Stop Losing Your Marbles! The Role of Inbound and
Outbound Logistics on Achieving the Lean Enterprise
Dr. Thomas Goldsby

Fee: $375

Most companies implementing lean practices focus their application on manufacturing operations, and often within the four walls of a specific plant. Yet, the logistics function’s management of materials flows inbound to the plant can significantly impact the ability of manufacturers to meet the needs of customers in the most efficient way possible. Likewise, the outbound flow to customers must ensure that the value created by the plant is sustained as goods reach the market. All the great achievements of the plant can be washed away if products are not delivered in a timely, efficient, and safe manner. The efforts of many lean production operations are defeated when these conditions do not hold. So, there is the need to better coordinate the interface between manufacturing and logistics to ensure not only that wastes and disruption are minimized, and value is maximized for customers. The implementation of Lean Logistics will start at the same place as Lean Manufacturing – with the value stream map. We want to apply the same lens for waste identification, separating value-added from non-value-added activity. The forms of waste found in manufacturing are many of the same wastes found in transportation and warehousing. Implementing Lean principles across manufacturing and logistics together will help to ensure that handoffs between the two functions on the inbound and outbound sides of the business result in flows free of constraints and bottlenecks. This workshop examines the application of lean principles to the activities of the production-logistics interface. By incorporating a hands-on simulation, we will deploy tools for identifying waste. Focus is directed on reducing costs, improving service, and removing impediments and bottlenecks to efficient, effective operations.

Upon completion of this session, participants will learn…

• Application of lean principles to inbound and outbound aspects of logistics activity;

• Recognition of the cost-service trade-offs found in logistics,

• Improved coordination between logistics management and the other functional areas of the company; and

• Understanding logistics’ contribution toward the pursuit of the lean enterprise and improved supply chain operations

Presenter Biography

Dr. Thomas J. Goldsby is Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Kentucky.  He has held previous faculty appointments at The Ohio State University and Iowa State University.  Dr. Goldsby holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Evansville, M.B.A. from the University of Kentucky, and Ph.D. in Marketing and Logistics from Michigan State University.   

Prior to entering academe, Dr. Goldsby was a Logistics Analyst for the Valvoline Company.  He previously worked for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., and as a research fellow at the University of Kentucky Transportation Research Center. He has also served as a consultant to manufacturers, distributors, retailers, logistics service providers, non-governmental organizations, and the U.S. Department of Defense.  

Dr. Goldsby’s research interests are logistics customer service, supply chain integration, and the theory and practice of lean and agile supply chain strategies.  He has published several articles in academic and professional journals and serves as a frequent speaker at academic conferences, executive education seminars, and professional meetings.  He is co-author of Lean Six Sigma Logistics: Strategic Development to Operational Success (J. Ross Publishing, 2005), with translations in Chinese, Korean, and Russian.  Dr. Goldsby is a recipient of the 2007 Bernard J. LaLonde Award for the best paper published each year in the Journal of Business Logistics and has twice received the Accenture Award for best paper published in the International Journal of Logistics Management (1998 and 2002).  He has received recognition for excellence in teaching at Iowa State University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Kentucky.  He was recently recognized as one of the most productive researchers all-time in the field of Logistics Management.