Business moves fast as customers demand more and competitors look for an edge to beat you. Excelling in this environment requires a proactive approach with continuous process improvement at the heart. Take any business process. I have no doubt there will be hidden opportunities for process improvement. When is [...]
American businesses may have miscalculated costs and benefits when they joined the outsourcing bandwagon. With the tide rolling back, what direction should you take? For many years, companies outsourced as a natural course of activity. Unfortunately, often times, they didn't even perform an analysis of the total benefit; instead, [...]
Lean benefits are not found in a three-day workshop, but rather arise and are sustained through culture change. I have always been a process consultant, typically focusing on those processes which are the most relevant to making rapid improvement with the specific manufacturer or distributor I am partnering with. [...]
The APICS-IE executive panel and networking symposium is an opportunity to join with your colleagues (and competitors) to learn and collaborate. Only those manufacturers and distributors who want to thrive in 2014 will join in, collaborate and be a bigger part of the community! In todays’ increasingly complex world, [...]
Published in Computerworld on April 16, 2014 Manufacturers are investing in technology and systems that help their efficiency or improve profitability, comments Lisa Anderson, out Lisa Anderson, president of Claremont, CA-based LMA Consulting Group, Inc. in Claremont, CA. "They want to automate and provide more visibility about orders to [...]
Processes are often undervalued. I have always been a process consultant yet I found out that I undervalued my value when it came to processes - if it can happen to someone who talks about processes continually, it can certainly happen to anyone. And it does! I find that [...]
Stay in the manufacturing game- avoid common program management pitfalls. In today’s business environment, manufacturing leaders must do more with less – and deliver superior customer service at the same time. In my 25 years of experience as an operations executive and global business consultant, I’m seeing an unprecedented [...]
Complexity abounds in manufacturing management; can you rise to the challenge? Complexity abounds! Supply chains are extended. Risks must be mitigated. Rules and regulations are increasing. Talent is in short supply. 95% of business is outside the U.S. yet expanding internationally brings challenges and complexity. Customers are demanding more [...]
The key to success isn't to think about profit but instead to think about profit drivers. What business isn't interested in profit? None I can think of - even non-profit businesses need to be concerned about whether they'll come out "a wash". I find that the key to success [...]
