Recent developments in Lean thinking have combined these principles with Six Sigma and with supply chain management. Pick either one of these programs and describe its elements

Question

Then provide an example from current business news of an operation or supply chain that has embraced these principles.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Examples will vary.
Lean Six Sigma combines the organizational elements and tools of Six Sigma, with Lean's focus on waste reduction. As Paul Mullenhour and Jamie Flinchbaugh put it, "Lean encourages action along a broad front by empowering people at all levels to contribute. This allows organizations to welcome challenges and implement improvement initiatives... Six Sigma brings the discipline of define, measure, analyze, improve and control, as well as the rigor of statistical analysis, to identify a root cause, sustain improvement and provide the solid measurements that create a balanced scorecard."
Some practitioners and researchers have moved beyond Lean production to what can be called Lean supply chain management. In a nutshell, Lean supply chain management seeks to minimize the level of resources required to carry out all supply chain activities. Lean principles are applied to eliminate waste in a firm's sourcing and logistics activities, as well as within the firm's internal operations. But it doesn't end there. The Lean philosophy is applied to all relevant flows – physical, informational, and monetary – and, where possible, to supply chain partners. This means that firms might need to work closely with key partners to eliminate waste within their operations.