Lean Procurement And Supply Chain Management

Lean Procurement and supply chain management is for many companies. It is not just for manufacturers who practice lean management. It is also for non-manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and others. During the past few years, companies have focused on supply chain improvements with initiatives centred on operational excellence and cost cutting. But have they worked? In today’s on-demand environment, companies are facing growing challenges around market volatility, costs, long lead times and unpredictable forecasts. Your inventory management decisions can make or break your firm’s financial bottom line. You will find strategies in this book that will let your company meet these daily challenges and optimize working capital efficiency.

Unlike other strategic procurement guides, Lean Supply Chain Management considers an organization's "business condition" as a contributing factor in the development of a strategic procurement strategy. That is, rather than taking a "one-size fits all" approach, the author's more individualized approach illustrates techniques specific to organizations operating in a standard or crisis environment. Highlights include: Methods for developing and tracking strategic procurement initiatives. Planning in the "standard" and "crisis" environments. Coordinating supply chain management and lean manufacturing. Performance measurement tools. Lean Supply Chain Management provides purchasers and supplier development professionals with the tools needed to transform procurement from a mere cost center to a profit generator.

Presenting an alternate approach to supply chain management, Lean Supply Chain Management Essentials: A Framework for Materials Managers explains why the traditional materials planning environment, typically embodied by an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, is an ineffective support system for a company that wants to adopt Lean practices.

While there are many books written on the basics of the "supply" side of the supply chain (i.e. strategic sourcing, sourcing/procurement, and purchasing), there hasn’t been much written on those areas from a Lean perspective. Considering that supply chain costs, primarily procurement and transportation, can range from 50 to 70% of sales, it's surprising that this area has not been fully explored. As a result, some companies tend to place too much emphasis on the traditional focus of reducing material costs instead of process improvement. Lean Demand-Driven Procurement: How to Apply Lean Thinking to Your Supply Management Process details the basic supply management concepts and processes (i.e. sourcing, procurement, and purchasing) in an easy-to-understand format in combination with various process improvement tools, methodologies, best practices, examples, and cases written from a Lean perspective. It focuses and pinpoints ways to identify waste on the supply side through improved processes and, in some cases, technology. Applying Lean principles to procurement and purchasing processes identies non-traditional sources of waste, and in some cases, creates a paradigm shift that results in additional benets to the entire supply chain.

While there are many books written on the basics of the "supply" side of the supply chain (i.e. strategic sourcing, sourcing/procurement, and purchasing), there hasn’t been much written on those areas from a Lean perspective. Considering that supply chain costs, primarily procurement and transportation, can range from 50 to 70% of sales, it's surprising that this area has not been fully explored. As a result, some companies tend to place too much emphasis on the traditional focus of reducing material costs instead of process improvement. Lean Demand-Driven Procurement: How to Apply Lean Thinking to Your Supply Management Process details the basic supply management concepts and processes (i.e. sourcing, procurement, and purchasing) in an easy-to-understand format in combination with various process improvement tools, methodologies, best practices, examples, and cases written from a Lean perspective. It focuses and pinpoints ways to identify waste on the supply side through improved processes and, in some cases, technology. Applying Lean principles to procurement and purchasing processes identies non-traditional sources of waste, and in some cases, creates a paradigm shift that results in additional benets to the entire supply chain.

Unlike other strategic procurement guides, Lean Supply Chain Management considers an organization's "business condition" as a contributing factor in the development of a strategic procurement strategy. That is, rather than taking a "one-size fits all" approach, the author's more individualized approach illustrates techniques specific to organizations operating in a standard or crisis environment. Highlights include:Methods for developing and tracking strategic procurement initiatives.Planning in the "standard" and "crisis" environments. Coordinating supply chain management and lean manufacturing. Performance measurement tools.Lean Supply Chain Management provides purchasers and supplier development professionals with the tools needed to transform procurement from a mere cost center to a profit generator.

"The documented benchmarks for success and the many examples help explicate the complexities for the reader. The book is organized and written so that it will be useful as an introduction to the field and also as a reference when special challenges arise for the practicing manager." -- DR. JOHN J. COYLE, Professor Emeritus of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University "The book is a must-read for all supply chain managers seeking to drive down costs and improve profits and must be read before any investment is made in your supply chain. Get copies for your controller and all senior managers...this book lays it all out." -- DR. RICHARD LANCIONI, Chair, Marketing & Supply Chain Management, Fox School of Business, Temple University Expert Strategies for Improving Supply Chain and Logistics Performance Using Lean This practical guide reveals how to identify and eliminate waste in your organization's supply chain and logistics function. Lean Supply Chain and Logistics Management provides explanations of both basic and advanced Lean tools, as well as specific Lean implementation opportunities. The book then describes a Lean implementation methodology with critical success factors. Real-world examples and case studies demonstrate how to effectively use this powerful strategy to realize significant, long-term improvements and bottom-line savings. COVERAGE INCLUDES: * Using Lean to energize your supply chain * The eight wastes * Lean opportunities and JIT in supply chain and logistics * Lean tools and warehouse * Global lean supply chain and logistics * Lean opportunity assessment, value stream mapping, and Kaizen event management * Best-in-class use of technology with Lean * Metrics and measurement * Education and training Valuable training slides are available for download.

Four questions determine whether a company is using interorganizational cost management. Does your firm set specific cost-reduction objectives for its suppliers? Does your firm help its customers and/or suppliers find ways to achieve their cost-education objectives? Does your firm take into account the profitability of its suppliers when negotiating component pricing with them? Is your firm continuously making its buyer-supplier interfaces more efficient? If the answer to any of these questions is ""no"", your firm risks introducing products that cost too much or are not competitive. The full potential of the supply network can be realized only when the entire supply chain adopts interorganizational cost management practices. Competitive pressure has led many firms to try to increase the efficiency of supplier firms through interorganizational cost management systems, a structured approach to coordinating the activities of firms in a supplier network to reduce the total costs in the network. It is particularly important to lean enterprises for two reasons: Lean enterprises typically outsource more of the added value of their products than their mass producer counterparts. Lean enterprises usually compete more aggressively and must manage costs more effectively. Interorganizational cost management can reduce costs in three ways: through product design, through product manufacture and through cooperative approaches between buyers and suppliers to build smoother interfaces. However, more than just cost management must cross interorganizational boundaries. Suppliers are also a major source of innovation for lean enterprises. Successful supplier networks encourage every firm in the network to innovate and compete more aggressively. Read this book to learn to manage the supply chain to forge competitive advantage while reducing costs.