Join us Thursday October 24, 2013 at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Center for an executive lunch sponsored by Global Productivity Solutions. We are pleased to work with Food & Consumer Products of Canada to host Lee Tappenden, Chief Merchandising Officer of Walmart Canada and look forward to hearing what he has to say.
Register on the FCPC site: Register Now
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Clinton Township, Michigan – May 1st, 2013 – Global Productivity Solutions, an industry-leading operations consulting firm, and MoreSteam.com, the leading global provider of online Lean Six Sigma training, have partnered to become the single-source global provider of Six Sigma training for a top three computer manufacturer.
This deal marks a significant first step in the new partnership between Global Productivity Solutions and MoreSteam. The complementary strengths of the two companies – MoreSteam’s proven e-learning capability and technologies and Global Productivity Solutions’ track record of delivering Operational Excellence® – played a critical role in their joint selection. As implementation begins, Global Productivity Solutions will provide the onsite training and support in conjunction with MoreSteam’s e-Learning, classroom simulations, and project tracking capabilities.
Another key factor in the computer manufacturer’s decision to select MoreSteam and GPS was the international reach of both firms. MoreSteam’s robust multiple language options allow the client to remove the language barrier so that employees experience a consistent, high-quality and practice-based process improvement curriculum. With its offices in in seven countries, Global Productivity Solutions has a proven history of providing native-language services in virtually every corner of the globe.
Aimée Cowher, GPS Founding Partner and CEO, believes that the collaboration was a key factor in the selection of GPS and MoreSteam from a very diverse field of competitors. “Our partnership with MoreSteam strengthens our capability to better serve our customers, allowing us to focus our resources on what we do best by incorporating what MoreSteam does best. Our partnership offers a powerful combination of training and implementation that drives organizational capability and delivers rapid, sustainable results,” said Cowher.
About Global Productivity Solutions
Global Productivity Solutions is an industry leading operations consulting firm helping companies achieve Operational Excellence® across the supply chain from innovation to invoicing. Engaging all levels of the organization from the C-suite to the shop floor, we challenge what’s possible to make assets more reliable, systems more efficient and processes more capable. Our growing team of 100+ highly experienced consultants can support you around the globe to help you achieve higher operating incomes, increase working capital and enable profitable growth.
About MoreSteam.com®
MoreSteam.com is the leading global provider of online Lean Six Sigma training and Blended Learning technology, serving over 2,000 corporate clients and over 50% of the Fortune 500 with a full suite of Lean Six Sigma e-Learning courses, data analysis software, discrete event simulation software, online project tracking software, online testing tools, and project simulations and games. MoreSteam.com was launched in the year 2000 in response to the high cost of traditional Six Sigma training and tools, and has now trained over 400,000 Lean Six Sigma professionals. MoreSteam’s mission is to enable people to advance the performance of their organizations by delivering powerful tools for process improvement to the widest possible audience at the lowest price available. For more information about MoreSteam.com, visit: http://www.moresteam.com/.
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Recently, Ann Delisi of WDET 101.9FM featured Aimée Cowher’s top 5 essential songs list on the April 20th edition of Ann Delisi’s Essential Music show. ADEM features music made in Detroit, along with live in-studio performances, interviews and special features. One of these special features includes playing back Essential Songs lists that consist of your 5 MOST important songs of your lifetime. You can find Aimée’s explanation of her list here and the entire show can be heard online here.
GPS supports WDET as part of our commitment to help organizations that are contributing to the rebirth of Detroit. Our sponsorship funds are channeled to serving several youth-based efforts, including the Books for Kids program, putting books into the hands of disadvantaged children throughout Southeast Michigan.
Here is Aimée’s Essential Songs List alongside her personal reasons for choosing the songs:
5.Unknown Brother – The Black Keys – “A song that I first heard while running and as it started playing I had to stop and walk because the tears were flowing. I had recently thrown all the Black Keys songs we had in our library onto my running playlist. This has lyrics that make me think of how the girls might feel about Kyle when they are older.”
4.House at Poo Corner – Loggins and Messina – “When I was interviewed about being a supporter of WDET and specifically what’s so important about Books for Kids, I was asked what book I read as a kid that I go back to as an adult and I blurted out The Many Adventures if Winnie the Pooh. And this song came to me quickly when I was making the list. It has messages that are timeless and ageless.”
