Lean applications for Lean IP Management

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‘Lean production’ by conventional definition is an integrated socio-technical system whose main objective is to eliminate waste by concurrently reducing or minimizing supplier, customer, and internal variability.¹ Conventional lean management or lean production prescribe the elimination of all non-value-adding activities within a system, with ‘value’ being defined as any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for.²

The elimination of waste and the optimal allocation of resources are the primary goal of ‘lean’ management.³ Waste can be seen as every activity or asset that does not support business operations. By adopting a lean strategy, firms can produce more efficiently, economically and ecologically for their customers, thereby increasing their own profitability and competitiveness. Basic ideas of lean production can be found already at the turn of the 20th century.⁴ However, the term ‘lean production’ was coined in 1988 by John Krafcik.⁵ Afterwards, the concept soon became widely known and accepted.⁶