Lean is NOT About Outsourcing
Evolving Excellence’s Kevin Meyer will comment on this after his
vacation, I’m sure (read
his other Boeing comments starting here).
There’s a piece in Time Magazine and it makes a very misguided
reference to “lean.”
Boeing is planning to shift the emphasis on speed to
the production line. It took a
page from lean manufacturing to help manage its restructured
partner base and outsourcing of parts. The company has
pushed outsourcing to new levels, about 70% of the aircraft.
(Boeing and Airbus both averaged about 50% on previous
jets.)
I don’t know Boeing’s business well, so I’m not so much questioning
their supply chain strategies here. But, I do take issue with
Boeing (or more likely, the reporter) equating lean to
outsourcing.
There’s nothing in the Lean or Toyota Production System approaches
that says you should outsource, or that outsourcing is a good
thing. Toyota doesn’t make all of their parts, but outsourcing is a
business decision that’s somewhat separate from lean, right? What
percentage of Toyota’s “value add” is done in house? If you’re
outsourcing and that leads to longer lead times (say, you outsource
to China), that’s a problem. The lean approach values fast response
and short lead time supply chains.
The folks in the article also take a different view of “value.”
To Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis for
Teal Group, an aerospace and defense consultancy, the 787’s
production process qualifies it as the iPod of
aerospace–essentially not only the new face of aviation but of
American manufacturing as well. “Look at your iPod. Where was it built? Who the hell cares? That’s
not where the value is,” he says. “You design, you
integrate, you sell, you support, you finance. There’s a lot to be
said for putting it together under your roof, but leave bending
metal or pouring plastic to someone else.”
What do you think about this? Traditionally, we view “value” as the
value creating manufacturing steps that actually change the product
in some way. Aboulafia pooh-poohs that dirty manufacturing stuff,
but thinks value is created by financing?
We have different definitions of “value” here. The lean definition
of value follows three rules:
- The customer must value the activity (be willing to pay for
it) - The activity must change the form, fit, or function of the
product - The activity must be done right the first time
Finance doesn’t really fit those rules, does it?
Is this a new “iPod
world” or does manufacturing still provide the true value to
customers??
