Whether it's because of a lack of understanding, poor planning, or a myriad of other things, 50 to 60 percent of the IT effort in most companies can be considered waste. Explaining how to introduce Lean principles to your IT functions to reduce and even eliminate this waste, Lean Management Principles for Information Technology provides the tools and understanding to make better decisions, increase efficiencies, and make IT a major force in delivering sustainable improvements to your supply chain.

The proven Toyota Production System principles described in this book have already helped many IT organizations double and triple their output. It introduces some of the most powerful Lean tools and techniques-including Six Sigma, value stream mapping, and spaghetti charting-and provides a methodology for implementing them to reduce waste in your IT environment. Discussing information production processes, IT systems, and change management through the lens of Lean principles, the book:

• Provides step-by-step guidance through the processes of implementing Lean principles in your IT supply chain management system
• Illustrates successful implementation across a range of industries and countries
• Examines how to use Lean methods to achieve ongoing improvement in IT personnel
• Explains how to implement Lean in the supply chain, while reducing IT cycle time and costs

The text reviews the major management challenges facing IT and illustrates solutions with stories, examples, and case studies of how Lean IT has led to unprecedented improvements in the private and government sectors. Demonstrating how to structure the components of your IT system in accordance with Lean, the book details the measures required to achieve and sustain a world-class Lean IT supply chain management system.

We live in a world where we try to solve similar problems in structurally the same way. But they simply are not optimally solved all the same. Supply Chain Optimization through Segmentation and Analytics addresses the issue of optimizing the planning and scheduling process and asks the question; "Is there a 'one size fits all' solution for planning and scheduling?" The answer is a resounding "No!" We migrated through EOQ, MRP, JIT, and TOC, each time hoping to find that one size fits all. Each of these systems looked at the facility as if it had one focused problem, either optimizing work schedules, materials movement, or machine utilization. But what if you have two, or possibly even all three of these problems? Then what system do you use? Or what if your critical resource is not labor, materials, or machinery? Then which planning and scheduling solution do you utilize? This book introduces the concept of segmentation as the planning and scheduling tool that facilitates the optimization of the supply chain. If you have one type of problem in a part of your supply chain, you use the solution that appropriately focuses on that problem. If you have a different problem in a different part of your supply chain, then you use a different and appropriate tool for that part of the supply chain, and so forth. Or, if your product is in different stages of its life cycle, it probably requires a different set of tools for each stage of that life cycle. In addition, the book discusses how to integrate planning and scheduling tools using a segmentation approach that results in a world-class supply chain environment. It clearly details the power of segmentation and offers a systematic plan for implementation in the supply chain. To facilitate this, the author covers the components of an integrated segmentation policy, including the analytics elements and the measures that define segmentation success. He helps you build a strategy and methodology for introducing segmentation principles that allow you to break free from "one size fits all" thinking.

A facility-wide improvement initiative is expensive in terms of both time and money. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about them is that they often end up as temporary measures that may produce early results but are unsustainable in the long run. The unseen cost is that after they see such initiatives come and go, employees begin to see them as futile, temporary annoyances rather than the permanent improvements they are meant to be. The Shingo Model (TM) begins with culture informed by operational excellence principles that lead to an understanding of what aligns systems and tools and can set any organization on a path toward enterprise excellence with sustainable continuous improvement. The Shingo Model is not an additional program or another initiative to implement. Instead, it introduces Shingo Guiding Principles on which to anchor current initiatives. Ultimately, the Shingo Model informs a new way of thinking that creates the capability to consistently deliver ideal results to all stakeholders. This is enterprise excellence - the level of excellence achieved by Shingo Prize recipients. In Discover Excellence: An Overview of the Shingo Model and Its Guiding Principles, readers will learn the basics of the Shingo Model, discover the Three Insights of Enterprise Excellence (TM), and explore how the Shingo Guiding Principles inform the kind of ideal behaviors that lead to sustainable results. This book is the introduction to the Shingo Model and prepares the reader for a deeper dive into the Shingo Guiding Principles.

The book teaches international operations concepts which are being employed by leading organizations to secure and sustain competitive advantage in the 21st Century marketplace.

Human potential can be maximized through organized, integrated systems that focus on developing creativity and innovation. This is the book that tells you how to make it happen-create an environment of exciting, purpose/goal-directed, positive change in your organization. The text integrates several cutting-edge management concepts in one volume: Breakthrough Thinking, World Class Management, Total Quality Management, and Concept Engineering. The authors bring together progressive management philosophies from the East and West as well as revolutionary ideas from manufacturers in Japan, the U.S., and Brazil.