Su fábrica Lean como Showroom – Utilizar Lean para Impulsar las Ventas

Hemos vuelto a tener el placer de visitar una de nuestras empresas favoritas en Japón, y una de las que los clientes de nuestras misiones de estudio regulares en Japón califican continuamente como una experiencia destacada de su estancia en el país.

Como fábrica lean, esta empresa es un excelente ejemplo, y los beneficios que se derivan de su cultura lean en términos de seguridad, calidad, productividad, reducción de los plazos de entrega y mejora de la cuota de mercado son impresionantes (¡más adelante!). Sin embargo, hay otro aspecto de la empresa que es igualmente impresionante y que contribuye de forma muy positiva a sus ventas: su estrategia formal de hospitalidad y exhibición de su fábrica.

El Grupo Isuzu – Metal One

ElGrupo Isuzu es la división de servicios siderúrgicos del gigante multinacional japonés Metal One, especializada en la transformación y venta de acero laminado en frío. La empresa cuenta con varios centros de servicio regionales en todo Japón que procesan (normalmente cortando) bobinas de acero de diversos grados y espesores para su distribución a una serie de industrias, incluida la del automóvil, que exigen un servicio fiable y puntual.

Isuzu cree que la distribución de bobinas es una economía anticuada y que, para seguir siendo rentable en este sector maduro, la empresa debe centrarse en la reducción de costes mediante el aumento de la eficiencia empresarial. Para hacer frente a este reto, Isuzu ha desarrollado una cultura muy especial centrada en el desarrollo Staff y la mejora continua, y los resultados se reflejan en la calidad de sus productos y servicios, en la moral de su joven y vibrante plantilla y en la cuota de mercado de su empresa.

Entre los diversos programas que la empresa tiene en marcha, su visión de “fábrica como Showroom” es uno que a menudo pasa desapercibido, pero que, en mi opinión, es tremendamente valioso y debería servir de ejemplo para que nuestros clientes lo imiten. Me gustaría destacar el valor de este enfoque de aprovechar una sólida cultura de mejora continua y lean manufacturing para apoyar el desarrollo de la marca corporativa y aumentar las ventas.

Vea a continuación una instantánea en vídeo de la hospitalidad proporcionada por Isuzu en una Visita a Fábrica de lean.

Factory Presentation – A Strong First Impression

Our first visit to an Isuzu Group service center with our clients was in 2014 following a fortunate introduction whilst implementing a lean manufacturing program at one of Metal One’s off-shore processing facilities. The ex-pat Japanese CEO described Isuzu’s service centers as a must see example of what an engaged workforce could achieve through continuous improvement. Even with these high expectations we were amazed by what we encountered on our first and every subsequent visit.

The presentation of the factory is the most obvious initial wow-factor for many of our clients. In comparing with the presentation (or lack there-of) of metal processing facilities in our own countries, the Isuzu Group service center was a standout for its clean, attractive and well-organized environment.

On closer inspection we could see the hallmarks of a thorough 5S program, something we discovered that they are extremely dedicated to – with a 5S Patrol and Safety Patrol carried out daily, with the responsibility for these audits shared across every member of their factory, office and logistics staff.

Safety and 5S audit report results shared with all staff at morning meeting by the staff members responsible for carrying out the patrols the previous day

With time we were noticing the depth to which their program was implemented. On one occasion, we noted that they had even run their 1S “sort” filter across the buttons on their machines and control panels, dividing buttons into “necessary” and “unnecessary” categories, and uninstalling and blanking out those that were not required. They explained to us the benefits that resulted from less buttons, dials and levers, in terms of easier training and less operational errors.

The results of a strong culture of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement have been well documented, in terms of safety, quality, productivity, staff morale, lead time, company profitability and sustainability, and other metrics. All of these factors are on show during our visits.

As we walk into the factory, we first pass the board tracking their safety record – a subtle reminder to staff each day of the need for safe work practices. Impressively, the service center we most often visit has achieved a record 2496 days straight (nearly 7 years) without a paper-cut level injury.

