Maharishi International University

Process Improvement Project

Assignment 2

Group 4
1. Aida Teklu
2. Abebe Dinku
3. Kumneger Geremew

Date November 8, 2021

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Write a 2–4-page paper in which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the use
of Future State Value Stream Mapping in the context of the Lean Six Sigma improvement
process. The paper should include the following main sections:

1. A brief explanation of the purpose of the Future State VSM and how it differs from a
Current State VSM.
2. A brief description of the three different approaches to drawing the FSVSM.
3. Discuss how you will address Customer demand ( first phase of mapping the SVSM)
in your own project.

Cite at least two supporting references, from relevant articles on Canvas, or from a reliable
source (for example a professional organization, periodical, publication, etc.) Use the Written
Paper Grading Rubric (available in the Resources tab) as a guide to what is expected. Contact
the professor early with any questions.

Project

Part 1
what is future state value stream map (VSM)

A future state value stream map (VSM) is simply a projection of how a value stream should look
in the future, generally 6 to 12 months.

what is purpose of future state value stream map (VSM)

The future state map is a road map for the organization to help prioritize which areas need
improvement the most (related to bottlenecks in the system), and which areas will not be worth
the investment in improvement at this time.

Value Stream Map (FVSM) helps to effectively identify wasteful activities and production
processes.

The future state VSM examines the ideal of how your process should look and work.

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By illustrating the current state, a value stream map allows you to know where there are current
gaps. Once you establish inefficient or undesirable activities, you can identify opportunities in a
future state map and develop an implementation plan to achieve your goals.

Future state value stream maps provide a vision for where the product or service is headed in the
future, which guides all investment and decision making. The goal here is to produce a view of
what the future state could be and rely on improvements being defined through the observable
gaps between the current and future state.

How does future state VSM differ from current state VSM

Value stream mapping consists of three steps that examine the interactions between processes. A
present state value stream map shows work processes as they exist in the present. The present
state is assessed to understand what needs improvement. A future state value stream map
assesses where the corporation would like to be after changes are implemented.

Steps creating FVSM is different from CVSM

Future state requires more in-depth understanding of inventory processes, like Kanban (an
inventory-tracking methodology); Kaizan, a Japanese principle of continuous improvement; and
lot sizing (small or large,) which affects inventory efficiency. Finally, developing and
implementing a plan to reach the future state should be the outcome of VSM.

Part 2
1. The “begin with the end” approach. One way to draw the future state value stream map is to
envision the ideal state and work your way back to an interim implementation timeline such
as 6 or 12 months, their future state and spend less time studying the current state and its
flaws when compared to any ideal.
2. The incremental approach. A second way is to systematically identify and eliminate waste
from the current state map, and a new “current state” with less waste your future state. This
could include bringing processes closer together, reducing error rates or inventories. This
method requires that you get smarter or sharper in your observation as your current state
improves over time.

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3. The cookbook approaches: Ask the “10 questions” for building a future state by applying
the lean tools based on a recommended method. The questions typically address takt time /
pacemaker, continuous flow, Kanban / pull signal / supermarkets, Heijunka/ leveling,
scheduling point, standard work / work balancing, lot size reduction / SMED, build to order
vs. build to stock and 3P / product & process design approach.

Perhaps the biggest weakness is that this approach rarely if ever identifies organizational,
leadership or foundational behavior issues that are causing the current state to be as bad as it is.

4. The zeroth way: Draw no future state map at all.

Part 3
As we are a supplier of an ERP System, in this week’s project we will be exploring how the team
will address the customer demand in the process of developing an Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) system for industry in the first phase of future state VSM.

In order to keep up with customer demand and expectations, development teams are having to
work faster and be more efficient than ever before. However, it’s not just the development teams
that are impacted by these increased demands. A VSM activity can help to identify and better
coordinate other impacted operational teams and process segments that are integral to the overall
development process.

As the value stream mapping activity engages the team members, one of the key benefits that
will be realized is that it provides an element of understanding to the voice of the customer. It
helps identify what it is that the customer is asking for, what they value, what they need and how
to best achieve exactly that in the most efficient means possible. Understanding quality from the
customers’ perspective can be invaluable to the performance of the process and the quality of the
product.

