​Kaizen is a Japanese concept that emphasizes continuous improvement. It targets the processes and outcomes of a business to anchor it for long-term success. 

Although Kaizen is present in Japanese folklore for several decades, it was first applied in the corporate sector post-World War II, to improve manufacturing operations of the Japanese companies. It produced significant results for the Toyota Corporation, which led to the philosophy spreading across the world. Now, Kaizen is used by companies in almost all industry sectors.

Kaizen involves making small incremental improvements in a company. By implementing Kaizen into the company culture, it can be permanent. New employees will be trained in the principles of the Kaizen process, and the change will be sustained for years to come.

When considering how to improve customer satisfaction with Kaizen implementation, organizations must begin by recognizing the problem and identifying opportunities for improvement.

To do this, they should engage cross-functional personnel in the problem-solving process. Then test the proposed solution(s) in small groups before spreading them across the entire organization. The process should be supported by the top leadership of the company and include training and appropriate communication between employees.

A Kaizen committee should be formed of five to ten employees. This committee should meet weekly to discuss ideas for continuous improvement and to summarize the changes made after implementing them.

Let’s take an example of initiating Kaizen in an engineering company.

To get started, a Kaizen team must be established. The team should include a manufacturing engineer, a design engineer, two people from marketing & sales function and a quality engineer, in addition to the Kaizen leader. In some cases, the team should also include customers and suppliers to ensure success.

The team must review the current state of the business, product mix, customer base, complaint records etc. and identify the opportunities for improvement. Once the team has identified these opportunities, they can create a strategy to improve customer satisfaction.

The principles of Kaizen emphasize the value of continuous incremental improvements.

Kaizen-ing runs via Kaizen events. During Kaizen events, the Kaizen team must meet and work together with people at grassroot levels from the sales and marketing function to come up with potential solution(s) to the problem(s). These meetings should be centered around a specific problem such as- an increase in defective products, product returns, delayed deliveries etc. Also, the meetings must be held in a physical location within the company- the Gemba.

Further, two tools which will be extremely helpful in this initiative are- Kaizen board and Taguchi loss function. 

Tip: The Kaizen board is an excellent place to document ideas for improvements. 

Moreover, besides the Kaizen leader, the Kaizen sponsor aka process owner should also hold overall responsibility for the results of the Kaizen event. So, before you can implement a Kaizen board in your company, first make sure your stakeholders are willing to make it happen.

Tip: If Kaizen events are part of your business culture, you may want to consider holding them on a regular basis. Often, a Kaizen team uses a Kaizen Template to stay on track and initiate Kaizen in the organization. Using this method, each member of the team contributes to customer satisfaction and teamwork. You can read more on Kaizen here.

Besides improving the customer relationship process, Kaizen also promotes employee engagement and ownership of the company culture. With the right approach, your organization can benefit from increased employee morale and productivity. The benefits of Kaizen extend well beyond improved customer satisfaction!

Are you planning to initiate a Kaizen culture at your workplace?

​Keywords and Tags:

#kaizen #kaizenevents #gembakaizen  #customersatisfaction #gembawalks  #yamazumiboard  #kaizenboard #Taguchilossfunction

This multi-part blog post series presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of business process improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
 
So, let’s get started…
 
Business process management is management of various activities involved in an organization, such as- identification, evaluation and improvement in various processes of a business.
 
Businesses tend to use this action in order to assess and increase productivity, business efficiency, sales, customer satisfaction and overall business performance.
 
Pareto’s 80/20 business process management (BPM) methodology suggests that 20 % of managed activities should bring forth 80% of beneficial results.
 
While there are several advantages of Pareto’s 80/20 BPM methodology, there are few potential challenges too, for example - its sustainability.
 
If a business’s revenue or profit heavily relies on specific clients, then their decisions will have a huge impact on the business’s value. This can be especially harmful if the business relies on a small group of individuals as ‘clients’. In case of loss of a single client, business income and profit could take a giant blow.
 
The way to solve this issue is to find ways of making profit away from the group.
 
Categorizing the top clients and finding attributes that they all have in common is a sure way to mitigate risks. It will then be easier to look for clients that fit the same format.  Higher the number of individuals making up ‘important client’ list the better.
 
