1. Where are is your starting point (A)?

2. Where is your final destination (B)?

3. How do you get from A to B?

4. How much time can you allocate to complete this trip?

5. What is the overall cost?

By using a map you will be able to determine which direction you need to go to get to your final destination. You can also estimate how many miles you need to travel. With this information you can choose the best mode of transport to get you to your destination and stay within any time and budget constraints. If you decide to drive you can estimate your total travel time, number of rest stops and cost of gas used, etc. Ok, I can guess what your thinking at this point, "this is all just plain common sense."

Well, you would be surprised at the number of organizations who start out on a Lean journey without first determining "where they need to focus their resources today" and then plan for "where their they are heading tomorrow" in order to get the best results for their business.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a great tool to get you focused on your customer needs. It ties in perfectly with Strategy Deployment as a method of highlighting areas in need of improvement. VSM will give you a 30,000 feet view of the whole manufacturing system and from this vantage point you can identify which key areas need to improve first in order to give customers what they want, when they want it. Using a Value Stream Map you will see how the current activities are performed, how much time each activity is taking and which activities are "Value Adding" or "Non-value Adding". Remember: Customers want value for money, not waste such as waiting, rework, scrap, etc. Once you learn how to identify waste, you start to see it. Once you see it, you can start to eliminate it. However, if you can't see waste it stays hidden and continues to add cost to the finished products.

There are four stages to Value Stream Mapping:

1. Data Collection will be necessary prior to mapping a process. There are specific data requirements which must be met before you can successfully move onto the Value Stream Mapping process.

2. A Current State Value Stream Map will show just how you are supplying your customers today. Using the Current State Map you can clearly see waste and from this determine what to change and in what order of priority these changes need to occur. The end result is to identify any process improvements that will allow your company to supply your customers in more effective manner.

3. The next stage is to create a Future State Value Stream Map. This will allow you to eliminate or reduce waste from the current state process and it shows graphically the overall effects of these changes on the manufacturing process before you even move or change anything. Usually the Future State Value Stream Map is a vision of the manufacturing process over the next 6 - 12 months.

4. Develop an implementation plan using the Future State Map. This implementation plan will define what to do, when to do it and who is responsible.

If you know where you need to focus your resources today, it's much easier to know where you are heading tomorrow, and you can plan to make the transition into the future state a much easier, enjoyable and successful experience.