Running a business is a constant fight against inefficiencies. Whether it’s a forgotten software subscription draining your account or a sluggish process slowing your team down, every small business encounters waste that limits growth potential.
The good news? Proven methods like the Lean methodology can help you identify and eliminate waste freeing up time, money, and energy to reinvest in your business. In this post, we’ll explore the 7 Wastes of Lean and how you can reduce them through smart planning and plan vs. actual tracking.
What Is Waste in Business, and Why Does It Matter?
Waste is any activity that consumes resources without delivering real value to your customer. In business terms, waste costs you money and reduces your efficiency even if your revenue is growing.
By identifying and removing waste, you can:
- Boost profitability without increasing costs
- Improve team productivity
- Deliver faster and better results to your customers
The 7 Wastes of Lean (and How They Impact Small Businesses)
Originally developed by Toyota, the 7 Wastes (known as “Muda” in Japanese) are a cornerstone of the Lean business philosophy. Let’s break them down and see how they apply to modern small businesses:
1. Transportation
- In Manufacturing: Moving parts or products between production steps unnecessarily.
- In Business: Manual handoffs, excessive paperwork, or back-and-forth emails that slow things down.
Fix: Map out your processes and implement digital workflows. Reduce unnecessary handoffs and use tools that streamline document sharing and task assignments.
2. Inventory
- In Manufacturing: Holding more stock than needed.
- In Business: Overstocked items, unused SaaS tools, or overwhelming email backlogs.
Fix: Adopt inventory management systems. Set clear turnover targets and regularly compare actual inventory against your plan to avoid stockpiling or underutilized assets.
3. Motion
- In Manufacturing: Employees making unnecessary physical movements.
- In Business: Poor office or digital workspace layouts, too many meetings, or inefficient interfaces.
Fix: Audit your workspace and workflows. Track time spent in meetings and reduce low-value interactions. Optimize employee travel routes and reduce non-essential motions.
4. Waiting
- In Manufacturing: Idle time due to delays in production.
- In Business: Delayed approvals, waiting on data, or slow systems that stall operations.
Fix: Visualize your workflows using tools like Kanban boards to pinpoint bottlenecks. Speed up decision-making by delegating authority and using automation where possible.
5. Overproduction
- In Manufacturing: Producing more than needed.
- In Business: Creating reports no one reads, features customers didn’t ask for, or marketing material that goes unused.
Fix: Use just-in-time production techniques. Only create based on real demand and track consumption trends to avoid producing excess content, services, or inventory.
6. Overprocessing
- In Manufacturing: Doing more work than necessary.
- In Business: Excessive documentation, redundant approvals, or over-engineering a product.
Fix: Document and simplify key processes. Eliminate unnecessary steps and focus only on what customers truly value. Avoid “gold plating” your products or services.
7. Defects
- In Manufacturing: Flawed products needing rework.
- In Business: Errors in deliverables, miscommunication, or repeated customer complaints.
Fix: Set quality benchmarks and track them consistently. Use root cause analysis to identify why mistakes happen and take corrective action quickly.
How to Use Business Planning and Tracking to Eliminate Waste
Once you’ve identified the 7 Wastes, the next step is embedding them into your planning process. This allows you to continuously monitor performance and adjust your operations.
1. Build a Waste-Aware Business Plan
Include waste reduction strategies in your business plan:
- Document process flows and highlight value-added vs. non-value-added steps
- Develop lean inventory and staffing plans
- Set quality and efficiency standards
- Streamline communication and approvals
2. Track Plan vs. Actual Performance
To improve, you need to measure consistently:
- Define KPIs for each waste category (e.g., revision hours, inventory turnover, approval delays)
- Use dashboards or spreadsheets to visualize trends and performance gaps
- Conduct monthly reviews to compare actual performance vs. your targets
- Implement root cause analysis to understand performance shortfalls and refine your strategy
Case Study: How a Small Marketing Agency Reduced Waste
A Lagos-based marketing agency applied Lean principles and plan vs. actual tracking:
- They discovered that client revisions were taking 40% more time than estimated
- They implemented a structured revision process with a cap on rounds
- Within 6 months, revision time dropped by 60%
- Result: More projects completed without hiring additional staff
Your 30-Day Lean Action Plan
Here’s how to start applying these concepts in your business today:
✅ Week 1: Identify the most pressing waste in your operations (e.g., overprocessing or delays).
✅ Week 2: Define simple metrics to measure and establish a baseline.
✅ Week 3: Implement one improvement initiative (e.g., streamline approvals or reduce revision cycles).
✅ Week 4: Begin plan vs. actual tracking, conduct a review, and adjust your process based on what you learn.
Waste Reduction = Growth Acceleration
Eliminating waste is one of the fastest and most sustainable ways to grow a business. You don’t always need more capital or a bigger team sometimes, you just need smarter operations.
By adopting the Lean methodology and tracking your plan vs. actual performance, you can:
- Increase efficiency
- Improve customer satisfaction
- Empower your team
- Maximize your profitability
Start small. Stay consistent. And remember: continuous improvement is the key to long-term business success.
