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Lean and agile: an introduction to the world of Lean Management

Writer's picture: Schüberl ConsultingSchüberl Consulting

Updated: Feb 22, 2024

Lean Management aims to minimise waste and continuously improve the organisation.


Faced with the challenges of post-war Japan, Toyota developed the Toyota Production System (TPS), which enabled the company to produce cars faster, more efficiently and at lower cost.


The resulting concept of "Lean Management" - or "Lean" for short - has since become a fundamental element of modern management practice and is used worldwide.


As the name suggests, Lean is all about streamlining the organisation. More specifically, the classic goals of Lean are...


  • Minimise waste,

  • Increase customer focus,

  • Increase efficiency,

  • Introducing a constructive error culture and

  • Increase flexibility


... all in a process of continuous improvement.


The Lean Management philosophy is based on five simple principles:


  1. Define value: Since value can only be determined from the customer's perspective, only that for which the customer has a willingness to pay is valuable.

  2. Define the value stream: All processes and areas required to create the product are analysed in terms of customer value and unnecessary steps are eliminated.

  3. Create flow: It should be ensured that each process step is designed such that the result flows seamlessly into the next.

  4. Pull principle: Products or results are only created if there is an internal or external demand.

  5. Perfection: Companies should constantly question and improve their processes on the way to perfection in order to maximise customer benefit and prevent stagnation.


Lean management is about consistently eliminating waste, deviations and overloads. The 3Ms form the basis for this:

  1. Muri - overload

  2. Mura - imbalance

  3. Muda - waste


Outlook: In the next article, we will take a closer look at the 3Ms, focusing on the topic of "waste", Muda.


Click here to work with us to implement Lean Management in your organisation!


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