Customer-centered problem solving

If there is no single best way to attract new customers and retain current customers, there is surely an easy way to lose them: fail to solve the problems that arise in nearly every buyer-supplier relationship, or solve them in an unsatisfactory manner. Yet, all too frequently, companies do just that. Either we deny that a problem exists, we exert all our efforts to pin the blame elsewhere, or we "Band-Aid" the problem instead of fixing it, almost guaranteeing that we will face it again and again.     

Structured problem solving for materiel managers

A structured approach to problem solving and solution documentation is one of the keys to continuous improvement. Without it, it is quite possible to solve the wrong problem, to solve the right problem in the wrong way, or (maybe worst of all) to solve the same problem over and over again. Companies that have figured out how to solve the right problems in the right way, once and for all, will ultimately move forward much faster than their competitors.     

World-class materiel flexibility: one plant's victory over materiel-related downtime

It is not uncommon for the materiel managers in a manufacturing company to be blamed for downtime and the consequent failure to meet production targets. To avoid downtime, materiel managers need to look at their role in solving materiel-related downtime and to address the problems that cause downtime in the same way they would address other process quality problems.