Lean Manufacturing at FCI (B): Deploying Lean at Nantong, China

Lean manufacturing is a production approach whereby expending resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer is considered wasteful, and thus a target for elimination. The case discusses the deployment of lean principles at FCI, a global manufacturer of electronic connectors, as the principal catalyst in achieving a worldwide turnaround in two short years. Case (A) focuses on the global launch of the lean initiative from the corporate headquarters while Case (B) provides the details of local deployment at FCI’s manufacturing site in Nantong, China.

The case introduces the key building blocks of the lean philosophy, highlights the principal tools to help deploy the lean philosophy, and discusses the implementation challenges from an organizational and personal perspective. It has been successfully used in MBA and executive education courses on operations management and manufacturing.