


  1. Specific value as perceived by the customer: When it comes to being lean, value is defined by the customer. Many organisations fail to observe a product from the customer’s viewpoint. Products should be created to suit customers’ needs; for example, organisations may need to re-examine the product itself if demand is poor rather than changing marketing strategy. Simply put, when creating a product, make sure that you are addressing customers’ needs and giving them what they want.
  2. Identifying the value stream: The value stream is the entire lifecycle of a product from the origin of the raw material/idea to the finished product. If an organisation examines the entire process, it will almost always reveal a large amount of waste (this is known as process re-engineering). If an organisation wishes to become truly lean, the value stream must be analysed and improved.
  3. Making the value flow through the value stream: For the value to flow then waste needs to be eliminated. If the process fails to move forward, then this can be considered waste. A value-stream needs to be created where every aspect of production is completely synchronised with all the other elements. A proper structure, therefore, needs to be put in place to make sure that the entire production stream flows efficiently, thus eliminating waste.