Lean thinking to support RFQ process modelling: The Hutchinson case.

Lean thinking promotes a new vision of habitual processes in order to highlight the hidden obstacles that preclude the achievement of the best performance. Typically, most of the enterprise’s processes are currently revised according to the lean thinking perspective and, because of its holistic approach, the analysis also includes the relationships of processes operating along the whole product lifecycle. In this paper one of these processes - the Request For Quotation (RFQ) - and its impact on the enterprise’s overall performance, is analysed. The Request For Quotation is understood as a sequence of activities that companies perform in the initial phase of each project where customer needs are analysed in order to make a proposal that contains both economic and schedule items. The quotation has to be conform with the product specifications and requirements for which the company has been consulted; additionally, it has to be competitive and made in a short time. This paper presents a model for RFQ developed for Hutchinson Company using mapping of the information flow to support Lean Organization in order to reduce information wastes and allow continuous process improvement activities. The model focuses on efforts and time reduction and evaluates its performance.