Another challenge with Pareto’s 80/20 rule is that it can be difficult for companies to know when they should apply the rule, and when not.
 
Pareto’s 80/20 rule can also be a drawback for a company’s workflow. While it is meant to eliminate activities that waste time and draw focus to the real goals, implementing the rule could just get in the way of methods that are already functioning effectively.
 
Check out more about Pareto 80/20 rule and eighteen different business process improvement techniques here.
 
I shall discuss more FAQs concerning effective & efficient business process improvement in the upcoming parts of this blog series ...
 
By the way, if you run a company that is facing a challenge to thrive in these difficult times, I would suggest that you please revisit your business processes in order to accelerate growth and bring a quick turnaround.

​This multi-part blog post series presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of business process improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
 
So, let’s get started…
 
Balanced Scorecard is a method of continuous improvement that aims to decipher a business’s goals and strategies into precise objectives. It also aims to measure four key elements, which include- customers, finance, business processes and learning.
 
It was originated by a duo- Robert Kaplan and David Norton as a performance measurement framework that added strategic non-financial performance measures to traditional financial metrics, to give managers and executives a more 'balanced' view of organization’s performance.
 
Balanced Scorecard methodology can be implemented in both manufacturing as well as service-based companies.
 
Managers nowadays work in such multi-faceted surroundings that, it is extremely important for appropriate objectives, their execution, to work properly for a business to develop and sustain itself. It is also worth noting that, it is important to ensure appropriate monitoring and evaluation of the objectives.
 
Balanced Scorecard is meant to be a long-term prospect and will only work beneficially if it is treated accordingly.
 
If CEO’s decide on an impulse that Balanced Scorecard would be interesting to implement in the company, it can cause employees to be insecure in the motives. And it can often leave employees believing that the Balanced Scorecard implementation is just another fad.
 
Moreover, not combining Balanced Scorecard to corporate management processes can lead to problems. Further, it cannot simply be added to a ‘current’ system in hope of enmeshing together in a beneficial way. There will be no positive impact on the company, if Balanced Scorecard is treated as a stand-alone feature.
 
Tip: Note that Balanced Scorecard must be used with other business process improvement systems and should not be used entirely on its own. Using Kaizen for implementing Balanced Scorecard methodology has been found to be extremely effective. Checkout details about Kaizen here.
 
As with any other process improvement methodology implementation campaign, clear understanding of the Balanced Scorecard methodology is vital.
 
It is imperative that everyone involved such as, C-suite, Managers and all employees, understand why Balance Scorecard is being implemented (at the organization) as well as when, why and how will it potentially have positive and long-lasting impact on the company.
 
If employees are not properly educated about the reasons for implementing Balanced Scorecard, then its introduction will appear as ‘just-additional-work’ leading to employee resistance and unrest within the work force.
 
Additionally, Balanced Scorecard is a forceful method of implementing process change, so it’s been found to never well received by employees whole heartedly.
 
Further, it also creates confusion within the leadership team, as to ‘who is in charge’. Hence, organizations must have a clear communication policy, hierarchy set up & job function to-dos pre-assigned before implementing Balanced Scorecard.
 
Check out more about Balanced Scorecard and eighteen different business process improvement techniques here.

Keywords and Tags:
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#businessprocessimprovement  #Balancescorecard #balancescorecardexplained #whatisbalancescorecard  #whatisbalancescorecardmethodology #balancedscorecardprocessimprovement    #businessprocessmodification #businessprocessreengineering #processimprovement #continuousimprovement    #strategymanagement #businessturnaround

​Return on pharmaceutical R&D investment is steadily dropping over the past decade from 10.1 % in 2010 to 1.8 % in 2019. 

Also, cost to bring a new product to market has increased by 67 % since 2010 according to a research study report published by a leading Management Consulting firm. 

This data needs a serious investigation into- How to arrest the ROI drop and more importantly, how to increase pharmaceutical R&D ROI?

A root cause analysis of this problem could show one or many cause(s), for example- low R&D productivity, poor infrastructure, ineffective workflows, inefficient processes, poor decision-making, increased number of generic players, time taken for drug discovery thru product launch in market is higher than planned, higher number of clinical trial failures, changing patient needs, etc.

Regardless of the cause(s) of the problem(s), a sure way to increase ROI is to introduce a culture of continuous improvement in the R&D department later expanding across the entire organization.

There are more than eighteen scientific and proven continuous improvement methodologies which can be implemented in pharma R&Ds and across the organization. Some of the popular ones being Lean Six Sigma, ISO, TRIZ, Hoshin, Kaizen etc. You can know more about different continuous improvement methodologies here.

Note that continuous improvement initiatives must be customized for each company in order for it to be effective. So, a natural question that pops up is- How to start continuous improvement campaign at the R&D workplace? This is a vast topic and can run into several pages, but I shall touch upon it briefly here.

How to start Continuous Improvement campaign in pharma R&D?

Continuous Improvement initiatives must be customized for every company. A continuous improvement technique found successful at company A may not produce equally good results at company B, despite the two companies belonging to the same industry vertical.

The choice of continuous improvement methodology depends on the organizational size, culture, set of problems, product mix, financial status etc. You can know more about how to choose a continuous improvement methodology for your organization here.

Here are 9 easy steps to follow in order to initiate continuous improvement at your R&D site-

1. Customize ROI data for your organization- Plot a graph of return on your R&D investments for the past decade.
2. Map processes. Build Swimlanes.
3. Build strategy road map for your continuous improvement campaign. Identify teams and key players.
4. Conduct a Root Cause Analysis of the ROI data and R&D processes to identify root cause(s) of the problem.
5. Run Kaizen Events to find potential solutions.
6. Apply solutions and monitor results.
7. Standardize processes.
8. Improve continuously.
9. Celebrate success!

Tip: Use appropriate continuous improvement tools judiciously at each of the above steps to take smart decisions from time to time.

​Note that after strategy, a significant success with continuous improvement campaigns is achieved by using the right tool at the right time. There are over hundred proven Continuous Improvement tools to work with. You can check out more on Continuous Improvement tools here.

A PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is extremely helpful to ensure rapid success with continuous improvement initiatives.

A common question I get while leading continuous improvement projects is- Our company is ISO certified. Do we still need to go for Kaizen?

And my response to that query is- Yes definitely. The reason being ISO methodology focuses on ‘control of processes’ underlying quality and compliance to standards. While Kaizen focuses on ‘improvement of processes’ not just quality processes but ALL processes including technical and business processes.

Having ISO and not running Kaizen along with it is like eating only a part of the pie. In fact, I would say, in order to get the maximum benefits from ISO certification, practice Kaizen.

Just 15 minutes of daily Kaizen brings stupendous rewards. I have a separate blogpost describing difference between ISO and Kaizen. You may want to check it out here.

Kaizen is a Japanese technique of process improvement. Kaizen implementation does not need big budgets and also it is super effective.  You can check more about Kaizen for pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech industries here.
​​
Are you planning to start a culture of Continuous Improvement for your workplace?

This multi-part blog post series presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of continuous improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
​
So let’s get started…

Business process improvement or re-engineering campaigns are broadly classified as - Breakthrough, Streamlined and Continuous improvement.
 
Breakthrough Improvement is a methodology that incorporates vital improvements to the main areas of the business. It is a quicker and more intense method of improvement. It is common for breakthrough improvements to be conducted by a few employees whose purpose is to come up with a new method of problem-solving. It is common for long-lasting and continuous problems to be solved through Breakthrough improvement technique by dedicating time and effort into coming up with a solution for a designated time. Breakthrough improvement has large and obvious advances, but the results can also be extremely varied. A popular example of Breakthrough improvement is Six Sigma methodology.
 
Streamlined Improvement refers to the improvement of a process by reducing and shortening the number of steps in a process in order to lower its intricacy. It is beneficial since it helps cut back on costs, uses time more effectively and efficiently, as well as improves supervisory observance. A popular example of Streamlined improvement methodology is 5S.
 
Continuous Improvement focuses on undergoing constant improvements that take place over time. These increments allow for less disruption to the organization and allow individuals to perform necessary tasks on the agenda in steady and continual stages. Many organizations find that, performing small continual improvements has a profound effect in the long run. A popular example of Continuous improvement methodology is Lean.

Out of the three types of business process improvement, Continuous improvement is often preferred, since the small changes end up adding more 'value' than that of a Breakthrough improvement.

My recommendation is that organizations must invest time in Continuous-Breakthrough improvements (for example Lean Six Sigma) in order to truly excel. Continuous as well as Breakthrough improvement can have a better chance of working properly if-
​

• Both data and facts are used.
• Employees are involved and encouraged to find solutions.
• Methods are established and duly implemented.

 
Both Breakthrough and Continuous improvement methods use PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) sequence for successfully running the process improvement campaigns.
 
Organizations can benefit from using both Continuous and Breakthrough improvement methods. The use of either improvement method depends on the circumstances and the desired outcome. 

Another possibility is for organizations to perform a series of Breakthrough improvements that allow employees, to progressively make continual improvements in their everyday work life. Organizations that choose to implement this method often reach more desirable results than those that choose either Continuous or Breakthrough improvement.

Another important business improvement technique is Kaizen.

Kaizen is a Japanese technique of improvement. Translated, Kaizen means 'make better'. 

Note that, contrary to popular belief, Kaizen is not a type of Continuous improvement technique. Rather, Kaizen creates a culture of continuous improvement. Therefore, if you wish to initiate and sustain continuous improvement at your workplace, then start with Kaizen.

Kaizen is a business process improvement methodology in itself. Kaizen is also an effective change management technique. Therefore, if a company practices Kaizen alone (and doesn't go-in for any Breakthrough, Streamlined or Continuous improvement campaign), yet it will achieve efficient and effective workflows. 

​In fact, I would suggest that if a company doesn't wish to go for any formal process improvement technique due to whatever constraints, be it- limited resources, less number of employees, regulations etc., then go for Kaizen. 

Tip: As it requires minimal cost for implementation (while giving phenomenal returns), Kaizen is especially beneficial for startups.   
​
Moreover, Kaizen can be practiced both by individuals as well as corporates.

Further, Kaizen can be implemented in all types of organizations viz. manufacturing, services, educational institutes, government offices, non-profit associations etc. Kaizen implementation exhibits fastest returns in both big and small organizations (regardless of organization's culture or industry sector).

There are nine types of Kaizen. You can check more about Kaizen here.

Tip: Coupling Kaizen along with Continuous improvement technique such as Lean, augments rewards exponentially.

I shall discuss more FAQs concerning effective & efficient business process improvement in upcoming parts of this blog post series. If you have any such questions about business process design or continuous improvement, please feel free to drop it in the comment section below.

By the way, if you run a company that is facing a challenge to thrive in these difficult times, I would suggest that you please revisit your business processes in order to accelerate growth and bring a quick turnaround. ​

Note that there are over 18 different time-tested process improvement techniques. And one does need to wisely choose when, which and how to apply each of these improvement methodologies to their business.

This multi-part blog article presents practical answers to frequently asked questions on improving business entities. 

Its objective is to assist business leaders in these trying times, whether they are learning the basics of continuous improvement, planning their first business improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.
 
A common question faced by me during my practice as a Continuous Improvement Expert is- What is the difference between Business Process Improvement and Business Process Re-engineering? I will answer this question (in FAQ 1), but this and many such common queries drove me towards writing this blog post series...
 
So, let us begin with the first FAQ …

A business process defines the various activities involved in achieving a particular goal. Business processes briefly describe the chain of events that are involved in an activity or a group of activities such as- running a business, manufacturing of products or selling products or services.
 
Business Process Improvement (BPI) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) are two widely used terms while attempting to modify business processes in order for organizations to sustain and grow.
 
As the name implies, both BPI and BPR deal with business process modification, however, they are two widely different terms. Allow me to ask few questions to explain these terms:

• Is your process broken?
• Does it have a high impact on your company’s strategic direction?
• Is it antiquated?
• Does it fall far below ‘best-in-class’ or desired ‘state-of-the-art’?

 
If your answer to the above questions is ‘Yes’, then its BPR, meaning- those said processes have to be re-engineered or re-designed.
 
BPR technique assumes that the current process is irrelevant, does not work and therefore needs overhauling completely from A to Zee.
 
For all those business processes that do not need re-engineering, but essentially need modification for benefiting the business, it is BPI - business process improvement.

I shall discuss more FAQs concerning effective & efficient business process improvement in upcoming blog articles. If you have any such questions about business process design or continuous improvement, please feel free to drop it in the comment section below.
 
By the way, if you run a company that is facing a challenge to thrive in these difficult times, I would suggest that you please revisit your business processes in order to accelerate growth and bring a quick turnaround.

Keywords and Tags:
​
#businessprocessimprovement #businessprocessmodification #businessprocessreengineering #PDCAcycle #kaizen #processimprovement #breakthroughimprovement  #streamlinedprocessimprovement #continuousimprovement

Transforming organization in this era of Covid-19 induced crisis features on To-Do list of every business leader. 

In the previous part of this article, I had commented briefly on how product portfolio can facilitate successful business transformations. Further product portfolio is built on four pillars-

1. Company’s definition of a new product.
2. Portfolio project management technique employed.
3. Product development pathway.
4. Marketing & Sales processes abilities to gain market share.

Part 1 of this article covered pillar 1- Company’s definition of a new product, Part 2 covered pillar 2- Portfolio project management technique employed, while Part 3 covered pillar 3- Product development pathways.

In this part, I shall elaborate on pillar 4- Marketing & Sales processes ability to gain market share.
 
The fourth important parameter of building a profitable portfolio is introspecting and assessing your marketing & sales process(es) efficiency and effectiveness.
 
Start by asking questions such as- Where is sales growth coming from? Are sales happening from new products or from new markets or are they happening from growth in existing markets or increase in market share? How do you want your product portfolio to look like in coming 3 to 5 years? What is your historical level of R&D spending as a percentage of sales?
 
Answers to these questions will throw light on your organization’s operational capacity and capability to develop and sell new products.
 
Also, it is vital to establish which products must be developed for self-commercialization and which should be licensed out on fee-for-service basis. Doing this will amplify portfolio’s productivity and profitability.
 
Further, modifying all underlying business processes involved in the sales & marketing of products, by using suitable process improvement techniques will maximize company’s revenue. For example- A struggling pharma company increased 30% of its market share in mere 3 months by implementing Kaizen to its sales and distribution process. Know more about Kaizen for pharmaceuticals here.
 
There are more than eighteen scientific and effective business process improvement methodologies to choose from.
 
For instance, using Lean Kaizen or Agile Kaizen in improvements of processes underlying sales, marketing and distributions functions is a sure and effective way to get fastest and highest ROI.
 
Lean identifies waste and hence improves profit figures. Agile increases quality & speed of product development, while Kaizen improves process efficiency & effectiveness and increases rate of returns.
 
To ensure portfolios are managed to give best rewards, it is vital to prune it regularly. Further advanced analytics may be used to identify optimal combinations of pruning candidates. 

A strategic mix of ‘new’ products is vital for profitable portfolio. Equally important is effective portfolio’s project management process. Kanban integrated with traditional project management techniques bring out the best rewards.
 
Applying Lean, Kaizen and other process improvement techniques to technical and business processes (regardless of industry sector) brings about successful business transformation. And applying Kaizen to sales, marketing and distribution processes augments increase in revenue.
 
Moreover, all three product development pathways that is Incremental change, Me-too and Disruptive development pathways are beneficial for digital products as well as the physical products such as toys, cosmetics, non-medical machinery, chemicals, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, herbal supplements, consumer health products, telecom, healthcare etc.
 
Equally important is to identify right product candidates from the product mix to develop the line extensions for.
 
Driving process improvement to create incremental changes along the value stream increases market share of existing products. For example, Hoshin integrated with Kaizen may be used for product development processes to improve product features. As Hoshin encourages voice of customer, it brings about customer-centric product development.
 
In fact, one market research study revealed that the built-in kitchen traditional RVs (Recreational Vehicle) provided were going unused. Instead, RV owners relied on outdoor grills. The company therefore developed a slide-out kitchen that was a hit with customers and increased RV sales.
 
With cashflow drying up due to the challenges posed by the pandemic, companies more than ever before need to re-balance their product portfolios and increase efficiency of underlying processes to create value to customer, transform businesses, accelerate growth and generate higher revenues for the organization.

​And, now is the time to get started …