Lean-Driven Innovation

Goodyear Today ◾ 11

and often do not understand the marketing strategies, cost tradeoffs, manu-

facturing impacts, and cost complexities associated with their roles. This

is where understanding of additional lean tools—such as customer value,

knowledge management, collaboration, value-stream thinking—as well as

basic understanding of the business, manufacturing costs, complexity, and

distribution can have a positive effect on the value stream.

I think that most other functions also do not understand their role in

inuencing value streams and the shadows those functions cast, which may

not be as large as that of R&D, but certainly impactful. Take, for example,

purchasing. I recently presented lean training to a group from our pur-

chasing organizatio ...