Solectron recently held two consecutive events to honor its suppliers for their successful lean Six Sigma initiatives.

The company received more than 50 entries to its first-annual Global Solectron Production System Kaizen Competition. The Supplier Day conference was held immediately after the winners were announced. Eleven finalists from Europe, Asia and the Americas were chosen to attend the event, which was held in San Jose, California.

Solectron’s facility in Penang, Malaysia was the winner of the competition. Solectron employees have completed more than 5,000 kaizen projects worldwide. “At Solectron, lean Six Sigma is a way of life on our shop floor, which allows us to bring tangible benefits and cost savings to our customers worldwide,” says Marc Onetto, Solectron executive vice president of worldwide operations. “After two years of the lean journey, we are expanding our vision to include our suppliers for creating a truly differentiated supply chain. Supplier Day is an important step in that direction.”

Judges in the competition included Jim Womack, founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Chichiro Nakao-San, who spent more than 30 years at Toyota Motor Corp. refining its manufacturing methodology.

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