The Beer Game
Starting the game as a Retailer, I have to manage the balance between the satisfaction of the consumer demand and tailoring the supply delivery. The problem that I face on this position is linked to obtaining the necessary amount of the products. Therefore, when the customers’ demand increases, the shop has enough items to sell. At the same time, sending the cars for the supply that is not demanded requires additional costs, which are difficult to eliminate.
The primary challenge of a Distributer is the inventory, which might be a cost inefficient practice. The unexpected inventory of hundred cases of beer, continued for several weeks, adds 586 dollars of the cost burden. The effective organization of distribution demonstrates the elimination of waste, notably, the unnecessary or long-lasting inventory.
The main goal of a Wholesaler is the securing of sufficient amount of beer and minimizing costs associated with the excessive orders and transportation. When demand is high, the request for beer increases respectfully. However, a lack of proper planning leads to the waste of time because of waiting for the fulfillment of the request.
Perceived as the easiest position to play because the other players depend on me, a Manufacturer appears to be a significant challenge. The high level of reliance on the other players on the manufacturer requires the well-organized and planned process of production and coordination with the rest of the players.
However, my attempt can barely be described as successful, and the game allows considering the whole process from various perspective. The lean approach implementation, regarding the elimination of the waste, operation optimization, and quality improvement, can help to reduce the costs.
Lean Application at Proven Special Electric Motor
Carrier and Kallish’s effort of lean implementation at Proven Special Electrical Motor (PSEM) manufacturing process was not going to be successful; although they understood complexities and breaches of the production processes at the Olomouc plant and PSEM, they underestimated the human resource factor. Probably, the plan, developed by them, was effective considering the reduction of inventory costs and the boost of productivity. The unwillingness of PSEM’s employees to implement the lean methods reduced the chance for the successful lean application and optimization of PSEM’s functioning (Colliner & Kadish, 2009).
Carrier and Kallish analyzed the operation performances of the other manufacturing processes at the plant. The assessment, which contributed to the plan development considers such aspects of PSEM processes as transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, and rework (Colliner & Kadish, 2009, p. 6). They also recommended the consolidation of the workstations, which is linked to assembly process. Since the operators’ attachment to the familiar way of work had not been change, the result of Carrier and Kallish’s effort was inefficient.
The Right Mix
The company to which six common missteps of lean and six sigma is going to be applied is Vodafone, a multinational corporation, which operates in the telecommunications industry. Usually, the implementation of lean is associated with the manufacturing business. Vodafone, on the other hand, functions in the service sector and application of lean and six sigma can be a challenge but a rewardable one.
The lineup of the common missteps of lean and six sigma for the telecom company can be as following: dismissing lean in the service sector; excessive number crunching; misjudging workload; lack of value stream management; lack of understanding that the waste is everywhere; and overcomplicating activities (Bhalla, 2009).
This order has been chosen for several reasons. First of all, the telecom industry is a service sector with the primary focus on the customers. Therefore, dismissing lean in the sector is the initial blunder that the company may experience. Excessive number crunching is the second obstacle by importance. The data overloads the telecom sector. The collection and analysis of it, associated with six sigma, requires more time than the lean approach implies. Since lean is relying on predictable processes that can be organized into a smooth flow and the telecoms company works with the excessive amount of information, the workload is often misinterpreted. The engineers of the company who analyze the data are often overwhelmed by the additional tasks such as the processing of numerous e-mails. Lack of value stream management is an impediment of the corporations and Vodafone as well. The concept of quality among various departments within the firm differs, so the implementation of the seamless process among units is the significant challenge. However, the processes that are indicated as waste by the lean method is usually ascribed to the manufacturing industry, the service sector of telecom is also suffering from a lack of coordination and lean in such processes as inventory, waiting, and unimplemented creativity of employees.
The evaluation of the breaches, associated with the application of lean, along with the six sigma approach, contributes to the gradual implementation of both methods. The appreciation of the operation excellence, quality improvement, and people development and ambition to optimize the data processing activities can propel the performance of the telecom company.
References
Bhalla, A., Jing, G. G., Denney, W., St John, C., Youngblood, L., Nuhfer, D., & Wilson, S. (2009). The Right Mix. Quality Progress, 32-37.
Colliner, R., & Kadish, M. (2009). Czech Mate: Jake and Dan’s Marvelous Adventure. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation.