David Beren

It should go without saying that there are fans of both Lean and Agile in manufacturing, and for all the right reasons. Both of these business processes are well-loved in various circles for reasons that have been shown to work across hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses over the past few decades. The […]

At any moment in time in business when you are looking for a business philosophy that can help you figure out how to enact a strategy, Hoshin Kanri has to be at or near the top of any list. When you think about this process, try to imagine back to when you were […]

When you think of any industry that has one of the most frustrating experiences for customers that is in desperate need of change, airline travel is one of them. The stress of getting to the airport early and waiting in line at security, only to wait in line for food, only to again […]

One of the biggest considerations for any medical facility is not just how to get patients seen with care, but how to get them in and out as fast as possible. The good news is that increasing patient flow isn’t mutually exclusive with patient care; it’s more about helping patients get seen as […]

In the world of Six Sigma, you might think it’s become a catch-all that can help just about every industry make organization-wide improvements. For the most part, if you do believe this, you wouldn’t be wrong, but in the case of Six Sigma, nowhere is this more true than in the manufacturing industry, […]

It’s an unfortunate reality that most businesses must contend with: cybersecurity threats and online attacks are very real. This very reality has shown to be a real risk, as there have been countless hacks of businesses, large and small, that show the very real gaps in cybersecurity that can jeopardize the livelihood of […]

For better or worse, we live in a world where overnight success and quick transformations grab all the headlines. It’s not necessarily the best way to go about business, as overnight success can be hard to keep up long term, and it overlooks just how important and meaningful small but consistent change can […]

In any business, no matter what you are delivering to customers, whether it’s widgets, computers, or automobiles, the focus should first and foremost be on customer value. This is the reason you have customers, and if there is any reason why this customer value breaks or the customers no longer see a reason […]

For any company that wants to earn customer loyalty and return business, raising the bar on customer service is the way to go. While low prices and an easy return policy can help a business get really far with customers, it’s the situations that happen when a customer has an issue that really […]

Originating from Lean principles that were developed and later popularized by Toyota, Value Stream Mapping is a great way to visualize the flow of how things work in an organization. Whether it’s manufacturing, marketing, or production, the evolution of Value Stream Mapping over time has helped it go from pen and paper to […]

In a business and manufacturing world that is more competitive than ever, there is something about differentiating your business from others to increase profits. While it’s not exclusive to manufacturing, those in manufacturing have come to praise the rise of Lean, which has not only helped eliminate waste but has also boosted the […]

The hope is that anything the world can do to improve the overall healthcare situation is going to be beneficial. Whether it’s more hospitals or making our existing hospitals more efficient, everything is on the table to help. It’s with this in mind that we can look at something like Six Sigma, which […]

In every business, something’s always a little off or not running as smoothly as it could. It doesn’t matter if you are selling keychains or cars. There is almost always a bottleneck happening somewhere. Maybe it’s slowing people down or eating into profits, but chances are, it’s causing more problems than you need. […]

In today’s super competitive retail landscape, standing out from the competition isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s downright essential. This is especially true when it comes to delivering a strong customer experience, as earning customer loyalty is one of the most outstanding ways to create more business in the future. One way retailers are […]

In today’s competitive landscape across various business verticals, the concept of Lean has become a leading philosophy for organizations seeking to grow and thrive. Whether it’s to optimize processes, reduce waste, or better serve customers, Lean is not just a tool, but a cultural shift that drives change for the better across an […]

Whenever we think about how much organizations spend every year on process improvement, it’s a whole lot of money. The efforts to improve engagement, business results, and employee performance can certainly lead to rewards, or they can lead to wasted spending. The hope is that every company’s good intentions pay off, but far […]

If you jump back in time to the 1940s, Toyota was seeking ways to manage better and control the work taking place at each step of the manufacturing process. The idea behind Kanban came from Toyota, while other companies adopted a work management process that focuses heavily on visualizing work, including how to […]

If you’re unfamiliar with Value Stream Mapping, that’s okay, as it’s not a methodology that has the same recognition as something like Lean Six Sigma. However, this doesn’t mean that Value Stream Mapping lacks a unique purpose as a way to document, analyze, and improve the steps involved in helping an organization or […]

The whole notion of successfully implementing a new business methodology doesn’t come without numerous challenges. First and foremost among those challenges is getting internal stakeholders, like the day-to-day workers, to sign off on new processes. Total Quality Management has plenty of success stories, but even the best efforts didn’t go off without a […]

Whether it’s Total Quality Management or another popular methodology used in the business world, a lot of the success rides on how engaged and involved the leadership is. There’s no question that it’s crucial in quality management, as it requires a strong leader to rally everyone behind the TQM cause and ensure everything […]

One of the best-known job titles in the world of product and development, Scrum Master is arguably one of the most common terms you will hear today. While the job itself has evolved, there is no question that businesses still heavily rely on this individual or team of individuals to help everyone work […]

The origins of Total Quality Management and its ability to exceed customer expectations have surprisingly been around for a long time. You can trace its origins to just after World War II, something most people don’t know. Given that it has been around for so long, Total Quality Management has been at the […]

The next time you are on the hunt for a process improvement methodology that looks explicitly for bottlenecks, the answer is the Theory of Constraints. This system enables organizations to achieve both their financial goals and their consumer goals by keeping their entire supply chain moving. The Theory of Constraints is often associated […]

If you’re looking for a management philosophy that will help your organization identify any factors preventing you from achieving a goal, it’s likely based on the theory of constraints. The goal is to identify any factor that is limiting a company’s ability to achieve its goal and then make the necessary changes until […]