Jodi Allison

BIG WEEK here at Supply Chain Now! Did you catch all the episodes? If not, listen here! We added a special Saturday episode on the 11th in our Logistics with Purpose series. Scott, Greg, and Enrique Alvarez hosted Jonathan Starr and Trudy Hall with the Abaarso School.   Supply Chain Now · “Logistics with Purpose: Jonathan Starr & Trudy Hall with the Abaarso School”   On Monday, we celebrated our 400TH EPISODE and the entire Supply Chain Now team shared their favorite episodes and topics in this special show!   Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Now Team Reflects on 400 Episodes”     Then on Tuesday, we featured This Week in Business History, where Scott looks back at some of the biggest historical events in business history for the week ahead. This week focused on the beginnings of Boeing.   Supply Chain Now · “This Week in Business History for July 13th: Boeing Takes Off in the Pacific Northwest”     On Wednesday we published the Supply Chain Buzz, where Greg and Scott discussed the top supply chain news of the week, and were joined by special guest Kevin L. Jackson, with SourceConnecte.   Supply Chain Now ·…

Lean manufacturing is all about reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Manufacturers have been implementing lean practices for decades and have stood the test of time. Now, with technological advancements, lean methodologies can be more transformative than ever before. “Integrating automation into lean manufacturing is a powerful strategy. Unlike traditional automation, which often aims to increase production capacity without considering real needs, lean automation focuses on the smart and selective application of technologies to meet specific continuous improvement goals and eliminate inefficiencies,” the Kaizen Institute said. “Digital transformation provides an unprecedented opportunity for implementing lean,” it continued. “When applied within lean, tools like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics can revolutionize how organizations detect and eliminate waste.” What is Lean Manufacturing? In “The Machine That Changed The World,” published in 1990, lean production is hailed as “Toyota’s secret weapon in the global car wars.” The Toyota Production System was developed following World War II from “a series of simple innovations … to provide both continuity in process flow and a wide variety in product offerings,” according to the Lean Enterprise Institute. In “Lean Thinking,” a 1996 follow-up to “The Machine That Changed The World,” authors James…