How do you map customer value and eliminate waste?

There are four main types of customer value. They are Functional Value, Monetary Value, Social Value, and Psychological Value. It is critical to keep in mind that customer value changes. Sometimes the change can be swift, depending on their current needs. Therefore, the data on customer value need to be contemporary.

Understanding customer value is crucial for businesses to build strong relationships with their customers. By focusing on meeting customer needs and expectations, companies can create products and services that resonate with their target audience. This approach not only fosters satisfaction and loyalty but also contributes to long-term success and growth. Identifying and addressing customer pain points can lead to innovation and differentiation in the market, enhancing the overall value proposition.

Imagine you are a chef trying to create a new dish. You start by identifying the flavors that your customers will enjoy. Then, you experiment with different ingredients and cooking techniques until you find the perfect combination. The same principle applies to mapping customer value and eliminating waste. You start by identifying what your customers value. Then, you experiment with different changes to the process until you find the ones that have the biggest impact on the customer experience. Kaizen is a powerful tool that can help you map customer value and eliminate waste, which will lead to a better customer experience and improved business results. And never forget: It's a continuous process.

I completely agree with this perspective of customer value. In my experience, I have felt that the customers feel really comfortable and valued if you are honest and truthful. Most of the time, we encounter a situation where a part is delayed or a service cannot be delivered. Just tell them. Their inconvenience will be temporary but in the long run they will know they can trust you and your word. Mistake happens when we hide the truth. Instead of telling them 5 days we tell them the part will be in tomorrow. Out of fear that you will lose your image. That is when problems happen in the long run. They will never trust you and therefore you fail the fundamentals of customer value.

Following these steps enables you to deliver value while reducing waste: 1. Know Value: Understand what customers value. 2. Map Process: Visualize the entire process. 3. Spot Waste: Identify and categorize waste. 4. Add Value: Keep only steps that add value. 5. Improve Continuously: Cultivate a culture of ongoing improvement. 6. Standardize: Create consistent, efficient processes. 7. Respond to Demand: Use a pull system to avoid overproduction. 8. Smooth Flow: Eliminate bottlenecks and delays. 9. Empower Teams: Involve employees in finding solutions. 10. Measure Progress: Track key metrics for improvement. 11. Kaizen Events: Hold focused improvement sessions. 12. Incorporate Tech: Use technology to enhance efficiency.

Customer value in Technical Sales or Sales in general is the key to building successful business relationships . Knowing what the Customer wants only comes from effectively listening to the customer. Communication cannot be all one sided from the sales person. Often customers know what they want but are unsure of what they need to get where they want to be. Effective meetings help us to navigate our way through the customer requirements until we develop an idea on what are achievable outcomes and best case scenarios for the customer while at the same time helping them navigate their concerns on changing a process, product or service . Customer is a Business partner by another name and to bring success we need to value our Business partners

Customer value is not only about customer feel, also the quality of the feel should be a point, if the quality we deliver is for a while and the provided quality should make customer revisit for product. Repeating customer is success nowadays.

Customer value refers to the perceived benefits that customers receive from a product or service. It includes quality, price, convenience, and overall satisfaction.

Customer value is the perceived worth that a customer attributes to a product or service they receive from a company. It's the balance between the benefits a customer gains and the costs (not just financial, but also time, effort, and emotional investment) they have to bear in order to acquire and use the product or service.

Waste means anything that doesn't help customers or your business. It's caused by inefficiencies, mistakes, delays, and more in processes. Waste uses resources, lowers quality, and costs more. To stop waste, study processes and find the reasons for it.

If we adopt a structured approach to identify wastes like WORMPIIT, it provides a systematic method to categorize and address different types of waste, encompassing Waiting, Overproduction, Rejects, Motion, Processing, Inventory, Information, and Transportation. By systematically evaluating waste across these dimensions, organizations can acquire a more comprehensive grasp of inefficiencies and implement focused enhancements.

To eliminate waste team also needs to be trained on lean and six sigma principles, since the ground level work can identifies more improvements that is really needed.

