Our Lean Journey
Charles Cohen
Benco Dental Company
January 2008
• Founded 1930, 3G Our Mission:
We deliver success,
Owner/Operators smile after smile.
• Customers: Dentists
& Dental Labs
• 3rd Largest in US
– 2007 Sales: $400M
(+13%)
– Associates: ~1100
– 4 DC’s, 48 Locations
Our Journey Begins…
• Focus on Efficiency, ‘Brilliant process management is
not Profit our strategy. We get brilliant
results from average people
• Reading on Toyota managing brilliant processes. We
• Input from Key observe that our competitors often
Manufacturer get average (or worse) results
from brilliant people managing
Partners
broken processes.’
Fujio Cho, Toyota Chairman
The Challenges
• Making a Choice: Lean? Six Sigma?
Lean Six Sigma? ISO?
• No Literature on ‘Lean for Distribution’
• No ‘Engineering Mindset’
Our Lean Journey
• Chose Classic Lean/TPS
• Leader from Accounting (Now 4 FT)
• State Funds for Training
• Internal Marketing
– Developed Own Brand: BCI
– Added ‘Continuous Improvement’ to Values
• Joined/Attended AME (www.ame.org)
Our Learning
• It’s a Journey, Not a Sales per Non-Sales
Destination Assoc ($000's)
• Leadership from the $550
Top $500
• Don’t be Distracted by $450
Tracking $ Impact $400
• Lean Is a Mindset $350
$300
$250
2005 2006 2007
Where to Start
• Start with Leadership: CEO & Internal
Lean Champion
• Read: HBR, Wommack: ‘Lean Thinking’
• Attend AME Meeting (www.ame.org)
• ID Allies: Vendors, Government Funds,
Other Companies