The Newsletter of Lean Manufacturing Strategy
Learning Curves in Manufacturing & Marketing Strategy |
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Kansas City |
25 OCT 2014 |
Issue# 97 |
Conflict with Sales?
Low Profitability?
Losing A Price War?
Learning curves may help! Learning curve theory shows that production costs, even direct labor, are not fixed or immutable. They are even (somewhat) predictable. And they should be going down.
If you want to know Lean, you must know about Learning Curves. They are the basis for Continuous Improvement, often cited as a pillar of Lean Manufacturing.
Our articles on the Learning Curve give a brief overview of theory and explains how it relates to individuals, departments, workcells and factories. The latest and last installment discusses the effects upon Manufacturing Strategy and Marketing Strategy. It explains a lot about cost and price behavior over extended time periods.
Learning curves are important to a viable marketing strategy and, subsequently, to a consistent and supportive Manufacturing Strategy. It is often inconsistency between Marketing and Manufacturing Strategies that brings the two functions into conflict. For example, Marketing may need delivery performance more than anything while manufacturing sacrifices delivery to keep cost low.
Check out the pages on Learning Curves in Marketing & Manufacturing Strategy or download the entire series in a PDF file. I think you will find them intriguing.
We also offer training and facilitating in Manufacturing Strategy. Please feel free to call me at the number below to explore the possibilities.
Best Regards,
Quarterman Lee
816-931-1414
