Getting Lean. It’s Good for the Customer.
February 3, 2012 in Culture, Processes, Team Improvement
The term “lean” has been with us for years now. It was originally used to describe a particular type of manufacturing process that optimized production while mitigate the associated costs. It is good, basic common sense about how to get more with less. While it won proponents around the world, it did so primarily on the basis of how it affected company results. Money was saved; profits were thus encouraged.
What was left undiscussed in these years is the way in which this type of approach – not just to manufacturing, but to all areas of business – actually helps the customer. Obviously, the point is not to try to do more with less for customers by shutting down the call center a half hour earlier everyday because fewer customers call in that last half hour. Quite the opposite. It is about recognizing that additional resources are created through lean processes, and those resources can be devoted to improving the customer experience, either through new product development or even through keeping call center open another half hour later every day.
Thinking lean simply means thinking about optimal leverage, in all your processes, with the idea in mind that ultimately, you are in business to serve customers.
