In this video blog, Andrew Smith, Founder | MD at ZenSmart, explores how adopting the principle of Kaizen—continuous improvement through self-accountability—can help shift your print-on-demand business from reactive chaos to controlled, data-driven progress.
Transcript
Running a print-on-demand business is tough. The sheer variability in product artwork, sizes, workflows, product accessories, combined with the daily challenges of raw material supply, machine maintenance, breakdown, staffing issues, means that for many businesses it’s a constant battle with a rolling series of dramas and crises. So how do you change this? Going back in history, back in the 50s, Toyota executives were heavily influenced by all the American advisors who went into Japan as part of the Marshall Plan. And that advice eventually evolved into the development of a set of production principles at Toyota, which is called the Toyota production system. And one of the core principles is called Kaizen. And this boils down to continuous improvement through self-development. To properly implement Kaizen, you need to adopt the practice of self-criticism. It means holding yourself accountable and always looking for ways to improve. And from Zen Smart’s point of view, these principles are incredibly important. Because while Zen Smart is a workflow automation system, it also collects all the evidence of how you manufacture your goods, who executes the work, and how well you’re doing. So rather than running your business in a constant reactive mode, dealing with new issues every single day, embracing Kaizen means identifying root causes and committing to continuous improvement and transforming your business in the process. If you’d like to know how well the data collected by Zen Smart feeds directly into the ability in order to adopt that method of continuous improvement, then reach out. We’d like to talk with you about it.
