A softly spoken Toyota sensei once told me, “The teacher will appear when the student is ready.” It was a polite way of telling me not to rush my learning and to ‘master’ my trade.

A change in ownership often means that the way work is performed and an improvement programme is carried out need to change as well, even in larger companies.

The Panalpina Group, a logistics and freight company, operates a network of 500 branches in more than 80 countries worldwide.

In these two articles, editorial board members Peter Watkins and Brenton Harder look back at years of lean implementation across global operations, and explain how explain how companies can deliver change consistently and coherently around the world.

Peter Walsh, Founder and President of Lean Enterprise Australia, guides LMJ through the evolution of lean thinking down under, and explains how the perception of lean is changing there.

Off-shoring has been an important part of business strategies for a long time, but has often created more problems than it has solved.

Editorial board member Bill Bellows offers his opinion on some of the topics the February issue of Lean Management Journal focused on.

Our analysis into SCGM’s lean journey continues.

Maria Teresa Mechi, a Senior Executive in the healthcare department of Tuscany’s regional government, shares with LMJ the interesting initiative the region is conducting to encourage Tuscan hospitals to become leaner.