Lean-n-Food

All articles about: Lean-n-Food

The pursuit of eggscellence
September 18, 2024
The pursuit of eggscellence

FEATURE – Our editor learns about the lean work taking place in two successful omelette-based restaurants in the Netherlands.

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People-centric, intelligent, decentralized management
August 8, 2024
People-centric, intelligent, decentralized management

CASE STUDY – This Brazilian agrobusiness has developed a unique and clever management system that puts people at the heart of the work.

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How Tuinderij Vers is learning to see
May 23, 2024
How Tuinderij Vers is learning to see

FEATURE – Faced with increased production volumes, this Dutch company realized the need to improve its processes by developing people skills.

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Challenging standards
April 18, 2024
Challenging standards

CASE STUDY – Manuelita Sugar Mill in Colombia adopted Daily Management to bolster leadership effectiveness and operational outcomes, addressing siloed thinking and communication challenges.

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Swimming against the tide
October 19, 2023
Swimming against the tide

WEB SERIES - In this episode, we head to Chilean Patagonia to visit a manufacturer of fish feed that turned to Lean Thinking to improve yield and eliminate inventory gaps and stock-outs.

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Every square meter counts
September 11, 2023
Every square meter counts

CASE STUDY – When it had to develop a production process for a new product from scratch, this Dutch company leveraged lean tools and practices. And the results were impressive.

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Lean ain't fishy
March 21, 2022
Lean ain't fishy

CASE STUDY – This Norwegian firm learned that allowing every person and area to move up their own lean learning curve can steer the business away from fire-fighting and towards more strategic thinking.

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Bringing lean to Nigeria’s small farmers
May 13, 2021
Bringing lean to Nigeria’s small farmers

CASE STUDY – Lean Thinking travels far and wide. Here’s how the experience and insights of an Indiana-based farmer have supported a USAID project to improve outcomes for farmers across Nigeria.

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Customer satisfaction in Haidilao restaurants
December 7, 2020
Customer satisfaction in Haidilao restaurants

CASE STUDY – How does a small food shop in Sichuan turn into a $30 billion chain with around 900 restaurants in several countries? By always going the extra mile for customers!

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Making a hotel restaurant leaner and safer
August 24, 2020
Making a hotel restaurant leaner and safer

CASE STUDY – This hotel in Spain has been able to leverage Lean Thinking in its restaurant to successfully adapt to the new Covid-19 regulations enforced in the country, becoming more efficient along the way.

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Our hotel after Covid-19
August 6, 2020
Our hotel after Covid-19

CASE STUDY – Not even a pandemic can prevent a lean organization from learning: this hotel in Tenerife has decided to make the most of its forced closure to review and improve its processes.

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Optimizing material handling with lean
July 27, 2020
Optimizing material handling with lean

CASE STUDY – By streamlining its internal processes, an agribusiness company in Brazil managed to reduce its material handling cycle time by 75% and the associated costs by 66%.

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Lean innovations for restaurants
June 22, 2020
Lean innovations for restaurants

FEATURE – The restaurant business has always been tough, but Covid-19 is now presenting it with new challenges. The author shares a few lean practices that can help restaurants develop competitiveness.

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Do try this at home
June 1, 2020
Do try this at home

CASES STUDY – Struggling to win the hearts and minds of his people, the author took lean home, learned as much as he could about it and brought it back to his business with the idea of making everybody's lives easier.

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Reimagining restaurants after Covid-19
May 12, 2020
Reimagining restaurants after Covid-19

FEATURE – The future has never looked more uncertain for restaurants and cafes. The authors share a set of practical lean tips that can guide these organizations navigate the storm.

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Facing the crisis with an appetite for improvement
May 6, 2020
Facing the crisis with an appetite for improvement

NOTES FROM THE VIRTUAL GEMBA – Despite a 40% drop in sales and the looming prospect of having to furlough part of its staff, this French company is finding in lean manufacturing an ally to fight the current crisis.

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Learning to be lean chameleons
February 13, 2020
Learning to be lean chameleons

FEATURE – In this candid, personal account, the author shares her experience as a lean coach, her challenges and success, and how she adapts to different situations.

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A 15-year journey of people engagement
January 30, 2020
A 15-year journey of people engagement

CASE STUDY – Here’s the story of a mature lean company from Michigan. The author tells us about Zingerman’s Mail Order’s lean transformation, their challenges and their successes.

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Lean-n-food
October 21, 2019
Lean-n-food

FEATURE – The food industry is mired with problems all along the value chain. In this call to arms, the author explains why lean thinking is the only tool we have to transform it right now.

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The harvest of the future
August 15, 2019
The harvest of the future

INTERVIEW – This agro-industrial business in Colombia is applying lean thinking to its harvesting process. The harvest manager explains the difficulties and opportunities encountered on the journey so far.

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Fertile ground for lean seeds
June 25, 2019
Fertile ground for lean seeds

FEATURE – Lean Institute Brasil is running pioneering lean experiments in agriculture. The authors reflect on the challenges of transforming traditional farming culture and the opportunities lean affords.

