New Florida State Logo and Bad Supply Chain Communication TAGS: blitz | change | china | consulting | design | face | flexible | florida state | football | guy moore | lean | licenses | logo | low price | merchandise | nike | obsolete | operations | process | six sigma | spear | sports | spring game | tallahassee | uniform Prior to their football team’s spring game, Florida State University and Nike unveiled a newly-redesigned uniform and set of logos. The changes to the team’s markings has been a source of …Continue reading →

2014 Masters: How Weather Affects Concessions and Masters Merchandise Inventories TAGS: 2014 | augusta | augusta national | blitz | club | concessions | consulting | continuous improvement | eisenhower tree | food | georgia | golf | inventory | lean | masters | merchandise | operations | process | sports | waste | weather Typically springtime weather in all parts of the country is crazy and hard to predict, but the last three years have seen upwards of 90-degree temperatures during The Masters Tournament …Continue reading →

ASQ Quality for Life Video: Lean In Sports TAGS: american | asq | blitz | consulting | costs | customer satisfaction | interview | lean | non value added time | operations | process | quality | quality for life | society | sports | video Last year at the American Society for Quality (ASQ) World Conference on Quality and Improvement I had the opportunity to record an interview about how Lean and quality can have …Continue reading →

ASQ Influential Voices: Sports Industry Manufacturing TAGS: adidas | andrew luck | asq | authentic | baseball | bell | blitz | consulting | domestic | easton | fabric | football | helmets | influential voices | jersey | johnny manziel | lean | made in the usa | manufacturing | moisture | new balance | nike | operations | process | production | quality | reshoring | riddell | shoes | sports | synthetic | under armour | wicking In a recent post in his blog A View From The Q, soon-to-be-retiring American Society for Quality (ASQ) CEO Paul Borawski gave a quick evaluation of the results from this …Continue reading →

The Super Bowl Public Transit Gaffe TAGS: blitz | bruno mars | bus | business operations | consulting | deadspin | disaster | eric grubman | lean | new york | nfl | pdsa | public | subway | super bowl | transit | transportation One of the big issues with New York hosting the Super Bowl was the intense security and limited access to the stadium grounds (no cars allowed, can’t walk to the …Continue reading →

Nike Polos and Defects Leading to Recalls and Rework TAGS: alabama | college | consulting | defect | football | frank beamer | hubris | inventory | lean | lean blitz | nick saban | nike | operations | polo | process | pullover | quality | recall | rework | sports | swoosh | uni-watch | virginia tech I spend more words beating up on jersey, polo, and t-shirt manufacturers in my posts (see here, here, here, here, here, and here). Truth be told, they are organizations ripe …Continue reading →

Defects, Inventory, and Johnny Football Jerseys TAGS: aggies | amateur | college | consulting | defect | football | ineligible | inventory | jersey | johnny | lean | lean blitz | manziel | ncaa | process | sports | tamu | texas a&m | transportation | university | warehouse | waste Last year Texas A&M ran into an issue of backordered Johnny Manziel football jerseys – they had not adequately planned for his popularity surge and could not keep his #2 …Continue reading →

Defects and the Aaron Hernandez Jersey Exchange Fallout TAGS: aaron hernandez | arrest | consulting | defects | exchange | football | goodwill | jersey | lean | lean blitz | murder | new england | operations | patriots | process | replace | sports | swap Very quickly, one of the strongest NFL position groups – New England Patriots’ tight end – is becoming a weakness. First, Rob Gronkowski had another surgery earlier this week, and …Continue reading →

Use of #Lean in Home Theater Installations TAGS: 5S | big screen | cabinet | clutter | coax | components | consulting | continuous improvement | defects | directv | dish | home | installation | installer | internet | inventory | kanban | lean | lean blitz | network | rack | satellite | scheduling | six sigma | stereo | system | television | theater | theatre | transportation | van | variation | wires During a summer in my younger years I was a tag-along for a company that would install home theater systems. We would install big screen televisions on walls, stereos and …Continue reading →

Toronto Star Article about Buffalo Bisons and Toronto Blue Jays TAGS: 51s | AAA | baseball | buffalo bisons | consulting | interview | las vegas | lean | lean blitz | morgan campbell | new york mets | sports | toronto blue jays | toronto star Earlier this year I wrote a post about how the New York Mets were changing their AAA affiliate from the Buffalo Bisons to the Las Vegas 51s and that they …Continue reading →

#EarthDay 2013 and Conservation of Resources TAGS: 2013 | baseball | conservation | consulting | earth day | hot dogs | inventory | lean | lean blitz | operations | sourcing | sports | strategic | transportation | waiting Today is Earth Day 2013, and the Earth Day mission is to promote actions toward environmental protection and conservation. The focus of Earth Day 2013 is The Face of Climate Change. …Continue reading →

The #2013 Masters: On-Site Masters Logistics and Materials Supply Chain TAGS: 2013 | aesthetics | augusta national golf club | box trucks | customer experience | excess motion | golf carts | inventory | lean | lean blitz consulting | logistics | material handling | operations | process | sports | stockouts | temporary | the masters | transportation | waiting | warehousing | wastes | water spider Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Augusta National …Continue reading →

New York Mets Triple-A Team Now 2,200 Miles Away TAGS: affiliate | buffalo bisons | las vegas 51s | lean blitz consulting | mark graban | new york mets | queens | toronto blue jays | triple a | wall street journal Starting this season, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets have essentially swapped Triple-A affiliates. The Las Vegas 51s are the new Triple-A affiliate of the Mets and …Continue reading →

Baseball Opening Day 2013! What Are Our Business Processes? TAGS: atv | augusta greenjackets | business | concessions | facility | houston astros | lean blitz consulting | maintenance | major league baseball | mascot | opening day | processes | promotions | texas rangers | tickets Baseball Opening Day has arrived! Tonight the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers will throw out the first pitch of the 2013 MLB season. Banners will be unfurled, famous dignitaries will …Continue reading →

Minnesota Twins Shorten Communication Gaps AND Minimize Beer Keg Transportation TAGS: baseball | beer | columbus blue jackets | concessions | don't stop believing | english | hockey | inventory | journey | karaoke | kegs | language | lean | lean blitz consulting | lines | marc aune | minnesota twins | motion | overpurchasing | singing | spanish | spring training | stockouts | transportation | uni-watch | waiting | waste Here are two quick stories about the Minnesota Twins finding ways to increase efficiency (or productivity, which is probably a better depiction). First, the Twins have enrolled some of their …Continue reading →