Dexter Magnetic Technologies 
Beginner level
Theme: Gateway to empowering people and culture

Expanding Lean downstream to the customer base

Using the Lean mindset as a customer value added process

Format

Practitioner Presentation

Topic(s)

  • Product development
Overview

If a company is proficient and well experienced in improving internal operations and products, it would make sense to take advantage of these talents and take them downstream to the customer consumption process as a value-added service. As an example, we practice Gemba walks internally to see the real process, feel the real pain, and as a tool to develop people within the organization so that they too see/feel the pain and develop that desire to rid the process of pain.

With that said, one might then ask: who then specifically watches the product that your company ships to its customers to see and feel that pain your product causes for the customer? Or, in other words, who watches how your customer consumes, or touches, the products that you send to them from receiving to receiving inspection to quality to warehouse to material handling to process preparation to assembly/manufacturing to inspection to packaging? Your company can do this and this is what we are now doing at Dexter.

The goal of a customer consumption Gemba walk is, with the customer, to see the pain that your product (and mating product/materials) may cause the customer that they don’t see, get the customer to see/feel the same pain, and create their desire to request changes, and perhaps value added services, that will benefit them and your company financially.

Learn about this mindset as well as developing your own specific DFM/A practices as a value added service and potential business increaser in the customer consumption process.

 

Key learning objectives
  • Learn customer consumption Gemba walks
  • Learn how to coach your customer
  • Learn about creating your own DFM/A processes to create more business
Company

Dexter Magnetic Technologies specifies, designs and fabricates magnetic products and assemblies worldwide. Whether it is life-saving medical solutions or intelligent optics, Dexter solutions have positively impacted our world since 1951. https://www.dextermag.com

Presenter

Mike Micklewright is Vice President of Continuous Improvement at Dexter Magnetic Technologies.