Part of the secret to this is the approach to safety training taken by the company. Recognizing the limited value in lecturing staff on safety in a meeting room, all safety training takes place on the shop floor with each staff member responsible for creating incident demonstrations that can be experienced by all employees. Rather than talk about the danger of a coil suddenly unraveling, metal sheets falling from a crane, a worker being crushed by moving equipment, etc., they choose to create these safety incidents, often with a hapless mannequin bearing the full force of the impact or incident.

The photo below shows our team experiencing the result a small, lightweight coil accidentally being nudged – a domino effect capable of crippling a worker. Feeling the impact of that last coil slamming into the ground, the importance of stacking and securing coils correctly immediately hit home.

Other experiments witnessed demonstrated lessons that are not immediately intuitive. For example, the value of a safety helmet’s harness can easily be dismissed – however an impact to an up-turned terra cotta pot protected by a helmet fitted with and without a harness, quickly demonstrates how the impact resistant nature of a helmet is severely compromised in the latter case. These lessons, when experienced, stick – and the program has been so successful that Isuzu now regularly invites clients – those staff that handle and use their product, to join these training sessions together with Isuzu Group staff.

From a productivity perspective, the Isuzu Group has been benchmarked against rival companies in Japan, with findings showing that on a factory area basis, they are on average processing twice as much volume as their competitors with half the number of staff. In other words, their productivity on a per person basis is four times that of the remaining industry!

Quality KPIs are similarly impressive with an extremely low number of customer claims relating to order errors or damaged products. Efficient operations supported by a high level of standardized work and their enterprise resource planning system developed in-house, not only allowed them to achieve a high processing volume, but in conjunction with their internal logistics division, has enabled them to respond to urgent orders with a lead time of between 2 to 3 hours from receipt of order to dispatch to their customer, without compromising their day’s production schedule.

What appeared to be high levels of inventory of finished product, not what you would expect from a lean factory, turned out to represent only 1.5 days of stock, a level which they continue to work on to bring down (on a recent visit we witnessed them tracking (on a daily basis – on a whiteboard for all staff to see) reductions in the volume of inventory held on their premises – a KPI that one of their staff was leading the charge on).

Behind a truly Lean Factory is an Empowered Workforce

A hallmark of a strong lean culture, and one of the aspects that differentiates the Toyota Production System apart from the historical approach to industrial engineering, is the approach to staff development. The Isuzu Group’s approach is called Zenin Sankaku, or loosely translated, All-In Management. This fundamental philosophy is an approach that emphasizes the role that every staff member has in management and company improvement, and guides the company’s approach to teamwork, information sharing, 5S, etiquette and manners, and a sense of ownership and autonomy in leading initiatives within the company. Their approach is quite the opposite to a command and control hierarchical workforce structure, and differs in feel to the approach taken by many other companies we visit in Japan, including what we experience on our Toyota tours.

Related to this philosophy is Isuzu’s annual General Employee Meeting which brings together all 800 staff from across Japan. Younger members of the workforce act as moderators for the meeting, which is carried out without any formal script and draws on many different employees taking the stage to share their ideas, thoughts and projects. Being dynamic in nature, and morphing to meet the current needs and transformation aspirations of the group, the meeting is different year to year, with no-one knowing what kind of meeting they will experience until it actually starts. Although an internal event, typically more than 100 shareholders and customers choose to join each year to witness the meeting.

The results of this philosophy are evident in the vibrancy of the staff and effectiveness of the young workforce that are often called on to take leading roles in new initiatives and projects. It is this opportunity for development that makes The Isuzu Group an attractive choice for employment among the dwindling pool of young workers in Japan. All-In Management as a philosophy has been so successful that Isuzu has formalized the approach through a consulting and training program that it now provides to companies outside of the Metal One group.

