Lean and Agile

Supply Chain Management:

Lean and Agile Approaches

Candidate Name: Chen Jingyi

Candidate No.: 085069187

Submission Date: 2nd Apr. 2009

Introduction

The whole report is based on Motorola, which covering three parts. In the first part, it will demonstrate the knowledge and skills, describe the concept of modern manufacturing methods in a lean and agile manufacturing, as well as introduce the techniques it uses. In the second part, these techniques will be critically evaluated in the accomplishment of lean and supply chain management. In the final part, resultant benefits will be identified in a lean and agile approach to supply chain management.

Background of Motorola

Motorola, Inc. is an American, multinational, Fortune 100, telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It is a manufacturer of wireless telephone handsets, also designing and selling wireless network infrastructure equipment such as cellular transmission base stations and signal amplifiers. Motorola's home and broadcast network products include set-top boxes, digital video recorders, and network equipment used to enable video broadcasting, computer telephony, and high-definition television. Its business and government customers consist mainly of wireless voice and broadband systems used to build private networks and public safety communications systems.

a. Explain the concept of modern lean and agile methods

“Lean manufacturing or lean production, which is often known simply as "Lean", is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination.” (wikipedia, 2009)

Generally speaking, the aim of lean thinking is to eliminate all waste in order to achieve business excellence. Therefore, it can add value to customers. (Zhu, 2009) See appendix 1.

Three are five principles of lean thinking, as following:

The first one is it specify what...