Improving the orderliness of the storage and the accuracy of the inventory of raw material samples in a distributor/importer business: An action research guided use of lean tools

The purpose of this insider action research is to understand the root causes of the disorderly storage and inaccurate inventory system of the personal care samples in the Alvibe Chem laboratory; to propose interventions to avoid such disorder in the storage, and inaccuracies in the inventory system of the personal care samples; to decrease the amount of time the Technical Sales Officer, Raw Materials Application Expert and action researcher spend in looking for personal care samples in the laboratory; and to increase the confidence of the Technical Sales Officer, Raw Materials Application Expert and action researcher in the accuracy of the personal care samples inventory system.In the first cycle, the collaborators and the action researcher improved the disorderly storage of personal care samples in the storage cabinet. The collaborators and the action researcher used the lean tools Fishbone diagram and Pareto Analysis to list down and identify the critical causes of the disorderly storage. We then used Force Field Analysis to finalize the prioritization of which root cause we needed to address. We performed 5S as part of the intervention to address the issue.In the second cycle, the collaborators and the action researcher were able to finalize improving the accuracy of the Excel file of the inventory of personal care samples by creating separate inventory files for clients and for prototyping; this has cemented the confidence of the collaborators and the action researcher in the accuracy of the inventories. A combination of the lean tool 3-Whys Analysis and the Force Field Analysis identified the root causes and the critical root cause of the issue to tackle.The framework developed from this action research, The Improving the Orderliness of the Storage and the Accuracy of the Inventory of Personal Care Raw Material Samples in a Distributor/Importer Business Framework, is a combination of the Force Field Analysis for Improving the Orderliness of the Storage and the Accuracy of the Inventory of Raw Material Samples in a Distributor/Importer Business, and of the Modified Kaizen-Action Research Diagram Applied in Improving the Orderliness of the Storage and the Accuracy of the Inventory of Raw Material Samples in a Distributor/Importer Business. This framework offers a holistic process of collaboration with the Kaizen team to identify and tackle the issue at hand while using familiar lean tools. These may be of use to practitioners who would like to have a step-by-step guide on where to start, which lean tools to use, and how to promote continuous improvement in their respective organizations in a collaborative manner.