Manufacturing continues to become a commodity within the value chain. That fact is indisputable. Lean manufacturing principles provide a strong foundation to support many manufacturing methods, including make to order, assemble to order, repetitive manufacturing, and a host of other methods. However, lean manufacturing by itself is not enough for success. With today’s volatile demand and fragmented supply environments, you must combine lean manufacturing principles with the principles of six sigma so you can understand and address the causes of variability and better manage exceptions.

However indisputable the benefits of lean manufacturing and six sigma, in today’s fast-moving, complex business environment, you must continually adapt. You must do so by handling large amounts of data and executing complex workflows while electronically communicating any exceptions simultaneously to multiple locations. In an environment like this, you need enabling software applications and a stable technology platform. Without IT, your organization can’t be a truly lean or six sigma enterprise. To create an adaptive manufacturing environment, you must be able to access real-time information from the plant floor and the supply chain and then use this information to manage exceptions with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) applications.