ABSTRACT
Up to this point we have talked about what it takes for you to get your processes streamlined, possibly in cells, and minimum inventory online, pulled by kanban from a supermarket and delivered on a timed delivery route. This works well if you are in an assembly line environment; however, we have not talked about supporting processes such as planning, purchasing, stamping, metal fabrication, welding, painting, and so on. The next few steps are crucial in developing a total Lean enterprise. We say this because most Lean journeys stop here for the simple reason that up to this point it has been rather easy to implement, but now is when you will start to see the return on your investment start to take shape.
