Link mechanisms within the Lean Enterprise

The transfer of lean principles across the enterprise is described by the approach of Lean Enterprise. Here, different stakeholders and their varying understanding of values need to be taken into consideration. Relevant stakeholders include not only the customers and suppliers but also employees, shareholders, unions and the society. The link between processes and stakeholders represents a major challenge on the road to a Lean Enterprise. In particular, special attention needs to be paid to two link mechanisms. The first is the horizontal link mechanism which defines the value stream through the entire enterprise. The second is the vertical link mechanism that determines a balanced objective system for all stakeholders. This paper discusses the components of a Lean Enterprise and the integration of these into an overall system. Therefore, different principles and methods are derived in order to develop the link mechanisms. This allows an integrated operation of all processes and stakeholders within a concerted value stream and a common objective system of the enterprise. As a result, it is possible to realize cost savings in all areas of the enterprise and the fulfillment of individual customer requirements within a shorter lead time. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license