Lean Manufacturing and the Customer

Every lean manufacturer has a prime target. It is to be fully synchronized with the requirements of the customer. This will make the manufacturer to produce what exactly customer wants, when the customer required. As the result of this the customer will receive better quality goods with a lower cost, just when they need them. The manufacturer will also benefit since there is no stock to hold and no cost of failure due to falls predictions and so on. Having said this, what exactly the customer must do to facilitate his manufacturer and benefit?

Still it is true to say the customer is the most important for any manufacturer. But in the supply chain customer is only a one part of it. Customer to get satisfaction with what his manufacturer does, the customer has to play an active role in the supply chain. It is not only placing an order with the supplier (in this case the manufacturer).

Customer must be very clear of what his requirements are. In case when he is not clear, he can work with his manufacturer to get it clarified. The manufacturer must be smart enough to get and understand every piece of information from his customer. This requires a very closer relationship between manufacturer and his customer. Without completely understanding what the customer wants, it has only a very little value to have a lean manufacturing system in the manufacturing facility. In this scenario you will be producing something your customer do not require, very efficiently

The customer has a big part to play in manufacturing of a product or a service. Mindset of the customer must change and they must start to see their manufacturers as partners. In most of the problems faced by the manufacturers, there is a contribution of the customer to those problems.

To get the full value of lean manufacturing the customer has a big part to play in manufacturing of a product or a service. Mindset of the customer must change and they must start to see their manufacturers as partners. In most of the problems faced by the manufacturers, there is a contribution of the customer to those problems.

Aza Badurdeen is a process engineer, consultant and a lean manufacturing author. You can download his e-book on lean manufacturing for free on his blog by following the link above.

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