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Cooking up lean change
January 10, 2019
Cooking up lean change

PROFILE – In an industry dominated by star chefs and big egos, meeting a humble leader who has made people development his battle cry is a breath of fresh air. PL interviews Legal Sea Food’s Richard Vellante.

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A bold lean experiment in one of our kitchens
November 27, 2018
A bold lean experiment in one of our kitchens

FEATURE – The lean mindset Legal Sea Foods has developed is allowing the company to run bold, aggressive experiments that might some day reinvent the way their restaurant kitchens work.

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Learn how 365 manages HR and accounting using visual boards
May 30, 2018
Learn how 365 manages HR and accounting using visual boards
lean visual management 365 cafe

THE LEAN BAKERY – In the last episode of our video series, we learn how 365 is using an impressive visual management system to manage the accounting and human resources functions.

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Small batches and clever use of space for great flexibility
May 9, 2018
Small batches and clever use of space for great flexibility

THE LEAN BAKERY – In this episode of our video series, we visit 365's super-lean workshop, where small batches and a clever use of space allow for unprecedented levels of flexibility in manufacture.

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Our editor sits down with lean farmer Ben Hartman
April 25, 2018
Our editor sits down with lean farmer Ben Hartman

INTERVIEW – Ben Hartman has used lean in his micro-farm in Indiana for six years. Not only did he find in it a way to support his family doing what he loves, he might have also discovered how to transform our food system.

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How we grew using less resources than ever before
April 18, 2018
How we grew using less resources than ever before

THE LEAN BAKERY – In the fourth episode in our video series, the CEO of 365 explains how lean showed him that his business could grow (exponentially) without using any extra resources.

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This bakery found out how inspiring lean books can be
April 5, 2018
This bakery found out how inspiring lean books can be

FEATURE – How reading lean books empowered people and transformed the managerial culture at an industrial bakery in the Western Cape Winelands in South Africa.

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How the 365 bakeries improved service to clients with lean
March 2, 2018
How the 365 bakeries improved service to clients with lean

THE LEAN BAKERY – In this video, a shop coordinator explains how the 365 bakeries were able to speed up service to customers and ensure product quality by reorganizing work and responsibilities.

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Visit the stock-free workshop of our lean bakery
February 12, 2018
Visit the stock-free workshop of our lean bakery

THE LEAN BAKERY – In the second video in the series, we visit the stock-free workshop of one of 365's lean bakeries and learn about quality bread, customer focus and making lives easier for bakers.

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Managing a chain of 100 cafes in Barcelona with lean
January 23, 2018
Managing a chain of 100 cafes in Barcelona with lean

THE LEAN BAKERY - For the past decade, lean has fuelled the growth of a chain of cafes/bakeries in Barcelona. With 100 now open, the Retail Manager explains how lean helps them manage a booming business.

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How lean management saved a butcher's shop in Botswana
December 11, 2017
How lean management saved a butcher's shop in Botswana

CASE STUDY – Faced with complex logistics and customer complaints, a small deli and butchery in Botswana saw in lean a way to bring the business back from the brink. The philosophy didn’t fail them.

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How lean coaching changed the culture of a restaurant chain
August 23, 2017
How lean coaching changed the culture of a restaurant chain

FEATURE – An approach based on coaching and experiments is transforming the way restaurant chain Xibei works with its people to improve service and dishes: the story of Chef Liang and his Kongfu fish.

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The importance of transparency: lessons from a food scandal
September 30, 2016
The importance of transparency: lessons from a food scandal

OPINION – When do our mistake become an ominous sign that we are giving up on our customers and people? Following the salmonella contamination in cereals in Israel, the author reflects on business purpose and the importance of transparency.

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The future of agriculture - Jim Womack visits a lean farm
June 28, 2016
The future of agriculture - Jim Womack visits a lean farm

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – Lean in agriculture might still be in its infancy, but there is a small farm in Indiana that is already proving how valuable lean principles and techniques can be to this industry.

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Bringing lean principles to restaurant kitchens
June 6, 2016
Bringing lean principles to restaurant kitchens

INTERVIEW – An American group of restaurants is experimenting with the application of lean thinking in its kitchens and dining areas. Planet Lean had a word with the chefs to see what’s cooking.

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All by Yourself? Find Your Lean Trojan Horse
December 15, 2015
All by Yourself? Find Your Lean Trojan Horse

FEATURE ARTICLE - Sometimes, introducing lean thinking in an organization can make you feel lonely and hopeless. This article, which draws on the author's experience working with a chain of supermarkets in Siberia, offers some tips on what to do to start off a lean transformation.

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Chinese restaurant chain Xibei adopts the lean methodology
October 22, 2015
Chinese restaurant chain Xibei adopts the lean methodology

CASE STUDY – An entire restaurant chain going lean is not something you see every day. Coming all the way from China, Xibei's story of cultural change will inspire you to never forget the fundamentals of lean, from standardization to quality.

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The amazing growth of a chain of lean bakeries in Spain
July 16, 2015
The amazing growth of a chain of lean bakeries in Spain

CASE STUDY – A very lean system that runs like clockwork and constant attention to customer service enable Barcelona-based 365.café to achieve the impossible: supplying 55 bakeries out of a 650-sqm factory.

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