Genchi Gembatsu - Go Out and Talk to Customers

Rating

Genchi Gembatsu - Go Out and Talk to Customers

Genchi Gembatsu is one of the core principles of Lean Manufacturing and is a Japanese term used at Toyota, meaning "go out and see for yourself". In other words, business decisions should always be based on firsthand knowledge (from customers). It is the idea that to really understand any part of any business problem, you need to go and see for yourself firsthand. You should never take anything for granted or rely solely on reports from others.

According to Ries in "The Lean Startup" it is also very important for entrepreneurs and startups to test their early vision, strategy and the key assumptions behind it by talking to and getting feedback from (potential) customers. You can use these customer interactions to sketch / draft a target customer profile to build the first, minimum viable product and to guide future product development decisions.
After you have built the first Minimum Viable Product, go and talk to customers yourself again and adjust the product and the profile.
So Genchi Gembatsu!

		Comments by date▼ Comments by rating Rating
		4 Gandhi Heryanto Management Consultant, Indonesia
	Continuous Genchi Gembatsu and Sustainable Innovation Genchi Gembatsu is an Idea worth adapting and applying before plunging to solve any problem. It therefore helps in validating the leap of confidence that every startup is based on. The traditional way of relying on market research performed by other people when starting a startup is only suitable as an initial idea to build a business. Furthermore, before we build a product we need Genchi Gembatsu to know exactly what needs and problems the customer is facing. Thus we have useful empirical thinking for modeling our product features. If Genchi Gembatsu is carried out continuously then this will help us build sustainable innovations that will ultimately add value to our customers and business.

		2 Anonymous
	Definition Firsthand Knowledge Firsthand knowledge refers to something which a person actually saw or heard, as distinguished from something he learned from some other person or source. It is also a knowledge that is gained through firsthand observation or experience, as distinguished from a belief based on what someone else has said. It is experience that has been learned or gained by doing something yourself or by talking to someone yourself.

		2 Anonymous
	3 Gs of Kaizen Gembutsi is part of the 3 Gs of Kaizen: Gemba - "The Actual Place". This is where work takes place and value is created for the customers. Note that work and value are not always aligned. Gembutsu - "The Thing". This could be a piece of equipment, a product, etc. It is the target of one's focus for improvement. Genjitsu - "The Facts". What is happening in the area of the area of Kaizen, a workcell, etc. A very important aspect related to these three terms is "genchi gembutsu" or "Go Observe". This means that one would go observe an area of opportunity or where a problem might be occurring. By doing this, we gain first-hand and not anecdotal or second hand information that might have been filtered for us.

		1 Melchiorre Calabrese Business Consultant, Italy
	Using a Consultant in Genchi Gembatsu I agree about the benefits of applying "Genchi Genbatsu" and have firsthand experienced it in the course of my professional life, both as a company manager and as organization consultant. But it is necessary to exercise caution towards ourselves, as applicators of the "Genchi Genbatsu". We ourselves could involuntarily exercise a sort of filter towards the customer communication due to our preconceptions in favor of a certain product, or process, etc... Why? Perhaps because we designed that product, or process, or because we contributed significantly to their conception, or because it seems to us that they meet our expectations. In these cases, using the contribution of a neutral, authoritative and disinterested consultant could significantly improve the result of the "Genchi Genbatsu" process. In the multitude of good advisors there is the key to success!

		1 aloke mookherjea Director, India
	Meeting and Communicating with the Customer This of course is right, no one can argue about that. However, one important thing is not just go and see the customer but engage him in effective communication. Without that you probably can only go and see but can not get the customer's view point, his opinion, what he gets but what he does not want and vice versa. Many startups have failed because they went ahead with complicated, modern technology but the most important things a customer wants are not there. Meeting and having an effective communication with a customer is not just important for a start up; it is a continuous function for any corporate to know what modifications/improvements to make in a product/system/service which they are offering. In many so called cold calls for a cup of coffee with the customer, hot suggestions have come out which have resulted in innovations, completely revolutionising things. That is why I have encouraged my people all my life to put customer meetings on top of the agenda.

		1 ibrahim yusuf Lecturer, Tanzania
	Start Up Companies For these companies to prosper they need an innovative financial model. This model will help these start up companies to grow and survive and contribute to the national economic growth and increase the employment level.

		1 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Genchi Gembatsu to Verify the Business Model @Ibrahim yusuf: I think you meant to say that start-ups should definitely use Genchi Gembatsu to verify their (innovative) business model (financial model), right? Good point. It is what I meant with "test their early vision, strategy and the key assumptions behind it by talking to and getting feedback from (potential) customers". We should perhaps include "business (financial) model" to the 3 things already in that sentence.