Application of lean thinking to business processes

2 Application of lean thinking to business processes Order to replenishment 

The order replenishment cycle concerns the time taken to replenish what has been sold. Lean thinking seeks to manage the order replenishment cycle by replacing only what has been sold within rapid replenishment lead times. These points are taken up in the next two sections of this chapter, on vendor-managed inventory and on quick response. 

The order to production cycle is the series of steps that are followed to respond to an order, organise and undertake production, and deliver the product to the customer. This make to order process may be contained within a company or can extend down the supply chain. 

Product development delivers new products or services that can be sold. This process is essential if an organisation is to have future success. Lean thinking can be applied to this process to make it more effective by supporting the development of products with desirable attributes and features and achieving this on time. It can also make the process more efficient and ensure that products are developed to cost. 

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