You’ve no doubt heard the buzz around lean manufacturing and the benefits that “going lean” can accrue to your business. But where to start? Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a lean management method for analyzing your current state and designing an improved future state.
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is used to visually represent all of the process steps that are required to complete a product or service. It is a representation of the flow of materials and data from supplier to customer through your organization. Using this tool, you can see at a glance where the sources of waste and delays are in your workflow, including constraints, excessive inventory and other obstacles or disconnects that may be affecting your productivity and throughput – and as a result, your profitability. It’s a great starting point for going lean and X‑Rite experts are here to help.
The X-Rite Value Stream Mapping process focuses on your color workflow. After all, accurate color is at the very heart of your business. A myriad of problems flow out of color issues, including waste, rework and unhappy customers.
In order to prepare for a successful Value Stream Mapping event, X-Rite will work together with your assigned team to agree upon a problem statement, event goals, key deliverables, and who the most effective team members are, including who owns the process, who is its sponsor in your organization, the active participants and any necessary supporting resources.
We will also identify any pre-work needed, as well as typical resources require to sustain improvements over time and ensure an environment of continuous improvement. In this way, you will have a full understanding of the commitment required on the part of your team, the benefits you can expect to see, and ensure that the necessary top-down support required for success exists within the organization.
In a dynamic and highly competitive environment, packaging converters are under increasing pressure to contain costs while maintaining the highest standards in color quality and consistency. In addition, clients are looking for packaging to be produced on a wider array of substrates and using a variety of printing technologies. This creates a complex color management environment that can challenge even the most exceptional converting operation. With solutions from the PantoneLIVE ecosystem, converters can leverage pure spectral values for spot colors throughout the production process to ensure accurate and repeatable color regardless of substrate, printing technology or ink types used. By adding ColorCert Suite to the configuration, converters can manage print operations to an even higher standard.
PantoneLIVE now has a larger number of libraries available covering multiple print processes, packaging structures, and packaging types.
For more information about how PantoneLIVE solutions can help you better manage business challenges, such as ever-expanding ink inventories and reuse of leftover inks, visit www.pantone.com/live_harmonization_WP to download our free, informational paper, Managing Today’s Brand Equity Challenges.
Are you looking for a roadmap and action plan to help you improve your overall process effciency? Our experts are ready to help. Contact us by filling out the form.