Finding opportunities in IT

The IT world can be something of a black box for many people. There is a general recognition of its importance but often a lack of understanding of how it really operates,

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Finding opportunities in logistics

Logistics sometimes means different things to different companies, which we once made the mistake of pointing out at a trucking convention (see Lessons Learned # 2 – Don’t put down your audience).

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The real value of “5S”

5S is a Japanese workplace organization methodology that is typically part of most “lean” programs. There are a few variations of how to translate the original five Japanese words.

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Why happy customers aren’t enough

Over the years we’ve done a number of studies to try to help our clients find out what their customers think of them. These types of studies are often packaged under the

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The difficulty and importance of managing “shoulder periods”

Many industries experience “shoulder periods.” These are the time periods leading up to and away from the peak volumes. Figuring out how to manage these periods can be a difficult task for managers, but it’s also very important for realizing performance improvement gains.

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The red flags of management system changes

Management system changes often entail tightening up the planning standards that are used to schedule the operations, and then providing managers with tools to control, monitor and report on attainment to the plan.

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The red flags of process changes

Implementing change requires re-configuring processes – and modifying the management systems and behaviors that need to accompany them. But as anyone who has ever tried to instill change knows, maintaining those gains can be very difficult

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The insidious nature of complexity

You simply can’t be great at everything. There are not enough hours in the day, and companies would come to a grinding halt if they managed entirely by this edict.

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