Be Inspired
We'll take you to the place where Lean business started.
Makoto - Specialists in Lean Study Tours
We are proud partners of Makoto Investments, a premiere Lean Consulting firm with headquarters in Tokyo Japan. Makoto brings more than 40 years' experience to these tours.
We provide many unique experiences in various industries where Lean is implemented. Lean is not limited to manufacturing, and our tours showcase Lean in industries as diverse as:
Automotive Supply and Manufacture
Education
Shipping and Logistics
Hospitality and Tourism
Software and Technology
Customer Service
Why Japan?
Japan is renowned for its commitment to quality, and its ability to instil pride of work in all levels of the organisation. The Makoto Lean tour will enable you to experience several exemplary sites throughout Japan, including a Toyota supplier and Toyota Motor Corporation.
These businesses all showcase Lean, each with very different operating models, management systems and values. You will discover that Lean is relevant in many cultures and that there are many ways to establish and sustain a Lean culture.
Insights gained by seeing Lean in its birthplace are invaluable. Japan’s transportation infrastructure will allow us to visit many sites and have meaningful discussions in an efficient manner.
What You Learn
You will study core concepts of operational excellence such as value stream thinking, a culture of trust and openness, a willingness to try new things, strategy deployment (hoshin kanri), alignment of short-term goals to long-term vision and innovation (kaikaku).
You will learn how to:
- Observe the role of leadership, and consider how effective companies develop their leaders
- Understand how to retain a culture of continuous improvement and sustain it
- Experience the roots of operational excellence and its diversity
- Reflect on your company’s own culture and how to make Lean transformation successful in your business
- Drive fast-paced improvement that lasts
Round Table Debriefs
Reflect on what was learnt during each site visit:
- What was unique and impressive?
- What could be improved?
- What can you do differently back home
Participate in the sharing of experiences in order to learn from one another.
Participate in discussion on how to shape and fine-tune a successful transformation in your own company.
Facilitation & Coaching
Each stage of the tour experience is facilitated to ensure that it provides you with a rich learning opportunity.
The tour begins with an introduction to Japanese culture so that you can get the best experience from the site visits.
The Round Table Debriefs help identify insights from each of the different businesses we visit. Facilitated discussion helps clarify what is learnt and how it might be used.
Our experts will help you to understand how to apply what you have seen on the tour to your own organisation.