Over generations, even over the space of a few years, business models change (think of the recent shift to online retailing). So, too, do supply chain priorities (e.g., fanning out across the globe to localize production and delivery) and customer priorities (the focus on price over quality during economic troughs, for instance).

Why do lean principles remain the same?

Is it a stubborn myopia on the part of its proponents? Or is because it preaches simple principles that transcend time and circumstance? I’m inclined to think the latter, but in at least one case I wonder if the former isn’t true.

In this case, the spark was the comments of the Lean Enterprise Institute’s Jim Womack in the Business Standard, an Indian daily newspaper. In a Q&A set against the backdrop of the January opening of LEI’s Indian branch, Womack discussed the progress the institute has made in instilling lean principles among India’s middle managers.

Shuchi Bansal, the reporter who interviewed Womack, asked the LEI chairman about the Indian notion that the Toyota Way will not work well in India because the country does not have an "optimum infrastructure delivery environment," meaning its congested and substandard roads would stunt just-in-time deliveries.

This is part of Womack’s response, as reported by the Business Standard:

Does the fact that roads are clogged and often undependable mean that Indian firms should instead make enormous batches of items, build up enormous inventories of goods at every step, and ship infrequently in the largest possible vehicles?

As I read his words, I thought, "Well, yes, maybe that’s exactly what it means." Maybe the reality on the ground in parts of India is that the fewer deliveries a company has to make, the better, and that the gain to be realized from such stinginess outweighs that which would come from slimmer inventories. A lighter delivery schedule means less wear and tear on vehicles, fewer noxious emissions to clog the already clogged air, and more efficient use of drivers and capacity. And, with gas prices still very high, it means preserving working capital by making less-frequent deliveries.

Isn’t it possible that this is the leaner model for manufacturing distribution in India?

Womack’s comments strike me as akin to the colonizer’s approach to the world, or the missionary’s self-assured zealotry. We come bearing the good word and enlightenment for all ye who live in darkness. Never taking time to consider that the "unenlightened"’ might have some wisdom of their own to share.

I realize lean often works best when applied in environments where conventional business thinking is accepted unblinkingly. But sometimes the established wisdom holds true.

Is this one of those cases? I can’t say I have the answer. I simply assert that the lean stalwarts aren’t the only ones who get to question assumptions.

Posted by Chris Chiappinelli at 09/02/2008 03:26:32 PM |