For many people the role of a value stream manager isn’t clearly understood. Others incorrectly use the term “value stream manager” as a substitute for production manager or supervisor in the factory. However, a value stream manager has full responsibility for the revenues, costs, and profitability of a major part of the company’s business.

This is the fifth post in a series that shows how to develop a truly lean management system. Here we’re primarily addressing order-fulfillment value streams. These are value streams that get orders from customers and fulfill those orders by shipping the products, thereby achieving profitably and continuous improvement.

Here’s the big-picture diagram:

As this graphic shows, there are other kinds of value streams. For example, most companies have value streams to develop new products and services. There are also departments that support the value streams. These include human resources, IT, and financial accounting. (Click here for a two-minute video on lean management system information.)

 …