Lean webinar
6. Customers savvy
Is lean too focused on the customer and not the ultimate consumer? Submitted by Andrew Prest
Simon Spanyol: “I would argue that lean can be focussed on the ultimate consumer, if for example, you take the Mars Inc. Quality Principle: “The consumer is our boss, quality is our work and value for money is our goal”. Mars is very clear that running their business well and striving for continuous improvement is of direct benefit to the end consumer.
“I talked about the importance of ‘mutuality’. If a retailer were to help its suppliers drive lean but use this only to take a higher trade margin, then clearly it would be of little or no benefit to their consumers or suppliers and, in my view, they would be a customer you should consider losing as they will not be in your long term best interests.”