What are the best practices for lean order processing?

Order processing is an internal process completely meant for external but most important individuals individual (outside the organisation) whose requirements are or supposedly known to or understood by the organisation . The need is only to apply this understanding to the process of processing the order . Caution to be observed is , there should not be any or many presumption(s) about the customers requirements instead it should be simple and straight process .in other words Keep it Simple and Straight (KISS) . ????

The landscape is ever changing and as a company, you need the ability to adapt. Keep in mind that you have generational changes that will also impact your product offerings and flow. As an example, 20 years ago we weren't talking about next day delivery and now it's the expectation. Some of this is market driven, some competition, but all to often its the changing landscape of what the customer wants. 2 minute cap videos on tiktok vs. 2 hour movies. There are plenty examples. But keep in mind, those that don't adapt to their customer base will ultimately fail. Identify the need, meet the need, exceed the expectation, and repeat.

Customer value is the combination of the benefits a product or service provides and the effort a customer exerted obtaining it. The four types of customer values are functional, monetary, social, and psychological. You can describe it as: Customer value is a religion of which you are the preacher!

Lean order processing is about maximizing efficiency and customer satisfaction while minimizing waste. Have Standardize order entry.Establish a consistent process to capture accurate order details. Provide training and support: Invest in training programs to equip employees with necessary skills and keep them updated. Streamline order fulfillment: Automate processes like picking, packing, and shipping to reduce errors and speed up fulfillment. Establish clear communication with internal and external.

Beside following the value (which I fully agree with) you have to follow the money. Make sure you know what cost you order processing cost you and adjust your deccision accordingly. What cost you each extra pallet storing, procurement of material, your changeovers and efficiency/quality lost due SKU change and add it to your suply chain model. Thank you will be not only lean but you gona make a money.

Iteresting, I would like to add something here. we must identify those steps/activities which are not adding value to customers. We need to do GSW ( Genune, supplimentry, wastages/non valude adding) analysis. And then all non value adding steps need to be eliminated from the process to increase efficiency. For example, in many distribution centres I have seen, Picker scan item code and serial while picking an order and during packing packer again scan same item code and serial no. So in such cases two time scanning can be avoided by eliminating scaning during picking. Similarly in manual activities multiple time checking can be avoided to increase efficiency by focusing on FTR ( First time right ).

Many a time there can be typing errors by the customer while placing orders so it is a good idea to have an order acknowledging and confirming communication to eliminate such errors.

VSM is the fundamental on lean processing. Making visible the steps on data generation, evaluation and improvement implementation where necessary.

A pull system is ideal, however rarely practical (in full) in retail sales to consumers. It will be too slow. Create a hybrid approach that bases initial inventory on reasonable forecasts - be careful to not over estimate the demand for your product or service. From here you want to have a system based on key re-order points (e.g. when my inventory on X product gets to Y amount).

I don't fully aling with a pull system because at times the company needs to create desire to use a particular product. I'll rather go for a hybrid solution, whereby data anlytics will center point for decision making.

Taking the right action on implementing tasks, either through data management systems. And or information identication and delivering processes.

Eliminating bottlenecks in complex supply chains and manufacturing processes may be difficult to achieve. However, bottlenecks have to be identified, monitored and managed. Furthermore, eliminating all bottlenecks does not necessarily increase efficiency although flow and throughput may slightly increase. On the contrary, overall efficiency may actually go down. The key is to resist the temptation of focusing on achieving local optimums but having a holistic approach to improving overall efficiency and flow.

Think customer first. The flow should start from the customer needs rather than the company objectives. The more the customer is at the center of the priority, we will have an optimize flow

The most important part of continuous improvement is culture. You are empowering your team to fix the things that bug them. LEAN is heavily reliant on your team (people). It's important to have a culture where suggestions and solutions can come from all parts and all levels of the organization.

There must be balance between continuous improvement and related stress. I would suggest stress buster activity and ownership of the jobs by individuals which will automatically bring about the improvement that is appropriate to the need. Human touch does wonders.