The More of Do More with Less [Lessons from the Road]
In the last installment of my Industry Week column, Lessons from the Road, I talked about waste elimination. In it, I also explained that the commonly used phrase “do more with less” is often perceived about being about the “less” when I believe truly lean organizations focus on the “more.” But how do we do that?
In this column, The More of Do More with Less, I share at least some thoughts on what it means to focus on the more. Here is an excerpt:
1. Improve the customer interaction. So much strategic attention is focused on what product or service organizations provide that far too little attention is paid to how the customer gets access to it. The adage of “build a better mousetrap and they will beat a path to your door” assumes you haven’t already provided that path and paved it with lights and signs.
I was recently asked during a speech what the next area of focus of lean would be, and I believe one major opportunity is dramatic improvement of how customers interact with the supplier or vendor. Improving the actual interface, digital or otherwise, can have a great impact on both the real and perceived value received.
Amazon.com is a great example of this with its 1-Click Ordering. How much easier is it to buy product from this source than most other websites? First, of course, you have to have the right product at the right price. But once the customer is ready to buy, it certainly helps to make that experience as easy as possible.
You can read the rest of the column here.