The Visitor Experience – Hospitality as a Strategy

The Isuzu Group strives towards its goal of being a “Visionary Company,” taking inspiration from Jim Collins and Jerry Porras’ business classic Built to Last. Among the many programs that have been driven by their workforce in pursuit of this goal, is the concept of “Factory as a Showroom.” In its most simplistic form this could be interpreted from the viewpoint of merely maintaining a well-presented, pleasing to the eye factory, however in Isuzu’s case this is taken much further with the strategy including standardization and training for all of their staff in hospitality.

Nice touches include the greetings received from staff as we enter their work areas, coffee served immediately on arrival, name plates to help us with seating, explanations given by different team leaders at each stop within the factory and office, attentiveness of staff and clear preparation for our arrival, prepared explanations accompanied by explanation boards, right through to our hosts waving us farewell until we are out of sight.

Impulsar las ventas mediante la exhibición de su fábrica

Lo que experimentamos cuando visitamos Isuzu como parte de cada viaje de estudios a Japón se creó inicialmente para acoger las visitas de los clientes actuales y potenciales de Isuzu. El equipo de ventas invita a los posibles clientes a reunirse con ellos en los centros de servicio. En lugar de una laboriosa presentación de ventas, el representante de ventas lleva al cliente potencial a través de su fábrica, presentando al personal de la misma y dejando que sean ellos y la presentación de la fábrica los que hablen.

Los japoneses tienen fama de ser especialmente adversos al riesgo y son increíblemente minuciosos a la hora de evaluar a los posibles proveedores. ¿Es esta empresa capaz de ofrecer un suministro constante y de alta calidad? ¿Son capaces de cumplir los plazos de entrega acordados? ¿Están sus operaciones adecuadamente gestionadas y cubiertas por el trabajo estandarizado? ¿Están orgullosos de su trabajo? ¿Me decepcionarán a mí y a mi empresa?

Las respuestas a estas preguntas no se pueden encontrar en una presentación de ventas, especialmente para una cultura de fabricación que se enorgullece del genchi, genbutsu (esencialmente, ir y ver por uno mismo). Al salir de un centro de servicio Isuzu, uno no puede evitar sentir el deseo de presentar a este grupo como un proveedor de confianza para su empresa.

En el caso de los clientes existentes, la visita a la fábrica suele ir seguida de un paseo por el menú visual de servicios de Isuzu, que relaciona los servicios de valor añadido con los clientes que actualmente utilizan esas ofertas. Esto ayuda a crear conversaciones que llevan a que los visitantes consideren servicios de valor añadido adicionales.

El deseo de crear una experiencia de este tipo no es la fuerza motriz de la cultura de excelencia en la fabricación de Isuzu, sino que es un resultado que se utiliza para construir la reputación del grupo e impulsar las ventas. Reconociendo el valor de esta experiencia, Isuzu ha formalizado una estrategia para mostrar sus operaciones, que ha culminado en su programa “Factory as a Showroom“.

Este programa ha tenido tanto éxito que en los últimos años han aprovechado el Staff (liberado de las operaciones a lo largo de los años gracias a las mejoras de la productividad y la automatización) para asesorar a empresas ajenas a su grupo, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, con el fin de que desarrollen programas similares para su organización (si esto es de interés, háznoslo saber y te pondremos en contacto).

Preparando su experiencia en la Showroom de la fábrica de lean

¿Actualmente muestra su entorno de fábrica a los clientes? ¿Sus operaciones son de un nivel lo suficientemente alto como para poder invitar con confianza a los posibles clientes a recorrer la tienda en cualquier momento? ¿Su personal, en todos los niveles y funciones de su organización, tiene confianza y es capaz de interactuar con los visitantes, vestirse adecuadamente y explicar bien el contenido de su trabajo? ¿Dispone de una estrategia formal para recibir a los visitantes, o se lleva a cabo de forma ad hoc?

Tanto para las empresas B2B como para las B2C, aprovechar su fábrica como Showroom representa una enorme oportunidad para construir la marca de su empresa, desarrollar relaciones más sólidas con los clientes y apoyar al equipo de desarrollo comercial para impulsar las ventas.