Tomatoes and Value Stream Mapping

A tomato’s journey from field to table includes harvesting, sorting, packaging, transport, storage and sale. It offers a familiar everyday example for thinking about the value stream.

We cannot simply call the entire difference between the price received by the grower and the price paid by the consumer waste. Transport, product losses, the cold chain, packaging, labour and sales services must be examined for the same product, period and quality level.

The real question is which activities are necessary, which losses can be reduced and how the customer’s need can be met more reliably.

What does value stream mapping make visible?

In businesses we advise, we can also see significant differences between the time spent processing a product and its total lead time. VSM—value stream mapping—helps us examine material and information flow end to end together.

The share of value-adding time must be measured for each process. A fixed ratio such as 1% value-adding and 99% waste does not apply to every business. We should also distinguish waiting, necessary checks and activities required under current conditions.

At each step, we question the value provided to the customer and the reason for the activity. We aim to remove unnecessary work and perform necessary work more reliably with fewer losses. Controls required for food safety and quality must be preserved.

You can examine VSM’s relationship with flow and pull

within the five fundamental principles of lean manufacturing. For the scope of application in your business, our lean production planning and control page provides further information. From mapping to implementation

A team is formed with the people responsible for the relevant steps. Starting with customer needs, the flow is observed on site; inventories, waiting, processing times and information flow are recorded within the same scope.

The team designs a better future state and defines actions, owners and outcomes to monitor. The aim includes quality, safety, reduced losses and reliable delivery as well as shorter lead times.

These questions can also be useful in agriculture and food processes. However, seasonality, perishability and supply conditions affect the design of the application.

With so many resources and so much waste, I believe we need more days when we use our minds rather than buzz around like bees that make no honey.

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