Question

What is relationship between lean and agility?

Answer 1

Answer on Question #52027, Engineering, Other

**Task:**

What is relationship between lean and agility?

**Answer:**

Agility is a business-wide capability that embraces organisational structures, information systems, logistics processes and, in particular, mindsets. A key characteristic of an agile organisation is flexibility. Indeed the origins of agility as a business concept lie in flexible manufacturing systems. Agility should not be confused with Lean. Lean is about doing more with less. The term is often used in connection with lean manufacturing to imply a zero inventory, just-in-time approach.

**Lean:**

- Forecast at generic level

- Economic batch quantities

- Maximize efficiencies

**Agile:**

- Demand driven

- Localized configuration

- Maximize effectiveness

The main difference between lean and agile is the manufacturing volume and product variety. It is not about costs of products, but it is about how quickly demands are responded. While lean deals with the cost and efficiency of the production and mostly for low variety and high volume goods; agility is, in contrast, for high variety and low volume products and deals with fast and accurate response time.