Specialist Lean
Area: Global LEAN Management
Department: Process Engineering
Direct Report Line: Manager Lean Ambassador
Location: Mexico DC (MDC)
People Management: No
LEAN STATEMENT
At adidas we are committed to live the LEAN philosophy and to apply LEAN principles to our daily operation, maximizing customer value while minimizing waste and continuously improving our way of working.
SUMMARY
This position will support the implementation of the LEAN Management philosophy at MDC (Mexico Distribution Center) in support of the site's goals and objectives. The Specialist Lean will assist the LEAN Ambassador in the deployment of LEAN concepts across all areas of the DC, supporting the identification of improvement opportunities and the resources necessary to accomplish planned improvements. The Specialist Lean will provide hands-on support to improvement teams within the DC, helping to collect and analyze data, document processes and follow up on action plans.
In addition, the Specialist Lean supports data-driven decision making by helping to build and maintain basic operational dashboards and reports (Power BI) that translate operational data into actionable insights for productivity, labor planning, service level and continuous improvement, under the guidance of the LEAN Ambassador
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Support all LEAN activities and initiatives across the MDC under the direction of the LEAN Ambassador
- Function as a change agent. Continuously challenge the way things are done. Promote creativity and out of the box thinking.
- Support the execution of internal Lean audits to monitor progress
- Support the use of the Labor Management tool within the DC, including labor planning & performance management follow-up
- Support the maintenance of the LM tool, including process analyses & time studies
- Support IT teams to ensure that labor management solutions provide the optimal outputs & new business requirements are captured
- Support the implementation of LEAN Management methodology to help the business achieve its goals and objectives. Improvement projects are likely to focus on cost competitiveness, product availability, lead-time reduction and supply chain network optimization
- Support MDC process owners to optimize processes and to focus on key customer requirements
- Assist in training, coaching and mentoring activities in LEAN concepts and techniques
- Support project management activities to help ensure projects are completed on time and meet the objectives in the charter
- Help gather and organize best practices to support internal and external benchmarking efforts.
- Partner with Industrial Engineers on site to help standardize best practices and processes by supporting standard work
- Provide support to the project team during the implementation of Labor Management
- Assist in the development and maintenance of basic operational dashboards in Power BI (productivity, rate per hour, effective/idle time) to support DC performance management
- Support data collection, organization and basic analysis (database management) to feed KPIs and reporting requirements for site leadership and process owners
- Help ensure data integrity across dashboards and reports in partnership with the LEAN Ambassador and IT/BI teams
- Support the automation of manual reports and data workflows to reduce cycle time, manual effort and risk of errors
- Assist in tracking the savings and efficiency pipeline linked to LEAN, labor productivity, automation and process optimization
- Support standardization across MDC operations through standard work and SOPs (aligned to the adidas SOP template and SQCDP principles)
- Support the DC's Performance Ecosystem (PeS) maturity activities, helping to execute the Site Improvement Plan under the guidance of the LEAN Ambassador
- Support the delivery of MDC operational targets (e.g. UPH target, CPU and combined L0+L1 cost as a percentage of Net Sales) through Lean/CI and cost-reduction initiatives
BUSINESS PARTNER/CONTACTS
- Manager Lean Ambassador MDC
- DC Director MDC
- MDC Warehouse Operations Management
- MDC Supply Chain Operations Management (if applicable)
- Industrial Engineering
- IT / BI & Reporting teams
- Finance / Supply Chain Finance
- Process Owners (Inbound, Outbound, Inventory, eCom, Retail and Wholesale)
- Regional Continuous Improvement Community (LAM)
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
- Interest and motivation to learn and apply LEAN concepts; prior experience is a plus but not required
- Basic statistical and analytical problem-solving skills
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment
- Computer skills: MS Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
- Basic knowledge of Power BI (dashboard visualization) is a plus
- English proficiency is a plus
- Database management skills are a plus
- Analytical skills and attention to detail
- Proactive attitude and willingness to support data collection and basic reporting activities
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's degree in logistics, industrial engineering or another relevant discipline
- No prior work experience required; experience in logistics or manufacturing operations is a plus
- LEAN or Six Sigma Yellow/Green Belt training or certification is a plus
- Basic Power BI, English proficiency and database management skills are a plus