14 July 2020

Kaizen Institute’s Global KAIZEN™ Barometer can change the way local businesses adapt to the new environment

Submitted by: Kerry Botha

As the CoVID-19 pandemic impacts businesses across the world, the Kaizen Institute believes that its Lean Processes methodology will help companies manage the current crisis and emerge stronger after it.  

In order to better understand the new environment, Kaizen Institute recently conducted a Global KAIZEN™ Barometer with companies of various sizes, sectors and locations internationally. The purpose of this survey was to gain insights into the state of the various economies, to assess worldwide challenges and constraints and to adapt our approach to an entirely new way of working.

Thanks to the Global Report that resulted from the COVID-19 Global Barometer, KAIZEN INSTITUTE SOUTH AFRICA is now able to implement new methods to assist local companies adapt to current and expected changes in their particular business environments. 

The Global Report highlights 17 KAIZEN actions that can help businesses now.  It suggests phases and deadlines that will allow companies, using Continuous Improvement activities, to react effectively and emerge from the crisis stronger.  

All aspects of a business are included, for example:

Continuous improvement and innovation in marketing and sales: new ways to undertake digital marketing; develop new products and revisit the customer experience in the new environment; review pricing.

Organization and strategy: seize opportunities to scan and evaluate post-crisis paradigms; implement working from home projects; improve employee motivation and efficiency.

Operations: ensure efficiency in post-crisis start-up; equipment maintenance; resize the supply chain; improve service and support operations; evaluate and improve sourcing, suppliers and emergency operations.

“While the approaches mentioned in the Global Report are generic, Kaizen Institute South Africa will tailor the actions to local business conditions with its team currently researching, studying and developing new methods appropriate for local clients,” says KIZA CEO Mbuso Nkosi.

“The health and safety of our clients, team members, suppliers and communities is paramount.  Most Kaizen Institute consultants are working remotely but, with the increasing reliance on virtual collaboration instead of physical meetings, they are well equipped to set up a virtual work environment,” Nkosi added.

KAIZEN™ principles and methods cannot stop the damage done by the pandemic, but they can provide support to organizations planning to weather the turbulent months ahead.  

“We at Kaizen Institute South Africa will continue to be guided by our mission: Improving the World with Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day,” Nkosi concludes.

Learn more about the market analysis and how to take advantage of the crisis with Continuous Improvement activities. Download the report "COVID-19 Global Report" for free: https://www.kaizen.com/pdf-download--covid-19-global-report.html