Global Lean Seeing the New Waste Rooted in Communication, Distance, and Culture

Just because a problem is invisible doesn’t mean it’s not affecting your operation. While communication, distance, and culture are often ignored as real threats to your results, these unnoticed forces are negatively affecting companies that operate internationally. Globalization has amplified a series of obstacles we not have paid enough attention to in our organizations. Ultimately, it’s humans that solve problems in coordination with other humans, and this requires excellent communication. Currently, people must coordinate actions and collaborate with teams sitting in geographically separated places. Misunderstandings and lack of clarity, however, cause high, unbudgeted costs. Global Lean: Seeing the New Waste Rooted in Communication, Distance, and Culture highlights the waste created by these interactions and adopts Lean thinking to provide methods, approaches, and real case studies to eliminate these problems at the source. As organizations evolve into global networks, Lean initiatives must now meet new needs. The book follows the story of a CEO and his company that, while successful in their local environment, are heavily impacted by new obstacles as they expand internationally. It illustrates how they adopt Lean methodologies to bring hidden problems to the surface.

Foreword. Introduction. Story of Boern GMBH. New Uses of Value Stream Mapping. The Relevance of Zero-Based Thinking. Cases and Applied Methodologies: Standard Work, Plan Do Check Act (PDCA), Root Cause Analysis, and A3.Conclusions and Recommendations.

Sam Yankelevitch is an author, entrepreneur, seasoned business leader, and speaker whose expertise is focused on the problems and pitfalls organizations are experiencing in the increasingly complex and disruptive 21st century. For over 30 years he has worked in small and mid-size companies with a highly successful track record developing and managing internal and external relationships with diverse workforces, customers, and suppliers. Sam established several highly effective global supply chain operations through his insights on the urgency of clear communication and its impact on successful project management and global business operations.