Over the years, lean transformation has been crucial for organizations to create value for their customers. This method has enabled them to undergo strategic, tactical, and operational improvements.

However, the outcomes of these initiatives are often far from ideal. Business leaders often believe that lean transformation is simply about hiring Lean Six Sigma Black Belts or implementing cutting-edge tools. In the process, leaders tend to neglect the human aspect of the transformation journey, hindering them from establishing a true lean culture.

“Lean transformation is not just about utilizing lean tools but transforming people into lean thinkers and problem solvers,” says Tony Jonas, Founder and CEO, of Transformational Industries.

At Transformational Industries, Jonas has developed and proven a business transformation model called the 360 Business Transformation. He developed this process to effectively drive organizations through their transformation journey to create value and eliminate waste.

“This model is a holistic approach to total business transformation. People are beginning to call this approach Business Process Management (BPM),” Jonas adds.

"Lean Transformation is not just about Utilizing Lean Tools But Transforming People into Lean Thinkers and Problem Solvers"

Although this model was initially designed for the plastic industry, today it can be applied across all industries— regardless of the size of an organization.

Delving into the 360 Business Transformation Model

Applying the 360 Business Transformation model begins with the company’s goals and current progress in their lean transformation journey. From there, Actionable Data helps to drive the strategy around the 5 key areas of concentration– Lean, Strategy, Execution, Best Practices, and Culture & Structure.

At the heart of the transformation is a Lean/ Continuous Improvement methodology that utilizes A3 thinking, a collaborative process management and improvement tool developed by Toyota, to structure the lean initiative. It forces consensus building, unifies culture around a simple, systematic methodology, and becomes a communication tool that follows a logical narrative. Executive Coaching is used to ensure that the leadership team, including the C-Suite and HR managers, truly understand their roles and responsibilities and the importance of leading the change.

Within the Strategy Development Phase, Transformational Industries utilizes Porter’s Five Forces framework to analyse and determine competitive conditions of the market. This includes competitive rivalry, power of the customers, power of the suppliers, threat of substitutions, and barriers to entry. Taking a step further in the strategy development process, the company runs SWOT analysis to assess the internal and external intricacies of a client’s business. Typically this phase is followed by Strategy Deployment which is used to formulate, disseminate, and align business objectives and goals throughout all levels of the organization and create a plan of action to achieve those objectives.

“We take the value stream approach to transformation. We conduct value stream mapping and create a future state vision of where we want to take that value stream. This is followed by the utilization of the Kaizen approach to implement the future state vision and create a culture of continuous improvement,” Jonas mentions.

During the Execution stage, Transformational Industries looks at supply chain management, daily accountability process, and sales and operation planning (S&OP) which includes creating sales forecasts, inventory planning, material planning, production scheduling, and conflict resolution. In today’s post-COVID world, the supply chain is in a bout of turmoil, making it difficult for businesses to procure raw materials or react to changes in demand. Transformational Industries assists in connecting clients to reliable suppliers and executing processes to ensure a smooth operation.

When it comes to Best Practices, Transformational Industries helps clients develop the right strategies. Through the team’s wide range of experience, they can quickly assess a client’s machinery and facilities to identify where investment would be best made. This can include leveraging the best technology, processes, or product design to ensure that their clients make the right decisions for the best return on investments and to get ahead of their competitors.

Finally, Transformational Industries focuses on the Culture and Structure of an organization. This includes building a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone supports each other and the overall growth of the organization, whereas Structure helps identify resources needed to achieve the organizational goals. Transformational Industries uses tools such as the Clifton Strengths Finder, personality tests, and employee engagement surveys to help accomplish this.

This model is a holistic approach to total business transformation. People are now calling this approach Business Process Management (BPM)

Beyond the Lean Transformation

With over two decades of experience in implementing Lean, Transformational Industries’ experts are capable of serving any client’s needs. The company employs a highly experienced team of lean veterans who have been in the industry for over 20 years.

Transformational Industries strives to help clients make the necessary changes, implement the strategies, execute the daily plans, and transform their company into a world-class Lean enterprise. Their vast network of suppliers and resources ensures that their clients have access to reliable providers for their machinery and technological requirements. Transformational Industries is further building this network of resources to help businesses succeed in various other projects. Transformational Industries continues to add more lean resources to the 360 Business Transformation model to keep its resources as flexible as possible.