Introduction to Value Stream Mapping
Value stream mapping (VSM) is a powerful tool used to visualize and analyze the steps involved in delivering a product or service. By mapping out each stage of a process, VSM helps you see where things are flowing smoothly and where they’re delayed, bottlenecked or inefficient. The idea is to get a clear picture of how value moves from start to finish and where you can cut out waste.
For businesses, VSM is an essential part of improving efficiency. It shows you exactly where time, resources, or energy are being wasted, whether that’s due to delays, unnecessary steps, or lack of coordination. With this information in hand, teams can streamline processes, reduce costs, and deliver better results more quickly.
VSM is central to lean manufacturing of engineered products, but it’s just as useful in sectors like healthcare, logistics, and pharmaceuticals. Any industry that relies on complex processes to deliver a product or service can benefit. When you understand your overall value stream, you’re in a much stronger position to improve it.
But VSM doesn’t just stop at diagnosing problems. It plays a key role in creating solutions. By implementing lean practices through VSM, organizations can establish continuous improvement efforts that help them stay competitive in the long run. When it’s integrated properly, VSM becomes a tool for ongoing efficiency, driving productivity and innovation across the board.
Whether you're just starting with lean practices or looking to refine well-established processes, value stream mapping gives you the insights you need to work smarter, not harder.
Removing Waste from the Value Stream
Eliminating waste is crucial in any value stream, especially in industries like pharmaceuticals where time and quality are critical. Value stream mapping (VSM) allows you to pinpoint exactly where waste is happening, whether it’s unnecessary steps, excessive waiting, or bottlenecks between factories executing different phases of production.
Take a pharmaceutical product, for example. The active ingredient may go to a different factories for product formulation, like pills or liquid, and then elsewhere for packaging. Some might be packed in bulk, while others are individually wrapped for specific countries. Delays at any point—whether in packing, shipping, or storage—can waste valuable time, accumulate expensive inventory, and affect the product’s shelf life.
Without careful planning, a product that needs to arrive at a hospital in prime condition might show up close to expiration. Waste in the value stream can delay delivery, raise costs, and even delay delivery, putting patients at risk. VSM helps business teams visualize these potential issues early and streamline the entire process to ensure everything moves efficiently.
By mapping out the entire journey—from API to production to packaging, and finally to shipping—VSM helps pharmaceutical companies ensure their products arrive on time, in good condition, and within compliance standards.
Initial Value Stream Mapping Session
When a company conducts its first value stream mapping session, it’s often led by a lean professional who guides them through the process. Here’s how it might look:
Kickoff: The session begins with an overview of what VSM is and why it’s being done. The team learns that the goal is to visualize the entire production flow and identify waste. Select the Process: The team decides on a specific process to map—perhaps the production of a key product like a pharmaceutical, where ingredients move through various factories and packaging stages.
Map the Current State: With sticky notes or a whiteboard, they map each step of the current process, starting with raw materials and moving through production, packaging, and delivery. The team captures data at each step, such as time spent, delays, inventory, and transportation.
Identify Waste: Once the map is complete, the team looks for inefficiencies—unnecessary transportation, overproduction, waiting times, or excess inventory—anything that adds time or cost without delivering value.
Discuss Improvements: After identifying waste, the team discusses how to reduce or eliminate it. This might include improving lead times for key steps, reducing waiting times between factories, or improving overall logistics to ensure the product arrives at its destination without delays.
Next Steps: The session concludes with a plan for mapping a future state, which reflects the streamlined version of the process. Action items are assigned, and the team begins thinking about how to implement changes.
Throughout the session, the lean professional encourages collaboration, helping the team see the value of continuous improvement and efficiency.
Digital Value Stream Mapping with eVSM
Value stream mapping (VSM) can seem complex, especially for companies new to lean practices. That’s why our clients love eVSM, the leading digital tool for creating detailed value stream maps quickly and effectively.
And while mapping out a full process may feel overwhelming, you don’t have to go it alone. Our team is ready to work with you, even during your free trial, so you can see real ROI before you’ve even bought the software.
With our recent industry award as a Top Lean Manufacturing Solutions Provider, we’ve proven we know how to simplify VSM and help you find waste-reduction opportunities fast.