Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

Value stream mapping is a lean technique that draws the full flow of material and information needed to deliver a product, distinguishing value-adding steps from waste. It exposes where time, inventory and delay accumulate so improvement effort targets the real constraints.

A VSM charts every step from raw material to customer, with data on cycle times, wait times, inventory and information flow. Comparing the current-state map to a future-state design reveals the biggest sources of waste — overproduction, waiting, excess inventory — and sequences the improvements (kaizen) to close the gap. It keeps lean effort focused on the whole flow, not local optima.

Related terms

Lean Manufacturing · Kaizen · Theory of Constraints (TOC)

Where this applies

Reducing changeover time with SMED · Commissioning a new production line · Setting up an OEE measurement programme · Running a value stream mapping exercise