What is Value Stream Mapping (VSM)?

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It is often complex to analyze all the flows involved in a process , whether for a business transformation or just an optimization. Value Stream Mapping is a visual tool that allows you to have a simple reading of all the processes involved in order to understand them, analyze them and gain in efficiency. This Lean Management tool applies to production centers, but also to warehouses. How does it work? What are the steps to establish a successful map? Discover the advantages of applying this tool in your logistics department and how to optimize it.


Value Stream Mapping, also belgium phone data called value chain mapping, is a key tool in a Lean Management approach, the management method of successful companies in the 21st century. It aims to identify the activities produced that add value and those that do not. In other words, it identifies in the production process all the activities that generate more waste than added value, for the internal or external customer. This tool began to be integrated into Lean and Six Sigma work methodologies in the 1990s. The objective was to eliminate all additional costs and optimize production processes.

It is a visual tool, which allows to follow a product in all stages of production, from the supplier of raw materials to the end customer, through a map. The VSM map thus produced gives an overview of the value chain and allows to understand the physical and information flows, and to improve them. The logistics manager can then identify the processes without added value . It is then necessary to ask the right questions to improve the processes . The team in charge of the evaluation can thus produce another visual illustrating the ideal value chain, or even several versions, to compare them. This makes it possible to visualize the corrections to be implemented and at which specific stage of the process. To be effective, a VSM must take into account three types of information: physical flows, information flows and a timeline. To reproduce them throughout the supply chain, it uses many symbols.

Steps to prepare a VSM map
Flow mapping can help any manager optimize a process end-to-end or just a few steps. To better understand all aspects of the process, the problem must be related to the data or the time management process. It is essential to develop a project, which will give you the necessary benchmarks to implement relevant actions.

Identify a problem: whether for continuous process improvement or to solve a problem already detected by the teams or by the customer, mapping is essential. A VSM can be useful when the customer places an order greater than the existing stocks, and you do not know the cause. It is also an opportunity to brainstorm with your teams , to identify what is inefficient in the process, what does not meet the customer's expectations or to know the difficulties encountered by your teams.

Designate the people who will be in charge of the study. It will be composed of members of different departments, each of whom will bring their skills and different approaches, managers and key individuals in the processes. Those best placed to talk about the activities are often those who carry them out. The choice must be judicious for maximum efficiency. The role and level of each person must be determined, according to their area of ​​expertise . A Logistics MBA allows you to train in the field.