3.Spirit in the Sky – Norman Greenbaum – “When I ran the Detroit marathon back in 2008 I remember distinctly the stretch around the south end of Belle Isle and making the turn back north into a headwind. This is about mile 18 or so. I had a moment of doubt that I would be able to finish and my iPod on random play selected this song. It was exactly what I needed. ”
2.Imagine – John Lennon – “Others have included this song among their top 5, even recently. I struggled between this and the Beatles song that has the line “and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”. But realized that’s one line vs the ever so important message of this entire song. Besides that I had Kyle write a paper on his take on the meaning of the song when he was in (I think 8th grade). Pretty heavy for a 13 year old but he got it! ”
1.Times like These – Kid Rock – “I had some very specific criteria for #1. Had to be a Detroit artist. Had to have a message meaningful and relevant to Detroit’s current situation. Had to have moved me. Of course songs by Bob Seger came to mind, especially having just seen him at the palace. Rare Earth’s I just Want to Celebrate is another song on my running playlist and an all time favorite. But when it came to a song that brings chills and summons tears, well this had to be the one. Despite the fact that I understand the ‘Born Free’ album was not Kid Rock’s comfort zone or most satisfying release, I think the whole album is brilliant. And what he continues to do for Detroit is wonderful. “
On April 9th, our own Phil Schoepke joined Kraft Foods Black Belt and Sr. Director of Continuous Improvement, Alison Rush, in the presentation of “SCOR with a Six Sigma Twist” at Supply Chain World 2013, hosted by the Supply Chain Council.
The response to the presentation has been overwhelming, a testament to the results that have been achieved through the implementation of operational excellence® tools. GPS and Kraft deployed a potent combination of Lean, Six Sigma, and the Supply Chain Operations Reference model (SCOR) to achieve breakthrough levels of productivity and service performance throughout the supply chain.
For those of you that missed Supply Chain World 2013, the presentation can be downloaded directly from the Supply Chain World website: Download (PDF, 7.16MB)
To learn more about how GPS can help you streamline your supply chain, contact us today.
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As part of our Integrated Giving program, GPS is helping a village in Padibe, Kitgum, Uganda to commission a sunflower seed press, a first step in turning around the economy of a region still recovering from Joseph Kony’s reign of terror.
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First some background regarding the geography and sociology surrounding the project whose official name is St. Francis Sunflower Press in Padibe Parish, Uganda.
Padibe is in the Lamwo district of Northern Uganda which borders Sudan. For over two decades it has been ravaged by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Rebellion Army (LRA) which torched villages, murdered villagers and kidnapped children to grow its army. Many of you will be familiar with Kony from the Kony 2012 documentary and associated “Stop Kony” viral campaign that resulted in a United States resolution “condemning Joseph Kony and his ruthless guerrilla group for a 26-year campaign of terror”. The majority of Northern Uganda peoples were driven into protective camps during this time.
With Kony finally moving out of the area and eventually into the Congo, the people of Padibe started emerging from the camps about 4 years ago, with little to return to in their villages – no livestock and overgrown fields. These impoverished people were in need of a hand up. Non-governmental organizations helped to fill the gap and at that time a future GPS employee was also becoming involved.
Prior to coming to GPS as a consultant, Shawn Alexander had donated his time, know how, and energy working with the Three Holy Women’s Global Solidarity Ministry. In 2007 he visited Padibe for the the first time while most of the population was still in the refugee camps. The Ministry’s early projects centered around security and water purification. As the most basic of needs were starting to be met, a vision for a cash crop supply chain was formed by the local people that centered around sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are relatively easy to grow in the fertile soil of northern Uganda and the oil that is pressed from the seed is used for cooking and has the potential of export from Lamwo into southern Uganda and Sudan. One of the biggest challenges for the farmers of Lamwo was that the nearest press was over 40 km away, for many, an arduous task for many who would deliver the 60 kg bags of seed by foot or by bike. Shawn went to work with others in Three Holy Women Global Solidarity Ministry to raise the $80K+ that was required to purchase and ship a press and the generator and began to form the CO-OP that would govern the operation.
In 2012 the funds for the equipment were secured and the people of the Padibe Parish, now led by Father Romano Ouma, were challenged to build the structure that would house the press. This was completed late in the year and the press was purchased in India with delivery set for early April 2013. While the Indian company was sending an engineer to install the press, the farmers of Padibe, fresh from the camps, had little experience setting up a business of this size and type.
This is where GPS entered the scene. In 2012, Shawn’s work grabbed the interest of Gary Cone, Chris Carlson, and Matthias Bauer all of whom signed up to help the CO-OP set up business. After reviewing and editing the business plan that was prepared by the COOP, the four booked flights at their own cost with GPS covering their time through the Giving Back fund. The newest element of the GPS Giving Back program was established in 2011 to assist non-profits that are making a difference in the world with process improvement. The sunflower press operation was a perfect fit.
During the two weeks spent in Uganda from 7 to 19 April, the four man team would guide the installation of the press and the first week of operation. The GPS team spent the first week splitting their time between the Padibe installation, visiting nearby villages that would be impacted by the press, and touring the nearest press operation in the small city of Kitkum. With the team now on site customer and product flow was established, business plans including pricing were refined, and a number of installation challenges, especially around sunflower oil storage and dispensing were overcome creatively in a geography with few supplies and resources. The biggest challenges, however, were found to be in a required shifting of the cultural thinking. Safety, cleanliness, and ergonomics were all but ignored in the operations that were seen in northern Uganda. With no example of what good looks like in these areas, the GPS team worked constantly with members of the operations team to drive these important concepts home. From 5S principles to designing safety guards for machines to reducing bag sizes so that a single worker could move WIP without injury, the team kept the messaging firm and constant throughout the period that they were in Padibe.
