The Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC) and Joliet Junior College’s Business and Industry Training Services have partnered with the founder of Quick Response Manufacturing, Dr. Rajan Suri of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to bring southwest Chicago-area manufacturers a full-day training session on the methodology and tools of Quick Response Manufacturing. During the past 18 years, Suri has developed and proved out the effectiveness of Quick Response Manufacturing along with over 200 partner companies.
Quick Response Manufacturing is a companywide strategy for reducing lead times throughout the enterprise and supply chain. Partner companies have reduced lead times for low-volume and custom products by over 80% and at the same time have realized cost reductions of 15-25%, outweighing the labor cost advantage of low-wage countries. Although the industry partners that helped demonstrate the effectiveness of Quick Response Manufacturing include well-known companies like Danfoss, Harley-Davidson, John Deere and National Oilwell Varco, Quick Response Manufacturingstrategy has been particularly effective for numerous small manufacturing companies that make low-volume and custom products.
One Madison, Wisconsin based manufacturer of customized Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems reduced its lead times from ten weeks to two, and increased its profitability while gobbling up market share; this tiny company competing with industry giants increased its market share by 42% in just a few years. Not just about the shop floor, Quick Response Manufacturing is applied across the whole enterprise including office operations, material planning and control, purchasing and supply chain management, and new product development, and can transform the company’s throughput and efficiencies.
Recognizing the trend towards smaller volumes and higher variety represents the future of manufacturing, IMEC, Joliet Junior College and Dr. Rajan Suri will present the Quick Response Manufacturing one-day workshop for managers and senior leaders on December 12, 2012. Participants can explore the fundamentals of Quick Response Manufacturing, including essential tools and impactful case studies, to identify applicability of Quick Response Manufacturing resources in their facilities. As an added resource, company attendees will receive a copy of Dr. Suri’s latest book, “It’s About Time: The Competitive Advantage of Quick Response Manufacturing,” shifting traditional “cost-based” thinking to Quick Response Manufacturing’s “time-based” thinking.
For more information about the upcoming workshop, visit http://www.imec.org/events.cfm. Or for additional information on Quick Response Manufacturing and Dr. Suri’s latest book, visit his website at http://www.rajansuri.com. Dr. Suri’s web site also has a short video with presidents of three Midwest companies describing the amazing results they have achieved through Quick Response Manufacturing.
