The Lean Enterprise

Abstract

New lean thinking and the term open lean enterprise are introduced in this chapter. In the case of old lean, value is created through one-way communication, while with new lean it is created through two-way communication. This distinction completely changes the value creation cycle. In contemporary manufacturing, the customer becomes part of the value creation cycle, production becomes customer-driven and the customer becomes a prosumer. Plato insists, and argues it should be enforced by law, that people should not ask about the price, but simply ask about the value of an object, underlining that value is an absolute quality incorporated into the object. Similarly, Aristotle in ‘Politics’ states that value is the ability to satisfy needs/wants. This is totally compatible with the new concept of new lean thinking: when asking about value, the customer is given the opportunity to get involved in the process and therefore become a stakeholder in the delivery cycle of the product. The focus is on creating value and eliminating waste.

Refinement of means and confusion of goals seem to characterize our century

Albert Einstein