Tag: Retail
When the Grocery Store’s Christmas Spirit Confused a Lean Thinker (and...
Quick Reminder: Don't forget the LinkedIn Live event that Elisabeth Swan, Karen Martin, and I are doing tomorrow on the topic of visual workplaces,...
The Ironic Saga of the Broken “My Favorite Mistake” Coffee Mugs
Here's a story I've meant to write up for almost two years... some events that happened during pandemic times when I wasn't writing as...
When Companies Don’t Learn From “The Beer Game,” Inventory Stock-Outs Turn...
You're a retailing or manufacturing executive who hasn't heard of MIT's "Beer Game" management simulator?
Then you're probably swimming in a lot of excess inventory.
If...
Kaizens at the Grocery Store (and the Drug Store) [COVID-19]
I wrote a blog post for KaiNexus that's the first in a series that we're going to run about "Opportunities for Improvement" in everyday...
A Reader Question about Process Behavior Charts and Business Metrics
This content originally appeared in a post about my Halloween metrics webinar, but I decided to carve it out (not like a pumpkin) into its own post.
A reader asked: "Should we be using financial statements in that way or is there a better approach given our knowledge about different types of variation? Or am I completely off track?"
What’s Going on at Whole Foods? It Doesn’t Sound Like Lean
The chain Whole Foods is reportedly having inventory shortages and morale problems. It sounds like a real mess, but thankfully nobody is calling it Lean. Their "Order to Shelf" system reminds me of "Pull to Order" work that I was involved in at Dell about 20 years ago...
A Look Back at “The Good Jobs Strategy” – For Retail...
Today, I'm looking back at at podcast from two years ago, sharing this written summary that hopefully better reaches an audience that doesn't listen...
Information Deficits, Visual Indicators, Error Proofing, and Payment Terminals
Gwendolyn Galsworth is a leading thinker and author on Lean and various aspects of "visuality." One thing she talks about in the workplace is "information deficits."
J.C. Penney’s CEO on Listening to Front-Line Employees
After the previous CEO of JC Penney, Ron Johnson, was fired (see my post "Lack of PDSA made JCP CEO SOL?"), it seems that...
Podcast #228 – Zeynep Ton, “The Good Jobs Strategy”
Labor Day is Monday, so maybe it's appropriate that my guest for episode #228 of the podcast is Zeynep Ton, an Adjunct Associate Professor...
So-Called “Just in Time” Retail Staff Scheduling is not Lean At...
Stories like this have been in the news before, but this was circulating the past few days: "Why erratic schedules are one of the...
Visiting MIT, Learning about “The Good Jobs Strategy” for Retail (and...
Last week was an amazing week of learning and networking. I was in Dallas for the Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit (as I wrote about)....
