Successful partnership among the supplier, the business and the customer
Gain new perspectives and practical strategies for creating successful teamwork with your suppliers and customers; train and coach employees in shared expectations, alignment for success and building a bridge to future success for value stream transformation; cultural change; cross-functional teaming; level loading and pull/kanban flow.
Focus on others’ strengths as you develop effective partnerships with suppliers and customers. Hear about Duha’s strategies and results using a dynamic value stream transformation method. Listen to the company’s gemba and kata (learn and do) internal balancing approach, beginning with a “setting the expectation” phase in which all staff practiced and learned about supplier and customer roles in the value stream process. Then move on to the “aligning for success” phase in which the company and its external value stream gained understanding about the other’s strength and limitations, creating successful collaboration. Learn about the “building the bridge for the future” transformation phase, enabling shared understanding and alignment. Hear how change management is possible in all environments, if deployed respectfully. Understand the need to be a learning organization. Hear about coaching/communication, cross-functional teams, continuous improvement and cultural change, heijunka/level loading and pull/kanban flow.
Duha Group is a global leader in the production of color marketing supplies. For more than a decade, the company has developed its own interpretation of operational excellence methodologies, focused on practical implementation in a high-volume production environment. Its use of lean concepts is found in accounting, customer service, sales, logistics, human resources, warehousing and the Duha manufacturing process. www.duhagroup.com
Rod Smith is director of operations excellence for the Duha Group. He has served in various positions, including roles in logistics, operations and plant general management, during his 34-year tenure with the company. He has studied lean manufacturing techniques, with a training period in Japan. He delivers training and event facilitation support throughout the company. Smith has focused on cultural engagement and continuous improvement in Duha’s eight factories around the world. He has gained understanding about the challenges faced when implementing change management philosophies in different environments, at all company levels.
