Lean Manufacturing Website
By Jack Burnett
A lean manufacturing website is based on core lean
manufacturing principals-defining value for your customer and
eliminating waste. A corporate manufacturing web
presence should be a central part of the sales strategy,
serving as a 24/7 sales person, 365 days per year; generating leads
and helping manufacturers more efficiently and effectively support
dealer networks with on demand product information.
An example is the King American Trailers website,
which markets all of King American Trailers' cargo trailers,
but also functions as a virtual "salesperson," working
24/7, 365 days a year. Dealers have a resource to see photos of
each product and review standard features and options. With the
lean website, employees support dealers online in a more
efficient and effective manner, and eliminated the need to schedule
phone calls and for expensive faxes and brochure mailings.
TwinEngines built the manufacturing website on an open-source
content management system (CMS) which enables the trailer
manufacturer to update photos and product specifications
directly without the need for a third-party vendor. This means no
bottlenecks for updating product information. The CMS also
lets the company easily manage the organic SEO information for each
web page, and web analytics employed on the site provide the
metrics required for continual improvement initiatives.
A lean manufacturing website also converts visitors into
customers and generates sales leads. There are two
call-to-action steps on the website to generate sales, "Find a
Dealer" for consumers and "Become a Dealer" for dealers.
Is your website generating leads, providing value to your
customers and presenting your manufacturing company in a
professional manner? If not, follow TwinEngines' lean web
approach for a manufacturing web presence.
Lean Web - B2B eCommerce for Binding Supplies Manufacturer
By Jack Burnett
I helped Presentation Binding Solutions (PBS) with a
new business venture, launching a B2B eCommerce website and
eBusiness management system. PBS is a manufacturer and
distributor of binding, laminating and loose-leaf equipment and
supplies with manufacturing plants in Norcross, GA and Nashville,
TN. PBS needed a web presence and management toolset
that:
- Succinctly describes their value proposition
- Allows businesses to easily purchase their products,
- Provides the administrative tools to efficiently manage
customers, products, and orders.
We applied our lean web methodology when designing and
creating the web presence and eBusiness management site. The design
and information architecture of the website followed my Web 5S
approach:
- Sort - The website design is uncluttered and
focused on the call-to-actions - becoming a customer and customers
placing orders.
- Set In Order - Information is organized and
arranged so customers can easily find products, place and track
orders. Web and eCommerce analytics are built into the website for
continuous improvement for users.
- Shine - A clean, professional appearance where
visitors see PBS's attention to detail and their great customer
service carried forward from their internal business operations to
their web presence.
- Standardize - Consistence information
architecture and design elements so customers easily and
comfortably browse the catalog and intuitively interact with the
website to shop and place orders.
- Sustain - Inventory, products, and content on
all web pages is managed by PBS through the content management
system (CMS) tool so customers always find accurate
information.
I have identified the
7 Deadly Wastes of the Web. The goal of the lean web
approach is reducing waste when it comes to the customer
interactivity on the website and employee functions in the web
administrative site. I worked with PBS to
create business processes and web tools so not to add cost or time
without adding value to the customer.
Centralizing management of customers, products, orders,
shipments and web/SEO content is an example of lean operations. The
content management system is one component of the web
administrative site that gives PBS one place to keep their web
content fresh, relevant and unique. PBS does not have the
typical bottleneck when relying on a third-party to update content
in a timely manner.
When a company becomes a customer, PBS follows an approval
process to add the customer. The web administrative site
gives PBS one place to manage all customer information and their
orders - credit holds, purchase order approvals, tax exempt status,
shipment carrier accounts and a unique price sheet for each
customer.
While the seamless presentation of the product catalog in the
website is important to the customer, keeping the product catalog
up to date is critical for PBS. The web administrative site
allows PBS to add, edit and delete categories, products and skus to
their product catalog. PBS sets custom attributes to classify all
skus, so customers can sort and search for specific products while
shopping.
Alignment of work processes to not duplicate work processes is
another key lean concept for companies to operate more
efficiently. PBS accepts orders from customers through the
website, over the phone or by fax. However, phone and fax
orders are entered by CSRs in the eBusiness management system so
all orders flow through the company in the same way. Having
one process to manage orders and shipments for online and offline
orders also allows customers to see their complete order
history.