At the villages, the team was received like rock stars – a testimony to the work that Shawn and his group had accomplished in years prior. Shawn instilled in all of the GPS team an important theme – that real relief efforts don’t come as a result of simply giving money, but are most effective when long term relationships are built. Villagers with very little means prepared celebrations complete with dancing, drama, tours, music, speeches and food. The importance of planting sunflower seeds to helping the local economy was communicated at every stop. At the village of Lokung the team was especially touched by a group of women who, after dancing, told their stories through a translator of the war and the camps. One woman had all five children kidnapped by Kony’s LRA and had not returned. Another saw her husband killed. It was gut wrenching to the point that it was decided that one day would be spent planting donated sunflower seed for the women of Lokung which was done in week 2. In technical terms the team was moving up the value stream with the planting of seed, but there was nothing technical about this visit – all of the team members had been deeply impacted by these and many other stories of the same theme.
Week 1 ended with the Grand Opening Celebration of the press that was attended by government officials and many other people of the Lamwo District – a testimony to the importance of the operation. The day featured a tour of the facility and the first bottle of oil that had been extracted from the press during a pilot run the previous day.
The second week was spent finishing the oil storage system and refining the processing of incoming seed. The team divided effort with 2 always remaining at the press to teach business processes while continuing preparations for full scale production, and the other 2 team members continuing the village visits. The villagers had started bringing seed on their bicycles and by mid week the press had been started and was producing oil and cake – a byproduct that would be sold to piggeries in the region.
By the end of the stay, the sunflower press operation still had much refinement left to go, but the press was open for business and the GPS impact was evident. Relative to other factories in the area, Padibe was cleaner, safer, and more efficient. For the farmer, the operation was designed so that they would receive their sunflower oil within minutes of dropping off their seed, not the days of waiting that was experienced in other press operations (again, think bicycle for 30km on underdeveloped, clay roads that are often washed out). The brand new press at Padibe is an important foundational element that will help good people that have suffered through way too much bad in their lives to begin to experience better economic conditions. It is important to reiterate that the sunflower press was suggested by the people in Padibe, it will be run by the people in Padibe, it will generate a profit in Padibe, and that the profit will enable future businesses in Padibe. Already the COOP is talking about using the proceeds from the press to buy a truck to help farmers with transportation, or a tractor to help prepare the fields. For the village of Lamwo that has always had hope and optimism for a better life, the great news is they now have an economic engine to fuel future growth. .
As for the GPS team, they all agree that the people of Padibe were the ones who were really Giving Back. Thanks Louis, Father Ramano, Christine, Tommy, Frances, Father Ceasar, Robert, Michael, Sister Judith, Otim, Charles, and everyone else involved in this amazing project.
Download the full image pack: Uganda_Pictures.zip (22MB)
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GPS Canada is proud to to be the premier event sponsor for the 2013 Food and Consumer Products of Canada Supply Chain Symposium.
FCPC’s annual Supply Chain Symposium brings together industry leaders to explore key business challenges and opportunities influencing our industry. This year’s event is titled ‘Thinking in New Boxes’ and will be held April 17th 2013 at the Mississauga Convention Centre.
GPS will be delivering a breakout session where our own Phil Schoepke will demonstrate how GPS helped a customer save over $5MM in two months using a hybrid initiative featuring concepts from the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model and Lean Six Sigma.
Join GPS for what is bound to be an informative event and find out how we can fix your biggest supply chain issues.
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Global Productivity Solutions (GPS) is partnering with manufacturing diagnostic experts at ZPI to provide a truly integrated performance improvement solution to some of the world’s largest manufacturers.
“ZPI’s data collection and analysis system has proven to be an invaluable asset and compliment to our approach for delivering Operational Excellence®,” explains GPS CEO, Aimee Cowher. “The ZPI system provides thorough and accurate operational performance measurements enabling GPS consultants to fully utilize their data analytics expertise to drive breakthrough improvements for our customers. Given the tremendous success we’ve had on recent projects with ZPI, it was clearly time to formalize our relationship.”
In the last two years, ZPI and GPS have worked together to enable multiple performance breakthroughs, helping Fortune 500 companies save hundreds of millions of dollars in the pursuit of Operational Excellence®. The results of this relationship have been staggering. Recent client successes in the fast moving consumer goods industry have included customers realizing:
GPS is proud to partner with ZPI to provide customers with a completely integrated improvement solution, from software through to success.