Implementing Kaizen and Hansei in Retail Business

by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua of Indonesia

I am reading a book entitled The Toyota Way these days. This book is written by Jeffrey K. Liker, Ph.D. The book is about how to understand fourteen management principles which has been used by Toyota, the best automaker in the world, and how to implement them in our own business.

Actually, I have been aware of Gemba Kaizen management system which is a program offered by a management institution through a correspondence course.

Kaizen is a Japanese word for incremental or continuous improvement whereas Hansei means reflection. When I run my bookstore, I feel that I need to make many improvements in my business. I think that this retail industry is totally different from the manufacturing industry such as an automaker like Toyota.

We all know that Toyota produces the best selling cars in the world but thinking or applying their management system to our retail system might be a different approach.

In fact, after reading the book, I am surprised that Kaizen and Hansei can also be applied to any kind of business including service enterprise. There are always rooms for improvements. For instance, when I stand in the middle of my bookstore watching the display of the books, how the shelves are arranged and how the books are sold, I know that there are still many things that I need to do to improve my service to customers.

One of the most important things the Toyota Way teaches to its readers is the elimination of wastes in all segments of the producing or servicing processes. These wastes include unnecessary movement of workers, defects in products, overstock, unnecessary transport, that do not directly contribute to adding values to the products or services we are about to deliver to our customers or consumers.

How these wastes are eliminated. The answer is through the implementation of hansei and kaizen. Hansei means that we have to identify the wastes first. To be able to identify the wastes, we have to monitor the manufacturing process, or the servicing process at the place where it happens. After identifying the wastes, the next step is implementing Kaizen. Improvements after being implemented have to be maintained. This means that we will not create or let the wastes to happen again.

In retail business, we sometimes order things that are really not requested by our customers. To minimize the occurrence of excess inventory, we need to provide order forms or wish list where customers can place their orders. Retail manager must use this list to order merchandise from manufacturer. If we can apply this process into our retail process then we can minimize or prevent the occurrence of excess inventory and at the same time increase profit to a maximum value.

I have applied this method for more than year now and the result is amazing. I am able to triple the monthly profit of the bookstore by just providing order form of wish list near the cashier table. Customers cannot find the books that they are looking for, they can write the titles; authors, and if possible the publishers of the books. We then order the books from our partner discount bookstore. When they have arrived in our bookstore, we will call or send sms to our customers. We only need one to three days to sell all the books which have just arrived in our inventory. Improvements must be done at the place of the process (gemba).

I have seen that Hansei and Kaizen really work when I apply them in my bookstore. I recommend this book to all of you, business owners around the world to read the book and adopt the management principles of the Toyota Way and the Toyota Production System, of course with some adjustments, into our business. Also read: Ship Displacement and Capacity Limitation; Traveling with ship

Make Money from Home by Writing Business Plans

Do you have business writing and communication skills? Why don't you open a home business that offers services in writing business plans. Today, a lot of people set up new businesses all over the country. Even in your neighborhood, there are moms and pops new home businesses which have just been started or are about to start. They will need to make business plans.


A good business plan is a valueable document. It can be used to assess the feasibility of a business in making profit from the goods or services it offers. It is also important for bankers to decide whether a new business is eligible to receive loan. Many investors are willing to invest their money in new businesses that have good business plans.


If you think that you can open your home business that helps other people in preparing and writing their business plans, then you can begin with very little start up cost.

Every writer needs a computer or laptop and office software such as word processor (word) and spreadsheed calculator (excel). Today, buying an office software is not a must. There are a few open source packages that are good and reliable for your office or business needs. I used to try Open Office.org. This is a complete solution which you can use without having to pay the license.


After buying a computer and installing the necessary office software, you need to promote your business plan enterprise to the public. The fastest one will be advertising your company in local newspaper. You can also persuade bankers and business owners in your town informing them that you provide this kind of service.


When running this business you act both as counselor and consultant. The market for business plan writer always exists. All you need to do is setting up your service right now. written by Charles Roring in Manokwari Indonesia

Why you need to have a business plan for your work at home business

by  Charles Roring in Manokwari West Papua

Maybe you might say, "Well, I just started working at home. My business is still a small one. I sell wooden toys to children in my town. I don't think I need a business plan."

If that's what you have in mind, then you are wrong. Home business has many advantages and disadvantages. You need to know this when you plan a business that is suitable to your condition. Failing to plan your home business means planning to fail. You need to make a business plan. Don't think that business plan is like a 300 page Phd research report. Just make it as simple as possible. A three to five page business plan will be enough for new starter.

When you have written your business plan, you then focus on it to make your work at home a profitable endeavor. Don't worry if you cannot achieve the selling target which you had stated in the business plan. You need to make evaluation and revise some of the statements in it. If necessary make some revision for a better plan and improved work performances.

Even when the whole world community is facing multi dimensional financial crisis, you still need a business plan as a road map for success.  I often talk to business owners whether they read their business plan after writing it. Most of them said no. It's a big mistake if you don't read it. How can you define your target market? How can you estimate your market size and pricing structure. These are all discussed in the chapter of marketing strategy in your business plan.

For instance, you open a coffee shop in the first floor of your house or next to your main house. You need to inform people by distributing some brochures. How can you estimate the number of brochures that you need to distribute to town dwellers?

If you make a business pan, you will think not only the distribution strategy of your brochures but also your products.

Some people do not know how to write business plan. It is not a big problem. Open your search engine, whether it is google, yahoo, or alta vista. There are many new websites that offer free samples of business plan to their visitors. You can download them and make your own based on the structure of these samples.

Write a business plan for your home business

by Charles Roring

Many people seem to forget how important a business plan is. They usually think like this, "Well, I just started my home business with very small capital. I don't think I need a business plan. I will not be able to work from home if I have to spend more time writing my business plan." In my opinion, a business plan doesn't have to be a comprehensive book which explains how you run your business in every detail. What you need is a simple business plan which you can make it as a roap map to making money from home.

A good business plan must contain answers to the following questions:

What business are you in? Whether your business ideas are about designing a website, running a guitar course from your garage, or selling flower seeds through the internet. You must explain them on the first chapter of your business plan. Inside this chapter you need to give detail explanation about kinds of your products and services.

The next question which you have to answer is: who are my competitors? You need to know your competitior so that you can make some adjustments in the pricing, quality and marketing strategy.

How should you utilized your resources? This question will help you make list of your personal belongings which you still keep on the attic of your house and which can still be used for running your business. Resources are not limited to things in your home, it can be your backyard if you intend to sell flower seed.

The last but not the least is what is your business's profit potential. Know your potential markets. Write them in your business plan together with the projected profit. Make some pre-calculation about the cost of equipment, raw material (for instance if you are interested to make doll) and the advertisement. Make sure that your expenses should not be higher than your projected profit for any item that you intend to make. If the cost of production is higher then the selling price of your product will be expensive. Compare the price of your products with similar ones available on the market. Your products should be on the competitive price to sell well.

So, making money from home is a challenging experience. You become the boss. 

If you are still confused about writing a business plan for your home business, try to find some samples from the internet. There are many websites that provide sample business plans plus consulting services. You can also join list whose members are home business owners. You can share ideas, and information and if possible open more ways to cooperation.