Book excerpt: This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Focus Your Supply Chain Technology Investments to Reduce Risk and Maximize Competitiveness Lean, Six Sigma, and related approaches offer immense potential for improving competitiveness, cost, and customer experience–if you can overcome the challenges of planning and implementation. The well-targeted use of technology can dramatically reduce your risks and accelerate your progress. Until now, however, many guidebooks and consultants have treated Lean primarily as a “pen and pencil” technique. Lean and Technology is the first complete guide to integrating Lean thinking with proven, affordable, and emerging technologies. You’ll learn how companies are linking strategy, the value chain, and IT–and how they are executing on their plans to achieve real competitive advantage. Step by step, Myerson shows how to use the proven six-step SCOR Model to organize the integration of technology with all key supply chain and operations processes. You’ll discover how to: PLAN to optimize supply chain networks, demand forecasting, master production scheduling, and S&OP SOURCE more effectively with today’s MRP and procurement/e-procurement technologies MAKE higher-value “lean production” products with modern ERP, MES, and short-term scheduling systems DELIVER the right customer solutions at the right time and cost via advanced DRP, TMS, and order fulfillment systems RETURN products and materials with state-of-the-art reverse logistics systems ENABLE continuous improvement via carefully chosen measurements, metrics, and analytics Throughout, Myerson presents easy-to-use tools, methodologies, best practices, and real-world examples: all you need to improve speed, accuracy, integration, and collaboration across complex supply chains. He concludes by previewing emerging technologies for maintaining and extending the competitive advantage you’ve already built.