By trade · Logistics and distribution
Lean Six Sigma in logistics and distribution
Logistics is the sector where the law linking work in process, throughput and lead time can be seen most directly: the number of open orders mechanically sets how long each one takes to get out. It is also where the reflex of launching more to catch up on a delay most visibly produces the opposite effect.
The second subject is unevenness, and it is very often manufactured internally: batched rounds, order thresholds, processing concentrated at the end of the day. A large share of the peaks believed to be imposed by the customer comes from rules that can be changed without asking anyone.
The tools illustrated by a case from this sector
8 entries reviewed in English — 8 entries in all on the French page.
Kanban
A kanban is a signal — card, bin or empty location — that authorises production or replenishment, and that puts the flow in pull rather than push.
Lean tools · case: Logistics
Short Interval Management
Short interval management is a system of short, frequent team huddles, organised in cascade, where each level handles what it can and escalates the rest within the day.
Method · case: Logistics
Pareto chart
The Pareto chart ranks causes in decreasing order of importance and overlays their cumulative total, to identify the small number of them that produce most of the effect.
Problem solving · case: Logistics
Visual management
Visual management makes the state of a process readable without having to ask: anyone entering the area must see within a few seconds whether the situation is normal, and if not, where it is not.
Lean tools · case: Logistics
Hypothesis testing
A hypothesis test answers a single question: is the observed gap between two situations larger than what sampling chance produces on its own?
Statistics · case: Logistics
Project selection
Choosing which improvement projects to launch is the decision that determines the return of a Lean Six Sigma approach — far more than the mastery of the tools used afterwards.
Method · case: Specialist retail
Change management
A demonstrated improvement is not an adopted improvement. Change management deals with the gap between the two, which is the most frequent cause of failure of Lean Six Sigma projects.
Method · case: Distribution logistics
Project sponsor (champion)
The sponsor is the manager who carries an improvement project at the level where trade-offs are made: they open doors, decide priorities and answer for the result to senior management.
Method · case: Industrial logistics
Practise
The training corpus is not split by sector: the questions are about the tools, which are the same everywhere, and the certifications do not split their exams by sector either. To find your level, the shortest way is a fifteen-question quiz, no account needed:
The other trades: Lean Six Sigma by sector.