It should be pointed out, however, that there is a significant, difference between cultural change and attempting to achieve bottom-line improvements. As we have seen too often, firms focus far too often on costs and not enough on outcomes. That is, the starting point will be significant bottom-line improvement. While this is laudable, it tends to force employees and managers to look for short-term fixes to long-term problems.
Lean provides a set of tools and an operating philosophy that provides a structure for thinking beyond the short term. The emphasis on waste and cost reduction is holistic, and should not be limited to a single partner in the supply chain. Changing the culture to enable greater sharing of data-and trust-is critical.