Category: Local Initiatives

  • Why Most Improvement Programmes Fail: Lessons from CBM Members Day

    Somewhere in your building there is a whiteboard from an improvement programme that started with real energy. A consultant ran the workshops. The team learnt the tools. For a few months, the metrics moved. Then the whiteboard stopped being updated, the huddles got shorter, and the gains quietly slid back to where they started.  If…

  • Lean first: why UK manufacturing’s digital investment isn’t closing the productivity gap

    UK manufacturing productivity stands roughly 10% below the G7 average (the average productivity of the world’s seven largest advanced economies: the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Canada), with German output per hour worked exceeding the UKs by 16%1.This gap persists despite a wave of technology spending: 76% of UK manufacturers are currently…

  • Beyond the award: Kris Finlay on building a culture of continuous improvement

    Kris Finlay Continuous Improvement LeadUnited Drug In conversation with Kaizen Institute At United Drug, continuous improvement is more than a methodology it is a mindset that shapes how the organisation operates, makes decisions and drives long-term progress. Driving this transformation is Kris Finlay, Continuous Improvement Lead, whose leadership has helped embed KAIZEN™ Principles across multiple…

  • Why workforce management in retail is an operations problem, not an HR one

    Paulo Magalhães Founder & CEO, Tlantic Nazaré Pinto Head of People OperationsAuchan Retail The schedule goes out two days before the week starts. A manager spends Monday morning patching the gaps. Someone called in sick. A delivery arrived earlier than expected. A peak hour built faster than forecast. By midday, a fifth of the week’s…

  • Malvern College: how one of Britain’s oldest independent schools is rethinking the way it operates 

    Rob Breare COO Malvern College Corporation & CEO Malvern College International Francisco Salgado UK Senior Director at Kaizen Institute In conversation with Kaizen Institute  Founded in 1865, Malvern College is a leading independent school educating students from across the world. It is widely recognised as a centre of academic excellence, with a long tradition of…

  • The Recipe for Accelerated Product Development: Lessons from Hotel Chocolat’s Product Team

    Hannah Gledhill Former Head of PortfolioHotel Chocolat  Olivia Harris  Senior NPD Project Manager Hotel Chocolat  Luís Godinho  Partner at Kaizen Institute     In conversation with Kaizen Institute Hotel Chocolat‘s product development operation is considerably more complex than its retail presence suggests. Behind each seasonal range sits a web of up to 15 specialist teams: chocolatiers, packaging designers, technical experts, creative…

  • The manufacturing output paradox: why full order books couldn’t save UK output in March 2026

    In March 2026, approximately 25% of UK manufacturers indicated an increase in supplier delivery times, representing the most substantial deterioration in vendor performance since July 20221.  In the same month, manufacturing output declined for the first time in six months, entering a phase of contraction. The issue did not originate in the order books; rather,…

  • The Recipe for Operational Excellence: Lessons from Hotel Chocolat’s COO

    Matt Margereson  VP – Global Supply, People & Technology Hotel Chocolat  Luís Godinho  Partner at Kaizen Institute     In conversation with Kaizen Institute Hotel Chocolat is a British chocolate manufacturer and cocoa grower, founded in 1993 by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris. The business rebranded as Hotel Chocolat in 2003 and opened its first retail store in Watford that same year. It is…

  • From hiring waves to capability building: the new logic of the UK manufacturing skills gap

    The number of UK vacancies fell to 711,000 in early 2026, representing the lowest level since the spring of 20211. Concurrently, employers are allocating 13% less on training per employee than in 2022, representing a 36% decrease since 20052. The hiring market is showing signs of stabilisation. The skills crisis is not. British manufacturing currently…

  • Driving lean performance transformation at PHOENIX Birmingham 

    PHOENIX Birmingham, part of the PHOENIX Group and a European leader in pharmaceutical services, partnered with Kaizen Institute to strengthen productivity and operational consistency at its site. Operating in a highly regulated and complex industry, the organisation focused on building a strong operational foundation through Lean practices and structured daily management. By implementing KAIZEN™ routines,…