Comparing the VSM and Makigami tools in a transactional office environment: exploratory research from an Italian manufacturing company

Lean manufacturing and total quality management (TQM) are often based on mapping tools that support the redesign of processes in manufacturing, as well as in a transactional office environment. Over time, different types of mapping tools have been proposed and customised, especially for TQM applications, although the lean movement supports the well-consolidated value stream mapping (VSM). Although the VSM was created to map typical production processes, it can also be personalised for transactional office processes. Rather than employing a customised VSM, practitioners at times use a particular mapping tool named Makigami, which is linked with the business process reengineering (BPR) tools. Thus, this research investigated Makigami implementation and compared it with the well-known VSM adapted for transactional processes. For the comparison, we analysed a case study of an Italian manufacturing company in which both the mapping tools had been implemented in the technical department. The results indicated that Makigami seems to be a better vehicle for mapping a transactional office process, in comparison with the VSM, which must be altered in many ways from the original version. However, we found positive and negative features of both tools. Further, it seems that the tools could be integrated to work together.