Integration of information systems is another key area for lean
web operations. QuickBooks is PBS's accounting system, and
they did not want to introduce waste by entering orders manually
into the QuickBooks Online Edition software. TwinEngines
integrated the web administrative site to QuickBooks; credit card
orders appear as sales receipts and Purchase Orders appear as
invoices. Sending all orders automatically from the website
to QuickBooks eliminates duplicate data entry and the possibility
of data entry errors.
The website is also integrated to Authorize.Net's credit card
processing system and to UPS's Online tools. This provides
customers with a secure method to place credit card orders, and
confirms shipping addresses for PBS. Shipping charges and
taxes are calculated and presented at checkout giving customers all
the pricing information needed to place their order.
When Presentation Binding Solutions began planning their
business, they turned to TwinEngines because they wanted someone
with experience in both manufacturing and the web, someone that has
experience helping companies scale their business and systems as
they grow. When it comes to a company's web presence,
TwinEngines extends lean principles and value stream management
techniques. Whether your business targets dealers,
distributors and wholesalers or your customers purchase your
products on the web, TwinEngines can help to simplify, consolidate
and eliminate waste.
Your website should work smoothly for your customers, and it
should work efficiently for you, too.
Web 5S - Foundation for Lean Web
By Jack Burnett
TwinEngines' Web 5S - our methodology for organizing, cleaning,
developing and sustaining a productive web presence; one that works
hard for you 24/7 365 days of the year. Web 5S speaks to the
website design, information architecture, content and calls to
action in your web presence; both your website and web
portal.
- Sort: First step of removing the clutter
inhibiting visitors from finding your website and from taking the
next step that you desire
- Set In Order: Organize and arrange information
so people easily find it; implement analytics for the web Kaizen
loop
- Shine: Create a professional, trustworthy
appearance that includes a crisp, clean presentation of your
company with a focus on the little, simple things that make a big
difference
- Standardize: Establish a consistency of
information architecture including icons and colors
- Sustain: Empower employees to update content
and establish commitment to fresh, relevant and unique
information
We recognize that there is no 'one way' to Lean Web, and your
business is different from any other. TwinEngines helps you
identify the low hanging fruit, and the proper techniques and
methods that are the right fit and best value for your company.
TwinEngines offers a free website consulting service tailored to
removing clutter in your website design, finding efficiencies, and
creating a roadmap for continual improvement. Call us today
for your free Website Value Stream Mapping consultation.
Lean Web - 7 Deadly Wastes of the Web
By Jack Burnett
TwinEngines specializes in helping manufacturers and businesses
participating in the manufacturing value chain to be more
effective, agile and connected. When it comes to a company's
web presence, we extend lean principles and value stream management
to identify, analyze and eliminate all sources of
waste. Wastes are known as the seven deadly wastes because
they are like toxins on the web.
The 7 Deadly Wastes of the Web
- SEO: You invest time and money
into your new website with no search engine optimization,
and customers cannot find you
- Conversion: Lost opportunities when visitors
to your website cannot easily convert into customers or sales
leads
- Content: One of many examples: You rely on
your web hosting vendor to update your product catalog, only to
find they are a bottleneck taking 5 days instead of 5 minutes to
make a change
- Alignment: Duplicate work processes to perform
the same tasks for online and offline business
- Processing: Redundant customer service and
sales activities due to lack of workflow control, aggregated
customer information and standardized collaboration with
customers
- Integration: Duplicate data entry and data
entry errors into multiple internal systems supporting different
areas of your organization
- Wait Time: When you cannot fulfill customer
and sales requests in a timely manner due to inefficient
communications and lack of a structured internal approval
process
The ultimate lean target is the total elimination of
waste. In lean thinking, waste is anything that adds cost or
time without adding value. To date, the shopfloor,
manufacturing processes, and the front office have been the focus
of waste. Waste is a big problem on the web too - it affects your
customers and sales. We call our approach to
streamlining processes and eliminating waste in your web presence,
Lean Web.