Matt Harding

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…

Stay up to date on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes we released this week here at Supply Chain Now. On Monday’s episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and Greg White discuss the U.S. Bank 2021 Q2 Freight Payment Index with Bobby Holland of U.S. Bank & John Janson with Sanmar. On This Week in Business History, Kelly Barner shares the best and most interesting bits of historical business trivia, all occurring during the first week in August. We also released an episode of Supply Chain Now en Español with Enrique Alvarez and Demo Perez featuring Felisa Preciado. On Tuesday we released another Logistics With Purpose episode! Hosts Enrique Alvarez and Kristi Porter welcomed Alice Brown with GoodSteps to the show. Another show that was in the mix this week was TECHquila Sunrise with Greg White. This is the 2nd part of a great conversation with RateLinx CEO Shannon Vaillancourt, where they discussed 3 Keys to turn supply chain visibility into action. On Wednesday, Tim Nelson with Hope for Justice joined Scott Luton and Greg White. They discussed their noble efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in the supply chain throughout the world. On Thursday, we released…