A Japanese word for ‘improvement’, or ‘change for the better’, kaizen refers to a business practice that focuses on continuous improvement of processes with the involvement of all staff in the process. The aim of kaizen is to eliminate waste, or to create a lean manufacturing environment, by improving standardised activities and processes. In contrast to Six Sigma or other initiatives that may rely upon ‘top down’ initiatives and external experts, kaizen is a ‘bottom up’ initiative involving the generation of simple ideas by staff involved in the process, which are ‘bite-sized’, quicker and easier to implement and which may lead to incremental improvement. See also Lean Thinking and Six Sigma.
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Discover the world’s largest Glossary of Procurement terms
With over 800 Procurement specific terms (and growing) you will find everything you need to know or thought you knew about the Procurement function. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive list collated from the Comprara Groups hub of training and procurement consulting source materials.The Procurement Glossary has been compiled by industry expert Paul Rogers.
