Why Overpurchasing Is Wasteful TAGS: baseball winter meetings | batch | bulk | china | concession | consulting | continuous improvement | dayton | defects | discounts | excess | hats | inventory | lean | lean blitz | liquid assets | merchandise | motion | operations | overpurchasing | process | production | promotions | purchasing | safety | shipping | six sigma | sports | stand | transportation | up and running | wastes It’s very easy to get caught up in volume discounts – buy more at one time or buy earlier, and we’ll give you a price break on each piece. It …Continue reading →

The Holiday Season, Post Updates and a Blog Carnival Shout-Out TAGS: adult kickball | arrest | barack obama | baseball winter meetings | beyond lean | blitz | blog | booth | bud selig | cards | carnival | christmas | consulting | continuous improvement | curious cat | dallas | dump | election | elves | festivus | green bay packers | heisman trophy | integrity | inventory | john hunter | johnny football | johnny manziel | kaizen | kansas state | klein | lean | manti te'o | matt wrye | miami marlins | mitt romney | monday night football | nashville | nfl | notre dame | operations | process | referee | replacement | root cause analysis | roundup | salary | santa claus | seattle seahawks | sports | t'eo | texas a&m | toronto blue jays | trade | trade show Ahh, the holiday season is fully enveloping us. Everybody be happy and peaceful to one another during this stressful time of shopping, traveling, seasonal obligations (like choral activities where folks …Continue reading →

Long-Term Philosophies and the Miami Marlins Blockbuster Trade TAGS: anibal sanchez | baseball winter meetings | blitz | blockbuster | bonifacio | buehrle | consulting | continuous improvement | dallas | detroit tigers | dump | emilio | giancarlo stanton | hanley | heath bell | john buck | johnson | jose | josh | lean | long-term | los angeles dodgers | manager | mark | marlins | miami | new york mets | omar infante | operations | ozzie guillen | philosophy | pitcher | principle | process | ramirez | reyes | salary | san diego padres | shortsop | six sigma | sports | toronto blue jays | toyota way | trade Back at the 2011 Baseball Winter Meetings, the Miami Marlins were truly the stars of the show. With a new taxpayer-funded stadium ready to open and a roster already featuring …Continue reading →

Sergio Tacchini, Unmet Demand, and Losing Novak Djokovic TAGS: apparel | baseball | batching | biz | blitz | cnbc | darren | demand | djokovic | domestic | inventory | labor | lean | meetings | novak | ocean | open | operations | process | production | rovell | sergio | shipping | sigma | six | spokesman | sports | states | tacchini | tennis | transportation | united | us | waste | winter As reported by Darren Rovell with CNBC.com, tennis apparel manufacturer Sergio Tacchini and tennis superstar Novak Djokovic have parted ways. The reason there is a split is because Djokovic has …Continue reading →

Winners of the Masters Pin Flag Giveaway TAGS: 2012 | baseball | blitz | cap | children's hospitals clinics | crosscutters | flags | frontline | giveaway | league | lean | masters | memphis | minor | new era | philadelphia | phillies | pin | six sigma | tennessee | williamsport | winter meetings We have winners in the Masters pin flag giveaway! The winner from the email subscriber pool is Gabe Sincropi, Jr., the Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for the …Continue reading →

2012 Masters Pin Flags Giveaways! TAGS: 2012 | augusta | blitz | bubba | club | ebook | facebook | flag | free | giveaway | golf | lean | masters | national | operations | pin | process | signup | six sigma | sports | subscribe | twitter | watson Lean Blitz is giving away a couple of 2012 Masters pin flags and a Baseball Winter Meetings hat – find out how to win here!

Lean Oops: Not-So-Compact Car TAGS: 5S | blitz | car | compact | dallas | dick's sporting goods | labels | lean | operations | parking | process | signage | six sigma | space | suv | visual factory Well, so much for visual factory. I suppose it would only make sense to put a “Compact Car” label on the ground if it would genuinely only fit a compact …Continue reading →

Lean Oops! O’Hare Parking Lot Exit TAGS: 2011 | airport | band-aid | baseball | blitz | camera | cheap | chicago | electrical | fixes | lean | lot | meetings | o'hare | parking | permanent | six sigma | tape | temporary | there i fixed it | winter (I wouldn’t normally post a photo so large, but this is the only way to see the anomaly.) So when I returned to O’Hare Airport in Chicago after the Baseball …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – The Oyster TAGS: baseball cleaning system | baseball oyster | baseball trade show | college baseball | dallas texas | lean | oyster | standardized work “The Oyster” is a new, innovative machine used for cleaning old baseballs. It’s called The Oyster because it shines brown, dingy baseballs back into clean, white “pearl” baseballs. Drop a …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – Mascot Manufacturing TAGS: audit | baseball trade show | baseball winter meetings | costumes | data | erp system | inventory | lead times | lean | manufacturing | mascots | reorder point | safety stock | visual factory I had a chance to speak with a company that designs and manufactures mascot suits at the Baseball Trade Show last week. This company’s booth had a few mascot suits …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – Coverage by MiLB.com TAGS: baseball trade show | ben hill | dallas | dipquest 2011 | game signs | minor league baseball Lean Blitz received two shout-outs by Ben Hill of MiLB.com in his coverage of the Baseball Winter Meetings, one more “fun” than the other. First, he profiled a number of …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – Bat Manufacturer TAGS: baseball trade show | bat manufacturer | bats | continuous improvement | lean | setup reduction | smed | sports | standardized work Lean Blitz received more attention from manufacturers of sporting goods and other items (such as mascot costumes!) than sports teams at the Baseball Trade Show, which is understandable. Most manufacturers …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – Game Signs TAGS: assembly | catcher | excess motion | game signs | lean | pitcher | signals | sleeves | standard work | stickers Game Signs is a new product for catchers that aids in communicating pitch signals to the pitcher. They are colored stickers that are placed on the fingernails of the catcher’s …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – Licensed Merchandise TAGS: apparel | baseball winter meetings | china | jit | just in time | lean | major league baseball | manufacturing | merchandise | pittsburgh pirates On the first day of the Baseball Trade Show I was approached by a manufacturer/distributor of licensed merchandise for Major League Baseball about some issues he expects to encounter. His …Continue reading →

Baseball Trade Show – Article on ESPN.com TAGS: baseball trade show | bryan lahair | david schoenfield | espn | hilton anatole | lean | major league baseball | sports | sweetspot The three days of the Baseball Trade Show during the Baseball Winter Meetings at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas introduced us to a lot of opportunities for continuous improvement within …Continue reading →