What are the best Lean Metrics for your product or service?

1 Cycle Time

Cycle time is the time it takes to complete a process or a task, from start to finish. It is a key indicator of your efficiency, productivity, and responsiveness. By measuring and reducing your cycle time, you can deliver your product or service faster, meet customer demand, and save costs. To calculate your cycle time, you can use the formula: cycle time = work time / number of units produced or serviced.

2 Lead Time

Lead time is the time it takes to fulfill a customer order or request, from the moment they place it to the moment they receive it. It is a key indicator of your customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. By measuring and reducing your lead time, you can improve your customer experience, reduce inventory, and increase cash flow. To calculate your lead time, you can use the formula: lead time = process time + wait time + inspection time + move time + queue time.

3 Value Stream Mapping

Value stream mapping is a tool that helps you visualize and analyze the flow of materials, information, and activities that create value for your customer. It is a key method to identify and eliminate waste, streamline processes, and increase value. By creating and improving your value stream map, you can optimize your product or service delivery, reduce errors, and enhance quality. To create your value stream map, you can use symbols, data, and arrows to represent each step of your value stream.

4 Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a metric that measures how well you utilize your equipment, machines, and tools. It is a key indicator of your quality, availability, and performance. By measuring and improving your OEE, you can maximize your output, minimize your downtime, and reduce your defects. To calculate your OEE, you can use the formula: OEE = availability x performance x quality.

5 Inventory Turnover

Inventory turnover is a metric that measures how often you sell or use your inventory in a given period. It is a key indicator of your demand, profitability, and cash flow. By measuring and increasing your inventory turnover, you can reduce your inventory costs, avoid obsolescence, and improve your liquidity. To calculate your inventory turnover, you can use the formula: inventory turnover = cost of goods sold / average inventory.

6 Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is a metric that measures how satisfied your customers are with your product or service, and how likely they are to recommend it to others. It is a key indicator of your value proposition, market fit, and competitive advantage. By collecting and analyzing your customer feedback, you can understand your customer needs, expectations, and preferences, and improve your product or service accordingly. To collect your customer feedback, you can use surveys, reviews, ratings, testimonials, or interviews.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?