www.lsccom.com
Using Lean to Gain a Competitive Edge
LSC Communications is a global supplier of innovative technologies to enhance digital and print communications. LSC Communications itself is a $3 billion-dollar company focused on providing printing, fulfillment and supply chain solutions for publishers, merchandisers and retailers. Their Union Missouri location is a leading manufacturer of index cards manila file folders, hanging file folders and school grade portfolios. They have a global market reach, but are firmly dedicated to their Missouri production facilities.
LSC Communications is an ardent advocate of Lean Manufacturing and is constantly pursuing enhanced operational efficiencies to keep their leading edge position in the marketplace. “We’ve fully embraced Lean over the last 12 years or so, and it’s a part of our company culture,” explains Reginald Jones, Vice President of Operations. “We’re relentless in our continuing pursuit of excellence, and we were looking for tools to help us identify real solutions to issues…Six Sigma Green Belt has those tools, and we knew our team was ready to embrace it as a continuing part of their ownership of quality and efficiency. I knew who to call…Missouri Enterprise.”
Missouri Enterprise’s Six Sigma experts met with LSC Communications’ leadership team to plan their strategy on how to best introduce Green Belt concepts into the company. It wasn’t just a textbook approach; because of LSC’s high level of expertise in implementing Quality Management Systems, Project Managers adjusted their training approach to directly appeal to their audience, emphasizing areas of known weaknesses and spending less time on the principles that were already deeply inherent in the company’s culture. The approach was flexible, not cookie-cutter; it was customized to allow the client to achieve maximum benefit from the training.
“Missouri Enterprise’s Project Managers were outstanding, and the results they helped us achieve are outstanding,” Jones states proudly. “Our team embraced the project and now our Green Belt Certified people are making a real difference…identifying root causes of issues so we can drive towards even greater improvement. Because of our work with Missouri Enterprise for Six Sigma Green Belt Certifications, we project a substantial cost savings in labor, materials, energy and overhead in the next 12 months.”
As an added final note, Mr. Jones closed with this comment…“I was also particularly impressed with Missouri Enterprise’s dedication to their mission of Helping Missouri Manufacturers Succeed and keeping good jobs in Missouri. We share that mission of keeping jobs local…as evidenced by our commitment to our Union operations and our other locations throughout the U.S. This bond resulted in my being invited to participate more fully in the Missouri Enterprise mission, and I am now honored to be a part of the Missouri Enterprise Board of Directors.”