The Porsche Lean Story | Competitive Advantage via Quantitative Methods

See on Scoop.itlean manufacturing

Michel Baudin‘s insight:

Along with information about the history of Porsche’s turnaround since the early 1990s, this article contains strange statements about, for example, Lean Manufacturing being “Non-Quantitative,” which must make Ohno and Shingo turn over in their graves.

It also contains the doubtful statement that “the costs of warehousing excess inventory are a hundred of times more expensive than a delay caused by a missing part.” The point of Lean Logistics is not to trade-off full warehouses for shortages!

The real paradox of stock is that hoarding parts is ineffective at preventing shortages. The Lean Logistics approach is to keep inventories low but monitored with vigilance, and to respond quickly when floods, tsunamis, or earthquakes disrupt the supply chain.

The article further asserts that “Statistical Process Control” was central to Porsche’s effort, but gives not indication that it is even used. I don’t recall it being mentioned or seeing any trace of it in the Porsche plant in Leipzig two years ago.

See on cavqm.blogspot.co.uk