Toyota’s lean production system revolutionized manufacturing by introducing strategies that slashed wasteful practice to deliver higher quality products more efficiently. While lean has become the norm in the manufacturing space, service providers rightly wonder: ‘How can human interactions be standardized so that waste can be cut back without alienating customers?’ Now, service providers are finding the path. Devesh Raj, a partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has worked with many service providers — including banks, airlines, hospitals and call centers — to implement lean strategies. In a recent interview with Knowledge at Wharton, he shared his insights about how lean processes are changing services for the better and steps executives can take to introduce the practices.
