So how important is the role of flowing operations?

Shortly explained: it´s a great deal! You should be extremely keen to ensure your products and services flow and to avoid e.g. waiting times, unnecessary movements, handling and transportation. For this we have to take the macro flow and the micro flow into account.

What is the macro flow?

This refers above all to the layout, or geographical locations of the workplaces involved. It makes no sense to transport products and services over long distances from one work station to the next. If People work together in a process their workplaces should be as close as possible to each other to avoid or to reduce the problems mentioned above. In practice, we see again and again situations that produce a broken macro flow. This is due to the historical development of companies which have typically started small and simple, then expanded in the course of time to meet growing demand. As a result, their layout is no longer optimal for the current situation.

And the micro flow?

This is mainly about what can be improved at and between the individual work stations. Most important for the shortest possible processing times are perfect material supply (ideally in one-piece- flow) or at least reduced lot sizes and optimized individual work movements (e.g. one-touch, one-motion).

What is the main reason for optimized process flow?

Optimizing the flow in process operation in total mainly has ADVANTAGES FOR THE CUSTOMER. That's why we call it the extroverted or the outgoing principle - it has an external effect. The shorter lead time to finish the product or service means the customer gets what he ordered as fast as possible. And the market is observing this very carefully - giving your company a competitive advantage. Your order numbers will maybe increase when customers know about that you can deliver much faster than your competitors!

Flow consultation