Lean and customer focus: How many customers to focus

Lean manufacturing is a system which is focused on customers. The customer supplier relationship is a key feature of lean both internally and externally. When it comes to customers outside the manufacturing facility, every manufacturer has a great concern on them. Lean proposes to align your organization to their requirements as much as possible. This will make it easier for your organization to remove wastes from your system and to deliver what customer wants. In simple terms this is known as “customer focus” manufacturing.

But especially if you are not manufacturing for final consumers and if you are manufacturer for large brand owners, that is if you are a contract manufacturer, it is important to understand the possibility of aligning to the requirements of your immediate customers. You will have to fulfill special requirements of these customers. But how well your organization can focus on number of customers? Yes, having too many customers might not be a good thing. Having many customers might mean not aligning to any of those customers requirements and hence not producing value to those customers. At the end of the process the customer will walk away from you.

In lean manufacturing we have been talking about narrowing down the supplier base and about partnering with them to create closer relationship in the supply chain to eliminate wastes and generate value. Now it is the time to think similarly about the customers. Having your focus on the customers and having a closer relationship with them is essential for the long term business success.

This method of thinking may not be applicable for some of the industries and manufacturing and marketing contexts. But definitely we will have to provide greater value to the customer to be in the business in today’s competitive markets.