Learning by Doing: How SCCC Transformed Its Supply Chain Through Kaizen

Strongly believing in the value of Lean and in its effectiveness across markets and business ventures, Paul Hayes, Head of Supply Chain at Siam City Cement Public Company Limited Thailand (SCCC), initiated a Kaizen transformation across the entire supply chain organization in 2019. In conversation with Ramesh Raju, Managing Partner, Kaizen Institute Thailand, Paul reflects on the motivations, challenges, achievements, and lessons from this journey.

From Cost Cutting to Process Rethinking

Paul’s conviction in Lean thinking did not emerge overnight; it was shaped by hands-on exposure and practical experience earlier in his career, particularly during his time working with a Japanese company.

“I strongly believed in the potential of this philosophy. Some of us in senior management saw that Lean would be a helpful lever for change, by improving people’s awareness for productivity – in a positive and constructive way.”

Rather than pursuing traditional year-on-year cost reductions, SCCC wanted to improve the “real” process. As Paul explains, the conventional approach of repeatedly squeezing budgets without addressing underlying inefficiencies was not a viable path forward.

“Cutting costs in such a traditional way demotivates people, hence is not sustainable.”

For SCCC, the objective was not short-term savings but to build a system that strengthened engagement, ownership, and long-term performance.

The Initial Challenge: Understanding Before Believing

At the beginning, the biggest hurdle was not technical — it was conceptual.

“The main challenge at the beginning was to create an understanding for the full theory behind Kaizen. If you have not been through the experience yourself, it becomes hard to make the connection.”

Middle management, particularly those long accustomed to established routines, found it difficult to see immediate value. The shift required them not only to adopt new tools but to rethink how they approached their daily work. Naturally, questions emerged:

• What does this mean for me personally?
• How does this work in daily practice?

The only way forward was practice — not more explanation, not more theory, but real application at the workplace.

“It was immediately clear that we would only learn by doing: the sooner the better, and being the surest way to guarantee progress.”

As teams began collecting data, involving operators in analysis, and focusing on processes rather than blame, attitudes shifted. Resistance — often rooted in fear of the unknown— gradually gave way to ownership. When production floor personnel saw that top management was behind the Kaizen initiatives and that the whole emphasis was on making things better for everyone involved in the process, from beginning to end, attitudes altered dramatically. People began to see that they had the power to shape their own outcomes.

Going to Gemba: Leadership in Action

As Kaizen principles began to take root across the organization, it became clear that tools alone would not drive the change — a fundamental shift had to occur in leadership behavior.

“One very important job of senior management is to visit the workplace (Gemba) regularly and to get actively involved in improvements.”

Paul realized that value creation and waste could only truly be understood at the source. For him, daily visits to the Gemba were a fundamental part of Kaizen success because that was where he could witness value being added and where Muda occurs.

Figure 1 – SCCC leadership engaging with teams at the Gemba

Management presence was not about micromanagement. As Paul emphasized, management involvement is not about doing anyone else’s job; in contrast, everyone needs to figure things out for themselves, by making their own mistakes and then applying their new knowledge. Over time, transparency and trust increased, and sharing problems became a strength rather than a weakness.

“People now acknowledge that sharing problems in their area is what we are looking for – instead of treating it as a sign of weakness.”

A Structured, Cross-Functional Transformation

The transformation began with a large cross-functional pilot project involving finance, planning, and procurement. The objective was clear: eliminate silo thinking and demonstrate transparency across processes.

The success of the pilot encouraged a full rollout across the supply chain — from incoming raw materials to outbound distribution.

Figure 2 – SCCC’s Supply Chain team

Within twelve months, measurable progress was visible. But more importantly, cultural change was evident.

“Overall, our teams are now more energetic and enthusiastic than ever before. There is a real sense of achievement in our teams.”

This renewed energy was also reflected in how teams organized their work: traditional meetings were replaced with Kaizen-style stand-ups at team boards, daily department meetings, and weekly mission control sessions — structured, focused, and aligned with real processes.

Learning by Doing: From Production to Office

One practical example of “learning by doing” was the implementation of a pull-type Kanban system for finished packaging materials.

Starting with a single SKU, teams were allowed to learn at their own pace.

“While implementation could have been fast, we decided to let the teams find their own way, at their own speed.”

After initial guidance, the team independently expanded the approach, gaining confidence and capability along the way. Importantly, Kaizen extended beyond the shop floor — it is clearly applicable to all functional groups in a business, beyond production. Office functions such as accounts payable and supply chain costing applied the same principles, identifying waste, proposing solutions, and implementing improvements themselves.

Realizing “Something Big” was Happening

As momentum grew, the transformation became visible beyond the supply chain.

A Vice President from another function observed the change first hand:

“He told me he could sense there was something important going on, just by the energy of the people and their openness and enthusiasm at all levels.”

The cultural shift — the energy, transparency, and collaboration — signalled that Kaizen was no longer a project. It was becoming a way of operating.

Kaizen as a Long-Term Commitment

For Paul, the most important lesson is that Kaizen is not an initiative or a temporary program.

“The Kaizen Way centers around the importance of examining a process in great detail, focusing on problem areas, the pain points. This means involving people who actually do the work.”

Change does not happen overnight. As Paul explains, it requires the steady and orderly application of a methodology that targets small improvements one at a time by involving people at every level. Over time, these small steps compound into a major impact on efficiency, profitability, and culture.

And there is no true “endpoint.” The new way of working is about looking for continuous improvement — how can we do things better? It is something the organization now does because it would not even consider going back to the traditional way of doing things.

Advice to Leaders Considering the Journey

Paul’s message to other leaders is clear: they need to be prepared to accept that it is an involving and relatively long-term journey, far beyond being “the flavor of the month.” A Kaizen transformation requires sustained leadership commitment and a willingness to change how the business operates at a detailed level.

“A Kaizen journey must be your main show in town, if you truly want to reap the benefits it has to offer, both now and in the future.”

In the end, Kaizen is not a project to implement — it is a way of operating that shapes how the entire organization thinks, works, and improves every day.