Defining 5S for Procurement

Mary Walker over at Purchasing.com concisely explains 5S for Manufacturing in her post titled Is 5S Implementation Truly Worth the Effort. 5S, abbreviated from the Japanese words Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke, are simple but effective methods to organize the workplace.

I thought I’d try to answer the question… how would a purchasing professional organize their buying categories? After a quick Google search I could not find 5S for purchasing. Here are my thoughts.

1. Survey – gain a deep understanding of internal business needs, external market conditions and supplier capabilities for each buying category
2. Strategy – develop a category sourcing strategy with a cross-functional team approach
3. Selection – based upon the strategy, select and contract with the supplier(s) that can meet the organization’s needs based upon the sourcing strategy
4. Solutions – constantly challenge suppliers to drive continuous improvement to meet the quality, cost, service and innovation needs
5. Sustain – through relationship management measure, monitor and sustain supplier performance

5S for purchasing doesn’t exactly match 5S for manufacturing. For example, the visual tool aspect is missing.  It should help manage the procurement process, deliver cost reduction and drive supplier continuous improvement.

I’d love to hear any comments thoughts from other procurement professionals or lean experts.