Speed and adaptability are the real differentiating factors of an organization in the 21st century,” says Dominique Andreux. A radically innovative management strategy in France, Quick Response Manufacturing focuses on time as the fundamental unit of a global strategy, and sweeps away the principle of competition by costs, a vestige of another age. “Make time your ally,” urges the president of Quick Response Enterprise, a guest expert at the October 2 conference.
Quick Response Manufacturing
The QRM method aims to significantly reduce internal and external deadlines “by 75 to 90% or more”.
Impacts are quickly evident after implementation: elimination of “waste” and unnecessary flows, increased quality and productivity, lower overheads, increased sales and competitive added value.
Q: What Type of Company Is It Designed For?
“QRM is particularly appropriate for markets with high variability and/or small production runs. ” However, it is not entirely production-focused. “It can be applied to all organizations as well as to the different functions of the company, as long as there is a process in place. Project approaches, quality, financial flows, customer complaints...”
Q: How Does It Work?
QRM focuses on the timeliness of business processes. Its first tool, Manufacturing critical-path time (MCT), is used to map the situation. Thus, the duration in calendar time between the creation of an order and the delivery of the first part.
A shocking revelation: “Timeliness represents only 5% of the total time period”
Q: Within the Scope of Correction, an Organization Using QRM Cells
Instead of a functional organization, the QRM method prefers a cell, a “dedicated, multi-functional set of resources in one place” concentrated on a segment of production or process. Reflection and deployment are collaborative, autonomy and versatility are required.
Q: What Is the Status of QRM?
Quick Response Manufacturing is deployed in some 300 companies in total, 84 of which are in Europe. Initially favored by industrial activities that moved away from mass production (textiles in particular), it then found its place in services and research.
Q: QRM versus Lean?
QRM does not oppose or replace Lean management, it works alongside it.
Even on the same site, their combination may prove to be suitable: “On continuous processes, Lean has relevant tools, but upstream or downstream, why deprive yourself of QRM? ”
Proof by Example
At Mecabor, the first French company to adopt it in May 2014,
“QRM was first considered from a sales perspective, as a means of offering short lead times to increase our competitiveness,” says Lye Cortegoso. Reducing costs is a result of this,” she continues. Mecabor manufactures hydraulic blocks, a complex production due to the high variability of the machined parts, “from 500 grams to 5 tons”, and the quantities, from a unit to a small series. “The collaborative aspect of such a project is essential. It's unifying for the company, it gives us some drive after years of crisis. ”
Useful Links
Quick Response Enterprise in France