Since the generalized adoption of Lean management and 6 sigma methods, manufacturing has become less and less of a differentiating factor.
Today, production performance is relatively homogeneous within the same sector. In product development, on the other hand, progress has been slower and more heterogeneous and the performance of the various actors remains uneven.
Our working principles are based on mastery of 4 fundamental areas:
4 priorities:
1. Product Policy or greater consistency between marketing policy and development strategy – Decoupling innovation & product launches, and resource flexibility;
2. Development methods (OBS/WBS – Set Based – Simulation – Standardization of low-level tasks)
3. Project management to handle unavoidable contingencies – Catch Ball; Stage Gates, Nemawashi, Obeyas, resource loads.
4. Kaizen for continuous improvement – A3/Visual management; PDVSM, 7 mudas, Hansai.
From cutting-edge industries
As with Manufacturing, it was the automotive industry, and Toyota in particular, that paved the way, back in the 1960s and 1970s. It demonstrated that the key to performance lies in mastering the practices of these four fields.