Read Example 1. Add additional information and ask a question. Your document should include minimum 150 words plus credible references.

Example 1:

Lean operations management is incredibly important in business structures, when applied appropriately, lean operations can save the company money in product waste and employee turnover. The main goal of lean operations is to reduce or completely eliminate wasted products by focusing on customer/consumer needs and a just-in-time inventory system (Heizer, et al., 2020). Toyota has a heavy focus on process improvements in both production and people (Iwao & Marinov, 2018). By continuing to scale people processes, the ordering structure, and their standard operating procedures (SOP), Toyota has changed the game in operations management. 

Lean operations helps a company in several aspects, namely, cost management by keeping overproduction under control and helping with inventory management. Overproducing an item adds to stock on hand. If the company produces more than a consumer/customer is going to purchase, they run into issues with storage and potential expiration of products. Since there is less stock on hand, an added benefit is that inventory counting and management becomes easier. 

The only drawback that I can see to lean operations is if a company doesn’t implement correctly and does not have a solid SOP to fall back on. Matsuo Construction found this to be an issue when they did not train the employees at their sites accordingly (Iwao & Marinov, 2018). Even with following Toyota’s methods, and consulting with the Toyota team, Matsuo failed in communicating the changes to their SOPs, resulting in over-ordering, extensive product waste, and higher maintenance and storage costs. To ensure that employees followed the updated SOPs, Toyota figured SOP adherence into compensation and bonus conversations. 

Reference

Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C. (2020). Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management (13th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

Iwao, S., & Marinov, M. (2018). Linking continuous improvement to manufacturing performance. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 25(5), 1319–1332. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2057356679?accountid=38569.