Waiting is defined in one way as: "staying where one is or delaying until a particular time or something else happens".  In the case of the waste of waiting we can say it is any situation where a delay, idleness or a stop occurs.  There are generally three categories where waiting is related:

  Warehousing, Transportation, Order fulfillment and Inventory Management and Optimization.  We’ve all heard these terms before.  But, did you know how tightly linked they are to a third-party logistics provider?  Many companies in today's day and age rely on logistics providers to help scale and enhance their business.  Companies like Amazon, Walmart and Grainger all use 3PL’s.  And, with the growth of e-commerce and the growing complexity of today's supply chains 3PL’s are becoming a must have for almost every organization.  So, what exactly is a 3PL?

  Transportation waste is any unnecessary movement of materials or information.  Let’s clarify.  Transportation Waste is not the Same as Motion Waste.  One of the key differences is that transportation occurs between process steps and workstations rather than within them.

  Programs like six sigma, lean and total quality management are effective ways to manage continuous improvement strategies and create quality in an organization.  Over the years these fundamental strategies have proven to be drivers of success.  With this in mind, every organization needs quality at all levels of a business.  In today's global economy quality is a common desire.  Everyone wants it.  So, where did this desire for quality come from?

  A push system is the production or performance of any item or activity performed at required times by a given schedule that has been planned in advance.  Many push systems are built mainly to forecast.  Push systems can also include issuing material or performing an activity based on a schedule rather than need.  Push systems create excess inventory which is one of the 8 forms of waste.  

  Takt time is a German phrase for the baton the conductor uses to set the tempo of an orchestra.  In Lean and Six Sigma applications Takt time refers to the rate at which products, information and/or services need to be completed in, to keep up with customer demand.  ​Much like the pulse of a heart rate, Takt time tells us whether we are beating at a healthy rate or we are falling behind.

  A process is a sequence of interdependent and linked procedures designed to transform inputs into the desired outputs.  Each stage of a process consumes some type of resource (e.g. time, energy).  Some parts of a process are intended to create value while other parts of a process are intended to support the creation of value. 

  Waste can be defined as any activity that does not add value to the product or service.  In many cases waste not only adds no value, but adds costs instead.  Waste generally has three defining characteristics to it:

  We’ve all heard that Lean and the Just in Time System are the Same.  And, while there are some similarities, the two systems are in fact, different.  Generally speaking, the Just In Time System makes up one pillar of a Lean Organization and although the principles and techniques can be applied to service environments, the Just In Time philosophy is mainly used in manufacturing.  The philosophy helps an organization achieve three main focuses:

• Produce only what your customers want.
• Produce when your customers want.
• Produce only the amount your customers want.