Lean Enterprise Systems: Using It For Continuous Improvement

Description:
This book helps you learn how Lean IT can help companies deliver better customer service and value. 'Lean Enterprise Systems' effectively demonstrates how the techniques derived from Lean Manufacturing, combined with the thoughtful application of information technology, can help all enterprises improve business performance and add significant value for their customers. The author also demonstrates how the basic concepts of Lean Manufacturing can be applied to create agile and responsive Lean IT. The book is divided into three parts that collectively explore how people, processes, and technology combine forces to facilitate continuous improvement: Part One: Building Blocks of the Lean Enterprise sets forth the essentials of Lean. Readers discover where, when, and how Lean IT adds substantial value to the Lean Enterprise through integrated processes of planning, scheduling, execution, control, and decision making across the full spectrum of operations. Part Two: Building Blocks of Information Systems explores the primary components of an enterprise information system and how these components may be integrated to improve the flow of information supporting value streams. Readers learn how information systems help organize and deliver knowledge when and where its needed. Part Three: Managing Change with IT demonstrates how the skillful combination of process and information technology improvements empowers people to continuously improve the Lean Enterprise. Readers develop the skills to exploit emerging information technology tools and change management methods, crafting a Lean IT framework reducing waste, complexity, and lead time while adding measurable value. Executives, managers, and improvement teams across a broad range of industries, as well as IT professionals, can apply the techniques described in this publication to improve performance, add value, and create competitive advantage. The book's clear style and practical focus also makes it an excellent textbook for upper level undergraduate and graduate courses in business, operations management, and business information systems.

Review:
'This is a great book...if you are in need of a comprehensive source that ties together lean, six sigma, strategy management, and IT, this is the book for you.' (APICS Magazine, July/August 2006) 'A substantial amount of detailed information about business and manufacturing processes is presented, and this book would well serve the technology professional...' (CHOICE, April 2006)

Table of Contents:
Foreword (C. Ptak). Preface: The Goal of this Book. PART I: BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE LEAN ENTERPRISE. 1. Lean and IT: The Human Factor. 2. Realizing the Value of Lean. 3. Three Stages of Lean Evloution. 4. Fundamentals of Production and Inventory Management. 5. Lean Planning and Execution. PART II: BUILDING BLOCKS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS. 6. Charting the Enterprise Software Universe. 7. Integrating the Value Streams. 8. Managing Knowledge for Competitive Advantage. PART III: MANAGING CHANGE WITH IT. 9. The Event-Driven Lean Enterprise. 10. Linking Strategy with Action: Performance Management. 11. Lean IT: Applying Continuous Improvement to Information Systems. Postscript: Zen and the Art of Lean Manufacturing. Acknowledgements. Acronyms. Endnotes. Index.

Author Biography:
STEVE BELL is President and cofounder of Steady Improvement, Inc., a management consulting firm dedicated to improving business effectiveness through the alignment of people, processes, and information technology. He is a Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management (CFPIM) by the Association for Operations Management (APICS).