Reshoring + AI: Is your Lean ready for what’s next?
By Tony Rodriguez, President, Daniel Penn Associates, LLC
Work is coming back to the U.S. faster than many factories can support. A recent IndustryWeek article by University of Phoenix COO Raghu Krishnaiah highlights this shift. AI is speeding up both the opportunity and the complexity. What will reshoring mean for your company?
Why Lean must evolve
Reshoring in a higher-labor-cost market means Lean can’t stand still. To compete, plants need big gains in productivity, flexibility, and time-to-stable output. At the same time, teams must close skill gaps and add digital tools in a careful way. Here are focus areas to revisit.
For CEOs and CFOs
Link Continuous Improvement to the P&L. Turn Lean wins into clear impacts on unit cost, cash, and capacity (e.g., value-stream P&Ls, inventory turns, OEE-to-throughput). This way, results show up where it counts.
Be smart about capital and automation. First, de-risk with pilot-to-scale playbooks. Then, right-size automation around stable standard work. Avoid buying tech before you fix flow.
Sharpen reshoring economics. Compress ramp curves, shorten cash conversion cycles, and design for smaller, more variable lot sizes. As a result, you’ll respond faster with less waste.
For Manufacturing Leaders
Stabilize before you digitize. Start with 5S, standard work, layered process audits, good workflow, and visual controls that operators actually use. Then add digital tools.
Add flexibility at the constraint. Use Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), line balancing, takt time, mixed-model sequencing, and error-proofing to meet U.S. takt with shorter runs. As a result, changeovers can hurt less.
Build reliability. Combine Total Preventive Maintenance with predictive analytics. Also, grow problem-solving skill at the actual location, not only in dashboards.
For HR and Talent Leaders
Map skills to the future state. Create a skills map tied to value streams and redesigned roles. Next, adopt skills-based hiring to fill gaps faster.
Make upskilling stick. Use Training Within Industry (job instruction, job relations, job methods), micro-credentials, and earn-and-learn paths with education partners. In addition, speed up supervisor development.
Retain through growth. Show visible career ladders, keep cross-training matrices current, and modernize onboarding tied to standard work. This helps people see a future with you.
For Internal Lean Leaders
PDCA meets data. Use A3s or project charters to target data problems worth solving. To avoid “pilot purgatory,” set clear problem statements and measures up front.
Tighten governance. Standardize how digital tools change work to reduce risk, ensure compliance, maintain continuity, strengthen security, and improve transparency and accountability.
Measure what matters. Track lead time, first-pass yield, changeover time, and flow index. Then, connect those metrics to financial outcomes so leaders see value quickly.
Questions to ponder
Should we phase implementation to reduce production disruptions?
Will our volumes or product mix change a lot in the next 3–5 years?
Are we able to scale one successful pilot across lines and sites within 90 days?
Can value-stream analysis show how Lean cuts unit cost and boosts capacity?
How can we coach and train our people while we sustain standard work through tech changes?
Do changeovers happen fast enough to profit from smaller lot sizes?
Which tasks are ready for AI or automation after we stabilize the process, and which are not?
Can we create a system for teaching skills and learning paths that match our future-state design?
How Daniel Penn Associates can help
Executive and plant leadership workshop. Align strategy, operations, HR, and finance around a clear CI + digital plan.
Reshoring + AI Lean Readiness Diagnostic. Review current-state value streams, map skills and roles, scan tech opportunities, and build a sequenced roadmap with impact estimates.
Now is the time to adapt your Lean system for U.S. competitiveness. Let’s talk. Visit danielpenn.com/contact to schedule a 30-minute conversation about your situation.
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