Lean Solutions

A massive disconnect exists between consumers and providers today. Consumers have a greater selection of higher quality goods to choose from and can obtain these items from a growing number of sources. Computers, cars, and even big-box retail sites promise to solve our every need. So why aren't consumers any happier? Because everything surrounding the process of obtaining and using all these products causes us frustration and disappointment. Why is it that, when our computers or our cell phones fail to satisfy our needs, virtually every interaction with help lines, support centers, or any organization providing service is marked with wasted time and extra hassle? And who among us hasn't spent countless hours in the waiting room at the doctor's office, or driven away from the mechanic only to have the "fix engine" light go on?

In their bestselling business classic Lean Thinking, James Womack and Daniel Jones introduced the world to the principles of lean production — principles for eliminating waste during production. Now, in Lean Solutions, the authors establish the groundbreaking principles of lean consumption, showing companies how to eliminate inefficiency during consumption.

The problem is neither that companies don't care nor that the people trying to fix our broken products are inept. Rather, it's that few companies today see consumption as a process — a series of linked goods and services, all of which must occur seamlessly for the consumer to be satisfied. Buying a home computer, for example, involves researching, purchasing, integrating, maintaining, upgrading, and, ultimately, replacing it.

In this landmark new book, JamesWomack and Daniel Jones deconstruct this broken producer-consumer model and show businesses how to repair it. Across all industries, companies that apply the principles of lean consumption will learn how to provide the full value consumers desire from products without wasting time or effort — theirs or the consumers' — and as a result these companies will be more profitable and competitive.

Lean Solutions is full of surprising success stories: Fujitsu, a leading service company for technology, has transformed the way call centers solve problems — learning how to eliminate the underlying cause of current problems rather than fixing them again and again. An extremely successful car dealership has adopted lean principles to streamline its business, making for dramatically reduced wait time, fewer return trips, and greater satisfaction for customers — and a far more lucrative enterprise.

Lean Solutions will inspire managers to take the first steps toward perfecting their company's process of giving consumers what they really want.

• Preface: From Lean Production to Lean Solutions
• Introduction: Lean Consumption Meets Lean Provision
• Chapter 1: Learning to See Consumption
• Chapter 2: Learning to See Provision
• Chapter 3: Solve My Problem Completely
• Chapter 4: Don't Waste My Time
• Chapter 5: Get Me Exactly What I Want
• Chapter 6: Provide Value Where I Want
• Chapter 7: Solve My Problem When I Want
• Chapter 8: The Challenge of Lean Provision: The Role of the Manager
• Chapter 9: Get Me the Solution I Really Want: The Role for the Lean Entrepreneur
• Chapter 10: Solve My Complete Problem Permanently
• Conclusion: Lean Solutions

The self-styled gurus of Lean, takes on Lean Solutions (aka the Service Sector). And makes me wonder what is all the fuzz about? Anyone knowlewdgeable about CRM and Product Development (aka nearly every Marketing Executive worth his salt) knows more than is presented in this book. Simplistic and naive are words that immediately comes to mind while you read this. The authors may be very good when discussing manufacturing and supply chains, but in this area they unfortunately show their lack of knowledge very openly.

Ramblings are the best way I could describe this failure.