For a service industry, wastages arrive when you put more pressure on the ground staffs / associates for creating better customer experience. The way how delivery needs to be made is the natural way, when your teams are comfortable, have the required tools, ideas, sufficient information regarding the product and what’s currently happening in industry, different ways of handling customer’s emotion, empowerment to go beyond. To achieve the above points, we need to first work on creating a better agent / ground staff experience through modifying tools, revisiting policies to make agents life easier, providing enough information, templates and empowerment which would make the agent more capable and take ownership on handling that query.

Identifying processes that have negatively impacted outcomes but haven’t been mapped is essential for comprehensive waste elimination. These hidden or undocumented processes can contribute to inefficiencies and waste, affecting overall productivity and quality. Conducting a thorough analysis to uncover these hidden processes allows businesses to address underlying issues and make informed improvements. By continuously seeking out and addressing all sources of waste, companies can enhance their operations, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.

Waste refers to any material, energy, or resources that are discarded or not effectively utilized. It can include things like excess production, inefficiencies, and unnecessary expenses.

Simply put waste is anything that doesn't add value for the finished product. There are seven types. Researching this topic waste will also be referred to as Muda.

Cost Reduction through waste elimination/reduction (Muda, Muri, Mura). Define Manufacturing Process/Parameters, test run/validate new equipment, product/process,Train Team Leads and Associates on new equipment, process, and quality requirements), Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement (Root cause analysis RCA, GDT, S.P.C, 6S-6 Sigma, OEE, Kaizen, Kanban), APQP process i.e. PPAP, PFMEA, QCP, Communication with Cross Functional Team), Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, Power Point, Project, Access), Verify and maintain Product and Process Requirements/Specification (GDT, C.M.M, S.P.C, KPI).

The best roadmap for creating VSM is following this sequence: Scope definition: Clearly outline the process's start and end points to establish the mapping boundaries. Team formation: Assemble a cross-functional team. Identify product family: Choose a specific product or process family to focus on for precise results. Current VSM: Create a visual map of the existing process, detailing every step, resource, and time involved. Identify waste: Pinpoint areas of waste and inefficiency within the process. Future VSM: Design a future VSM, illustrating the ideal, waste-free process state after improvements. Implementation plan: Develop a detailed plan outlining steps, responsibilities, timelines, and resources for implementing improvements.

Value stream mapping is a visual tool used to analyze and improve the flow of materials and information in a process. It helps identify waste, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement. To use it, you map out the current state of the process, identify areas for improvement, and create a future state map to visualize the desired improvements.

A great way to do this is via profiling which reduces the work required. This involves running a small subset of customer interviews to identify customer personas - so commonly held wants/needs/ values/ pain points that bind customers into groups or personas of commonly held wants/needs etc. Saves alot of time and helps you target groups of customers not the whole base at once.

To use the voice of the customer, you gather feedback and insights directly from customers to understand their needs, preferences, and expectations. This can be done through surveys, interviews, reviews, or social media listening. Analyze the feedback to identify patterns and prioritize areas for improvement to better meet customer expectations.

When listening to customers, it is important to involve them in early stages of the project, as well as to put in place a clear and structured process that allows the incorporation of feedback in every stage of product / service development

A study by IKEA indicates that the average time we spend looking for something is over 6.5 months of our lives, which is equivalent to almost 5,000 hours spent looking for things. 5S in our life could help us reduce this significantly. I think this in itself is a good motivation for us to learn and apply 5S principles in our home and workplace alike.

To use 5S, you follow a set of principles to organize and improve workplace efficiency. The five steps are: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Start by eliminating unnecessary items (Sort), arrange necessary items in a logical manner (Set in Order), clean and maintain the workspace (Shine), establish standard procedures (Standardize), and ensure ongoing adherence to the system (Sustain).

In the "Define" phase of Six Sigma's DMAIC method, selection of right problem is key. For example, rather than solving reduction of the pipe rejection rate, we focus on reducing leakage defects of pipes from 10000 DPMO to 2000 DPMO. This targeted approach acknowledges that different defects which could lead to rejection of pipes have distinct root causes. By addressing critical defects, we ensure impactful and tailored solutions aligned with Six Sigma's principles of data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement. This phase lays the foundation for the entire DMAIC process.

DMAIC is the most robust, scientific and fact based approach methodology in the universe of continuous improvement. When I discovered the logic and the Power behind the DMAIC, my whole world changed forever! When we understand what it means 3.4 defects per million opportunities, every other methodology it’s just laughable 🤣