Research indicates Lean leads to best manufacturing
-- Plant Engineering, 3/14/2008 12:01:00 AM
A recently released research report from Aberdeen Group revealed that best-in-class manufacturers realize 21% more on-time deliveries, have a 37% higher level of OEE, and their total inventory costs are 83% lower when compared to laggard manufacturers. The findings resulted from the analysis of more than 300 enterprises.Putting the findings in context, Matthew Littlefield, a research analyst with Aberdeen’s Global Manufacturing Practice, said, “Enterprises are continually faced with the pressure to reduce operating costs. Our analysis has shown that in response, best-in-class enterprises are collaboratively sharing best practices across the enterprise and adopting an industry-specific approach to Lean.
“In addition, we have found that these enterprises are more likely to have extended these Lean across the enterprise, support these initiatives with both education and performance management capabilities, and adopt technology solutions at both enterprise and line of business levels,” Littlefield added.
The research offers the following recommendations:
• Best-in-class enterprises are 40% more likely to leverage external domain experts for Lean initiatives, and of the best-in-class currently leveraging consultants, 93% leverage consultants with industry-specific experience implementing Lean.
• Performance management is a key capability that differentiates best-in-class performance. The best-in-class are more likely to provide role-based real-time KPIs, link operational KPIs with financials, and leverage manufacturing analytics to provide actionable intelligence.
• Technology is the final differentiator of best-in-class performance. The best-in-class are integrating multiple technology solutions to extend the functionality of traditional enterprise applications supporting Lean. These technologies include: simulation, enterprise asset management, manufacturing intelligence, business intelligence, advanced planning and scheduling, and Lean software solutions.
Watch for more on this research in upcoming issues of Plant Engineering magazine and on the Web at PlantEngineering.com.
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