Published in Digger Magazine - Lean for the Long Haul - By knowing how to overcome obstacles, you can implement a Lean process at your company that will pay long-term dividends.
Published in eSide Supply Management, a publication of the Institute for Supply Management, and ranked Most Popular Article of 2010 - Negotiating on Cost, Not Price: Understanding Why TCO is an Underused Negotiation Approach, and How to Switch Gears - While the concept of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) has been around for more than 30 years, many companies are still using part price as the key component for negotiations with their suppliers. If TCO is such a good approach, why doesn't everyone adopt it to reduce supply chain costs?
Published in Industry Week - Avoiding Obsolete Inventory: Possession is 9/10ths of the Problem - In an ongoing examination of inventory strategies, Rick shows how S&OP planning, auto-replenishment systems, and ramp-up/ramp-down discipline can not only mitigate obsolete inventory, but prevent it from building up in the first place.
Published in Industry Week - Everybody's Jumping On The Lean Bandwagon, But Many Are Being Taken For A Ride - Manufacturers are climbing on the Lean bandwagon in droves. The Industry Week/MPI Census of Manufacturers, released in November 2007, shows that nearly 70 percent of all plants in the US are currently employing Lean Manufacturing as an improvement methodology. But is Lean right for every company?
Published in CEO Refresher - We're Going Lean, Where's The Payoff? - Lean manufacturing, Lean operations, Lean administration, Lean accounting. It seems that everywhere you turn, Lean is permeating American industry. According to a recent Industry Week survey, 70% of all manufacturing plants in the US are implementing Lean. Yet, the same article says, "The jury is still out on exactly what the end result of the Lean initiative should be."
The facts show that process improvement projects don't always work. In fact, in 60% of cases, companies who launch process improvement initiatives are right back where they started after only five years. Why do they see some success but then fizzle out? How can you make Lean last? On October 12th, 2010 Rick addressed this question and others in a 23-minute presentation to CEOs of manufacturing companies. Click here to listen for yourself.
In this 32-minutes presentation, Rick Pay reveals how to create a viable strategy for hiring and managing labor in a recovering economy. Topics include how to use temporary workers effectively, shift structuring, and understanding the real costs behind labor. Rick Pay on Hiring and Managing Labor
In his most recent appearance on Tom Cox's radio program, Rick discusses Supplier Partnerships.
Tom Cox of Leadership Radio interviews Rick Pay on Leading Lean.