Lean in the Service Industries

In today’s economy, service organizations are struggling to identify ways to reduce cost while maintaining the same level of customer service. 

Examples of service sectors businesses daily struggles include: Contractors struggling to meet shortened lead times with decreased budgets; restaurants disappointing customers due to diminished service and extended wait times; rental houses overpromising delivery times and availability.  

Many manufactures have already realized that, in order to compete globally, they had to change the way they do business. Since the early nineties, about 25 percent of American manufacturers have been implementing some portion of the Lean philosophy in order to meet cost structures that are similar to those in third world countries.  Unfortunately, now our Service Industry Providers are struggling with a similar dilemma!  It has become “the norm” to cut jobs, overwork existing staff, or outsource the jobs to call centers in Asia, India, or Mexico when calling for service from an All-American company! 

Customers ask for, want, demand, and need more assistance in today’s technological era, but they don’t want to pay extra for what they perceive they deserve. This leaves most service companies scrambling to find creative ways to keep their cost down, while constantly trying to make the customer’s experience top notch. However, what seems to happen is we make it a frustrating, harrowing experience that drives customers to other competitors who do it better.  But don’t worry, there are a lot of companies that do it well right here in America, and we have helped over 200 of them in over 100 different service sectors.  From restaurants, to engineering firms, to insurance and financial, and even to the small one or two person realty business — no service business is too small to make improvement to customer service while ultimately strengthening the bottom line.   

GDC Total Business Solutions success in solving the complicated issues that plague services is found in a set of tools that fall under the heading of Lean.  Lean originated in the manufacturing arena, but as other industries started seeing the staggering positive results, the process has been adapted to meld seamlessly with everything from Lean Healthcare, Lean for Office, Lean for Government, and now Lean for Service.  

Lean encompasses numerous cost saving methods, as well as, tools that identify waste and non-value-added processes. These methods and tools create workplace organization that produce “best practices” and standardized work while fostering a Lean Culture of mutual trust, respect, and an eye for continuously improving what we do every day.  

Lean has a structured set of concepts that, until recently, have been more or less alien to the service industry.  They include actual tools that allow you to:

• identify the value stream;

• improve quality;

• simplify complexity;

• scale differentiation;

• empower employees.

Service organizations can finally share in some of the productivity gains already enjoyed by the auto industry, government, manufacturing, assembly shops, and job shops across America.    

For Service Companies, these solutions have come just in time.

“You can’t afford to wait until it’s too late.”

Allow us to come in to give you a preliminary assessment.