This mapping activity can be immensely helpful in providing leaders, stakeholders, and team
members with a unified view. This new view enables them to step out of their information silos
and gain a more holistic understanding of the overall process and their respective roles and

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contributions to the finished product. This added perspective helps them each to see their
individual contributions as more significant, valued and essential to the product delivery process.

A simplified example would show that if you simply speed up the development process, it will
likely increase the backlog for testing and result in more quality issues that can find their way to
the production environment.

The VSM is also the most efficient way to record the current state of things. When making
changes to the development cycle, creating a baseline, or Current State VSM for future
comparison is the best way to go. This enables easy before-and-after comparisons of the
performance data to determine if the changes made had the intended impact.

As improvements to the process are identified and planned, the team will need to develop an
implementation plan. These improvements will often require a phased approach to introduce
necessary changes to achieve the target state. To do this, a future state VSM should be created
for each state of the implementation plan, which typically includes a 30, 60, 90-day view. It
should reflect the expected data, times, volume, etc. This allows us to validate our assumptions at
each stage of the implementation plan, to make sure the changes are having the desired impact
and moving the value stream performance in the right direction. This enables the development
team to make corrective changes as needed to keep them on track to reach the desired future state
performance objectives. The future state VSM gives us and our team members a unified view of
the overall process as well as targeted objectives to work toward.

Efficiency can be measured through a wide variety of metrics depending on the organization and
the level of detail that is being tracked. However, with anything that is being tracked, it’s always
important to have an established baseline that shows your starting point.

For example:

A manufacturer wants to improve their business practices, increase productivity, and streamline
workflows. But if all those improvements don’t lead to a greater number of customers — and
more satisfied customers

A robust enterprise resource planning system (ERP system) can improve internal business
practices, help to earn new customers, and improve their satisfaction.

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Faster product delivery

When your inventory data is accurate and easily accessible, orders get out the door faster. An
ERP system facilitates real-time updates to maintain accurate inventory data.

More accurate orders

Accurately fulfilling orders requires cross-functional collaboration between sales, billing,

When your business fulfills orders accurately and on time, you improve customer satisfaction
and minimize expenses associated with errors.

Sales can give answers on demand

An ERP system allows users to access information on their mobile devices from anywhere.

So, when your sales force is out in the field talking with customers or potential buyers, they can
get immediate answers to questions about inventory, production schedules, order shipments and
incoming supplies. They also can create quotes faster and more accurately by having access to
quote history, which improves their chances of getting RFQs turned around and approved.

This type of responsiveness nurtures existing client relationships and makes a positive
impression on prospective ones.

Improved customer service

When customer service reps have access to detailed client information like billing, order history,
shipping, item fill rates and previous problems all in a single portal, they can meet your
customers' needs more quickly.

ERP tools can be programmed so that a user sees the most relevant information on their
customized dashboard first (e.g., customer-related data versus the entire system’s daily data),
making it easy to access the information they need. ERP software also integrates seamlessly with
most CRM and sales systems to give a 360-degree, big-picture view of a client relationship.

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References
https://blog.gembaacademy.com/2008/07/16/
three_ways_to_draw_future_state_value_stream_maps/
https://www.mudamasters.com/en/lean-toolbox-lean-production/8-steps-future-state-vsm-design
https://www.wipfli.com/insights/articles/mad-5-benefits-of-erp-for-manufacturers-and-customers
Atlas Copco KK SD Yokohama(2012), Operator’s instruction manual,Internal document
EPA, Environmental Protection Agency(2014).Information about Tier III,
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/tier3.htm[2014-03-05]
Alireza Esfandyari, Mohd Rasid Osman, Napsiah Ismail, Farzad Tahriri (2011). Application of
value stream mapping using simulation to decrease production lead time: a Malaysian
manufacturing case. Int. J. Industrial and Systems Engineering Vol.8, No.2.
Benito E. Flores and D. Clay Whybark(1985) Multiple Criteria ABC Analysis, Texas A & M
University, USA.

Annex A

Annex B

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