Taking level loading to the next level
Most people may not realize it, but having a robust executable exporting program and process is part of your total CI effort.
Think back to the basic fundamentals of Continuous Improvement. Remember when we spent time talking about level loading the process… Most industries have peak and valley periods of operations. We formally call them seasons. There is really only so much you can do to level load a process. In the traditional position we look at level loading as a way to keep a process moving smoothly through various stages of manufacturing and in processing orders in a service environment.
In the old paradigm we would focus on a particular part of a business, and work our way around until we touched everything. Now we are focused on having your business go through and embrace a transformation. When we say that we are talking about a holistic approach to doing and improving business. You see, we have found that just fixing one part of the process can only get you so far. We simply must start to look at the business process from a holistic perspective. Thus, when we look at level loading it is imperative that we consider a company’s export venture. Think about it… what good does it do to level load a line only to have the line shut down for part of the week or month due to limited or no orders?
Remember, exporting is not to be left to chance or happenstance. It must be calculated and deliberate in order to truly address a company’s level loading effort.