Culture Eats Kaizen for Breakfast: Why Continuous Improvement Starts with People
The phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is well known in business — and in manufacturing, it’s never more true than with continuous improvement. Because the truth is this: you can’t improve what you don’t culturally support. At CBS, we’ve seen too many companies launch lean programs, train their teams on kaizen events, and hang […]
The Strategic Supplier: What I Wish Every Executive Knew
There’s a lesson I learned in the late ’90s I won’t forget. I was running the supply chain for a telecom company during a boom cycle. Business was exploding, and like a lot of companies at the time, we were pushing hard—ramping capacity, driving suppliers to increase output, and betting big on our forecasts. We […]
Continuous Improvement and Process Optimization
When one of our clients recognized the extent to which rising inefficiencies were affecting their business processes, the client reached out to the CBS experts for help. In just a matter of months, the results speak for themselves: a significant bump in all relevant KPIs, with several areas improving as much as 93%.
Why Lean Alone Won’t Fix Your Business
Imagine a small distribution company, with an annual revenue of $12 million. A plant branch of a multimillion-dollar organization, it has 15 employees and a glaring issue: only 40% of shipments reach their customers on time. This means that 6 out of 10 customers aren’t receiving their orders as expected. The CEO recognizes the problem […]
Visual Management Control Systems & the Power of Keeping Score
Back in my days as a site lead in manufacturing, I had an operator who made a common problem all too clear to me. At the end of the shift, I asked him how his day had gone. “It was a great day,” he said. “Well, that’s good,” I said, then asked him what made […]
A Symphony of Success: Linking KPIs to Strategy in Manufacturing
As a strategic planning expert, I’ve seen firsthand how the right KPIs can help manufacturing companies achieve their goals. When KPIs are aligned with strategy, they can provide a clear roadmap for success. They can also help to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time. The Symphony of Strategy and Metrics I […]
The Lost Art of Work Assignments
In the early days of my career, I worked for a manufacturing firm under a very astute CEO. We were in the middle of a critical project when he asked me to take on a significant task. He didn’t just send an email saying, “Do this.” Instead, he made a point to explain why the […]
Putting Certainty Back into Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management, traditionally, has been a complex negotiation process between customers, vendors, and suppliers. This intricate dance of agreeing on specifications, requirements, delivery, parts, and more results in a delivery schedule that customers rely on for their production needs. However, this system is not without its flaws. Last-minute disruptions can occur when vendors fail […]
Harnessing the Power of Data: Driving Action in Business
Data is the lifeblood of modern business. In an increasingly digital world, it’s become an integral part of who we are as companies. We invest time, money, and resources into collecting data, from labor transactions and delivery statistics to quality control and inventory levels. But the crucial question remains: what are we doing with all […]
Strategies for Building Culture in a Virtual Environment
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped how we work, challenging organizations to adapt quickly to a virtual work environment. Before the pandemic, many companies had remote work policies in place, but they were often less formal and more focused on occasional telecommuting. When the world went remote overnight, it exposed a fundamental challenge: building and maintaining a […]