Lean at Amazon.com: Reconciling Lean and High-Tech

By Marc Onetto and Patricia Panchak

April 15, 2021

Contrary to what some people think, adopting lean in a high-technology environment isn’t just possible; it’s essential. Just ask Marc Onetto. The former SVP of Operations and Customer Service at Amazon pioneered the application of lean management in retail distribution at the company. He asserts that lean reinforced Amazon’s “customer-centric” culture, which has been the foundation for its success. He’ll describe how Amazon applied lean to identify and eliminate muda for the customer, from how it built the website to how it fulfills orders.

He shares how lean helped build the Amazon Customer Excellence System (ACES), which drives the delivery of continuous innovation at the retail juggernaut, and how it:

Opened the door to autonomation in the fulfillment center, facilitating the adoption of robotics to eliminate muda
Improved customer service by helping to reduce the number of screens for a customer service agent to navigate in order to respond to a customer query from 29 to eight
Promoted a customer-centric focus on the fulfillment center shop floor
Helped achieve “the ultimate muda elimination” (you’ll have to attend to hear THAT story!)

Written by:

Marc Onetto|Patricia Panchak

About Patricia Panchak

For 25 years as a business journalist, media strategist, and public speaker, Pat’s reporting and research have helped inform executives about adapting to the latest business issues, including the rise of digital technologies, employee engagement, and lean management.

As an independent journalist, she wrote about lean and digital strategies for a variety of organizations. As the former editorial director of Penton Media’s Manufacturing and Supply Chain Group and editor-in-chief of IndustryWeek, Pat directed the group’s print and digital editorial strategy, leading the development, integration, and distribution of magazines, e-newsletters, webinars, blogs, social media, and in-person events.