Should we extend the kanban to the suppliers? Is there a lean way to rank suppliers?

Suppliers typically account for 40 to 60 percent of costs in bought-out-parts and materials, so it isn't too surprising that they account for a good proportion of problems as well. While ranking suppliers may help, before looking into tools such as supplier ranking or supplier kanban, let’s try to understand the problem a bit better. For that let's go to the gemba.

If you've got a pull system running, I’m assuming that you've installed a leveling box, shop stocks at the cells, and since you mention kanban, you're probably using withdrawal kanbans to pick up parts from the shop stock, according to the leveling board. In my experience, not a day goes by without some delivery issue, without the leveling boards filling up with red cards signifying that the desired box is missing or late. And so an analysis of the cause of lateness in delivering internally is likely to help us figure out what is going on at the supplier’s.

So what is the number one cause of late internal deliveries? ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.