Reference no: EM133570591
Assignment: Lean Operations and Competitive Advantage Analysis
Your Furniture Store's chief operating officer (COO) and operations management team update their chief executive officer (CEO) that their new competitive advantage and quality management strategies implemented 6 months previously are improving the operation's competitive advantage as they have moved back up to #1 in their market with improvements to their production line and customer service.
The COO instructs her cross-functional operations management team to assess lean systems strategies (processes and tools) and recommend a strategy that will reduce waste in the production process and lower the cost of production while enabling the operation to continue to produce quality products. For this assignment, address the following:
1. Introduce the reader to lean operations (processes and tools).
2. Assess 5 lean processes and 5 lean tools for their ability to eliminate waste and lower production costs while maintaining quality.
A. Lean processes
a. Small lot sizes
b. Set-up time reduction
c. Manufacturing cells
d. Quality improvement
e. Production flexibility
f. Balanced system
g. Little inventory storage
h. Fail-safe methods
B. Lean tools
a. Value stream mapping
b. Process improvement using 5W2H
c. Lean and Six Sigma
d. JIT deliveries and supply chain
e. Lean and ERP
3. Propose a lean operations strategy (a combination of 2 processes and 3 tools) that will enable the operation to eliminate waste, lower production cost, and maintain quality products, including the role of each operations management function (marketing and sales, finance, and operations) has in implementing the strategy.
4. Justify the implementation of the proposed lean operations strategy to achieve the company's goal of improving its competitive advantage.
5. The conclusion should summarize key points from the research methods and sampling analysis discussed above.