, much happier. There’s a shocker. Still, the benchmarking report offers some interesting findings regarding the lean strategy.

The complexity and stress of everyday life can be a real bummer, which is why we often find solace in the simple things to set us straight on the path toward happiness. This philosophy also is working wonders in the manufacturing arena…it’s a little term you might have heard of: lean manufacturing. A new study from the AberdeenGroup suggests that 75 percent of companies that have adopted a “lean” philosophy are, well, much happier.

First, what does it mean to be lean? In many circles, lean manufacturing includes eliminating or simplifying work processes that add no value to the product or service from the customer’s point of view. Areas of elimination typically include the following: overproduction, defects, delivery delays, extra inventory and the movement of goods, people or information. By thinking lean, companies can better handle the complexity of logistics, global competition and ultimately more demanding customers, a notion backed by AberdeenGroup’s new research report, “The Lean Benchmark Report: Closing the Reality Gap”.

According to Aberdeen, manufacturers that are adopting a culture of lean throughout their organizations are realizing larger benefits sooner than anticipated. By going lean, market leaders are building the organizational competence that should help sustain competitive advantage and long-term performance. Technology plays a pivotal role by enabling the capture of value stream operational processes on a global scale.

“Lean ERP, Specialty/MES and homegrown solutions are providing a solid foundation from which manufacturers are defining value stream processes and activities that extend from the customer, through production, and back to the supplier,” says Jane Biddle, vice president of Global Manufacturing Research at Aberdeen, author of the report. “Emerging technology solutions enable the capture of value stream operating models, scheduling and tracking critical resources, and the ability to promote continuous improvement programs.”

Of the close to 300 manufacturers that participated in this study, 90 percent reported that they are committed to lean. However, further analysis revealed that less than 20 percent of these companies are considered “best in class,” meaning many are laggards when it comes to adopting “bleeding-edge” technologies and business strategies. Companies that have achieved operational excellence through the deployment of a lean strategy share three key characteristics:

• Dedication to basics such as streamlining processes, creating a well ordered work environment, and ongoing continuous improvement programs;
• Lean techniques have been memorialized and a ‘single version of the truth’ is ubiquitous via a technology infrastructure that supports manufacturing, the enterprise, and the supplier base; and
• Lean principles are reflected in the corporate strategy, on the senior leadership team, as well as throughout manufacturing and the company.

While it’s fine and dandy to discuss the benefits of lean, actually adopting these forward-thinking practices is a real bear for 82 percent of Aberdeen study respondents. Aberdeen underscores the challenge of adopting lean with this example:

To improve customer order delivery times, many companies are moving from a make-to-order to an assemble-to-order environment, often causing bills of material to be ‘flattened’ and work processes to be ‘postponed’ until the customer order is received. Since the orders are now being ‘pulled’ from the customer, workcell teams responsible for these final processes may no longer have a backlog of tasks and may actually be waiting for orders to initiate the process; seasoned operators are often uncomfortable in this environment at first.

Is your firm adopting lean practices? If so, how?