Is "going lean" different from being flexible?
Is the reason for going lean limited to cutting costs? This is an important question raised by the Industry Week article, Small Manufacturers Need to be Agile, Not Lean. Small businesses (like many other organizations) are often told that lean is about cutting out the waste. Yet, as this article points out, driving out excesses is hardly something new for small companies, particularly today, since many must already keep costs low in order to compete. So why bother? Becaus