Why eliminating muda in retail operations improves revenue and performance
Muda, a Japanese term for waste, has historically been used in Lean environments to identify processes that do not add value to the customer. While there are many examples of muda that can be found in retail stores, some of the most common examples include: excess labor expenses from inefficient intra-day shelf replenishment, lost revenue due to stock-outs, cumbersome receiving processes where the same product is touched multiple times, and customers standing in long checkout lines.
Knowing that muda exists and understanding the specific muda that is taking place in your stores is only the beginning. The challenge is not only recognizing muda, but also understanding the tools that can be used to reduce or eliminate it.
The Lean tools addressed here are only the beginning and include: Root Cause Analysis (using the “Five Why Technique”), Process Maps, and Value Stream Maps.
In this white paper, you will learn how to: