Shruti Bhat PhD, MBA, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
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Top 2 ways to mitigate supply chain disruptions

9/27/2021

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With shipping and airline cargo bottlenecks, material delays are a common feature in today’s times. And this affects both manufacturing and service industry alike. Although the pandemic is mainly responsible for this supply chain mess, supply chain disruptions can be mitigated and even prevented by following robust supply chain processes at your organization.

So, how to prevent supply chain disruptions?

Checkout this video to know more about top 2 ways to mitigate supply chain disruptions.

This video belongs to my YouTube video series- One-minute guide to continuous improvement where I explain various topics related to continuous improvement for operational excellence and business growth.
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Watch on …
Are you ready to improve supply chain processes at your roganization?
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Related videos-

  1. One minute continuous improvement guide series.
  2. Kaizen explained with examples and case studies.
Keywords and Tags-

#supplychaindisruptions  #supplychainprocessimprovement  #supplychaincontinuousimprovement #supplychain #kaizen  #continuousimprovement  #topswaystoimprovesupplychain
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Six action points for a purpose driven supply chain

9/26/2021

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Supply chain management has always been full of challenges, more so now in the pandemic era. However, supply chain disruptions can be best mitigated or even prevented by improving supply chain business processes. Installing a culture of continuous improvement not only improves supply chain operations, but also saves cost.

Checkout this video to know more about how to go for a purpose-driven supply chain.

This video belongs to my YouTube video series- One-minute guide to continuous improvement where I explain various topics related to continuous improvement for operational excellence and business growth.

Watch on …
Are you ready to install a culture of Continuous Improvement at your organization?
Get In Touch
Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Related videos:

  1. One minute continuous improvement guide series.
Keywords & Tags-

#supplychainmanagement  #supplychainprocessimprovement  #continuousimprovement
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New Age Product Development to Reduce Supply Chain Costs

2/26/2021

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In this blogpost I shall touch upon R&D process improvement in order to reduce procurement, supply chain logistics cost. If this intrigues you, read on …

Reducing procurement, supply chain logistics is an omnipresent to-do issue for business leaders, pandemic or otherwise, but more so in today’s times because of transport disruptions due to the pandemic.

I would say there are broadly two ways to handle any issue- proactive and reactive. Improving R&D processes via Design Thinking & Kaizen is a proven proactive way of making sure that external environment will have minimal to negligible effect on your supply chain function. Further, this is true for all companies in the manufacturing as well as the service sectors.

So, I come to my favorite questions-
  • Did you know that improving your R&D business processes can have immediate direct savings of 35 to 40% of your sourcing and supply chain costs?
  • Did you know that R&D process improvement can ensure that your supply chain is productive and functions at an all -time-good level regardless of disturbances in the external environment?

Want to know more? Check out the video below-
​Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Related reading:

  • How to cut costs strategically using KaizenCulture of Kaizen
  • How does Kaizen Enhances Employee Engagement?
  • Quality-by-Design (QbD) approach means Design for Manufacturing (DFM)​​
Keywords and Tags:
#SupplyChainProcessImprovement #QbD #QualityByDesign #Kaizen #Agile #DesignSpace #WideDesignSpace #Pandemic #SupplyChainDisruption  #ProductDevelopment  #ProcessImprovement 
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Just-in-time methodology applied to life science research and development division to improve R&D operating efficiency- A case study

7/19/2020

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Just-in-time is one of many time-tested, scientific business improvement methodologies and can be successfully applied to any industry be it manufacturing, services, government office or an education institute.
Just_in_time methodology applied to life science research and development division to improve RandD operating efficiency_ a case study by Dr Shruti Bhat
Just-in-time (JIT) technique is usually applied to manufacturing and service functions of companies, but not to their R&D divisions. 

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Considering the vast benefits of JIT methodology, I recommended using it in R&D division of a Life science company (my client). This company had a major set back; consequently, had a severe cash-crunch and was looking for a better option to sustain business and avoid employee layoffs.

This project was accomplished few years ago. However, the learnings are relevant today perhaps more than ever before.
The reason being that the Covid-19 pandemic has created a funds-crunch in companies big and small; though start-ups, small and mid-size organizations bear more brunt. Innovation portfolios are being driven in the slow lane, R&D budgets are getting axed and yet the divisions must do more with 'still' less.
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In such a scenario, applying Just-in-time in combination with strategic vendor management will facilitate companies to tide thru this funds-crunch and parallelly continue their R&D endeavor of developing new products.
R&D departments of pharmaceuticals, vitamins & supplements, natural health products, cosmetics and personal product companies need a very large quantity of consumable items. Some of the consumable items are- raw materials, packing material, tools, machine spares etc.

Some of commonly used raw materials in life science R&Ds include- Active ingredients (such as bulk drug, herbal extract), additives (such as bulking agents, colors, flavors, perfumes, emulsifiers, solvents etc.), packing materials (such as tubes, bottles, caps, wads, aluminum foil, paper, glue), machine parts (viz. tablet punches, dies, chromatography columns).

These consumable items are extensively used during experimentation for new product development and testing. In fact, the R&D department cannot function at all if consumables are not provided.

In research-based life science companies and contract research organizations, consumables comprise of 20 – 45 % of their R&D budget. Therefore, any savings in consumable expenses help organizations to lower over-head costs big-time, and Just-in-time methodology does just that!

A four-step approach was taken for this project-

Step 1: The existing supply chain process was mapped, inventory demand-supply schedules reviewed and gaps in these processes were identified.

The objective was to re-design the supply chain process to include Just-in-time technique to lower R&D over-heads (without disturbing R&D output) and the savings generated thereof could be utilized for other needs of the business.

Step 2:  A supply chain process improvement strategy was designed.

Note that, there are several dos and don’ts prior to applying Just-in-time technique for process improvement or process design. One of such important to-dos, is to ensure all items being sourced comply to CQA (Critical Quality Attributes).

Step 3:  A core team comprising heads of R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory and Procurement was formed.

Then all consumable raw materials were classified into- expensive, moderate and cheap items, based on their cost and availability. Vendors were approached to provide samples (of raw materials) for testing. Once test results proved compliance to CQA, the vendors were short-listed.

Step 4:  Just-in-time process was set up.

This also involved effective collaboration between R&D, resource planning and quality groups. Then, meetings were conducted with vendors to provide raw materials at negotiated price to R&D. Vendors for expensive raw materials were approached first, followed by those for moderate and cheaper items.

Note that-
  • Depending on the size of the organization and the number of consumable items to be worked on, it might take from 2 to 8 weeks to fully set up Just-in-time in a company.
  • Just-in-time methodology encourages sourcing from local or regional vendors rather than overseas. Should a company go for an overseas vendor, then make sure that vendor has a distribution warehouse situated locally or regionally.
  • Savings from Just-in-time implementation are further augmented when R&D's follow Quality-by-Design (QbD) approach for product development.

Result Dashboard: 
  1. Through flawless execution of Just-in-time technique, around 35% of R&D over-head cost was saved in the first year.
  2. Besides lowering over-heads, Just-in-time also helped free-up warehouse capacities.
  3. Continued implementation of Just-in-time technique maximized over-head savings up to around 80%.
To know more on how Just-in-time technique can benefit your organization-
Get In Touch
Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
You may want to checkout more on Just-in-time:
  • What is Just-In-Time approach?
  • Advantages of Just-in-time strategy
  • Just- In-Time Production Strategy with mastermind Shruti Bhat : Limitations
Keywords and Tags:

​#JustInTime  #ImproveOperatingEfficiency  #ContinueInnovation #ContinueProductDevelopmentInPandemic   #Covid19  #ImproveOperatingExcellence  #ProcessImprovement  #ProcessDesign
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How to Manage Inventories, Cut Wastages and Rejects in Warehouses? A Lean Six Sigma Case Study

2/12/2020

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how to manage inventories cut wastages and rejects in warehouses _ a lean six sigma case study
​Lean Six Sigma case study in a pharmaceutical company

Problem: A Canadian Drug company had huge inventory and also wastages in their warehouse. How to cut down rejects? Is there a scope of reducing procurement expense?

Due Diligence :  The procurement process was mapped and it was found that the inventory management process was inefficient. Multiple investigative tools were employed to arrive at root cause(s) of the problem.

Solution: Lean six sigma methodology was employed. A new inventory management process was designed and integrated with SAP- ERP system. A ‘FIFO’ usage and distribution system was introduced and implemented across all locations within the organization.

Roles and responsibilities for continuous implementation of the new inventory management process was assigned to department members. Appropriate training was provided as well as documented.

Result Dashboard:
  • Decreased % rejects by 200 %
  • Decreased materials procurement by 150 %
  • Improved supplier relationship.
  • Smoother supply chain logistics process
  • Improved cross-functional team engagement, in turn better productivity.
To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp
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​Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Keywords and Tags:
#ContinuousImprovement   #Innovation  #LeanSixSigma
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Kaizen Training for R&D, Manufacturing and Service-based Organizations

5/2/2019

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A Kaizen Transformation roadmap will help you balance two worlds- the 'right now' and the 'next future'.

Top Experts in Kaizen Strategy Design & Training 

Kaizen Masterclass workshop by Dr Shruti Bhat
Kaizen Masterclass
To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn



​Keywords and Tags:
#Kaizen  #KaizenTraining #KaizenLeaderMasterclass #ManufacturingExcellence #AgileKaizen #Lean #BPM #Manufacturing  #OrganizationalExcellence
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Lean Kaizen Reduced Cost of Logistics by 30% in a Cosmetics Company; a Continuous Improvement Case Study

1/1/2019

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Learn how to use Lean Kaizen to reduce supply chain logistics costs ...

To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
 
#Manufacturing #Lean #ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen  #QualityImprovement  #ServiceIndustry  #ManufacturingManagement  #LeanManagement   #Kanban  #FMEA  #RiskManagement
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    Shruti Bhat
    PhD, MBA
    Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

    ​Shruti is a ​Global Leader in Operational Excellence, Lean Innovation, Lean Manufacturing, Business Transformation and Continuous Improvement; Best-Selling Author and Speaker.

    Shruti is a Go-To Scientific Expert and Management Leader within Pharmaceutical, Health Care, MedTech, Biotechnology, Retail, Chemicals, Engineering and Telecom industry  verticals.

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