LEAN MANUFACTURING Building


A LEAN FOUNDATION FOR SMARTER


CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION


While lean manufacturing solutions have traditionally played an important role in driving confectionery manufacturing efficiency, helping to reduce waste and unnecessary costs, will the advent of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and smarter factories complement or replace lean manufacturing? Suzanne Callander reports.


F


or many years, lean carried the image of a manufacturing philosophy meant for factories, machines, and assembly lines.


However, the world has changed and, according to Allan M Lee, Creator of Think- Adapt-Lead – a framework focussed on critical thinking and adaptive leadership to navigate a fast-changing world – what began as an industrial improvement system has evolved into a human-centric, digital-savvy, and resilience-focused way of working. The most striking change is that lean is no longer about tools. It is about people. In the past, it was introduced through lists of Japanese terms and improvement techniques, often treated like a checklist. But Covid taught us that the biggest source of waste today is not defective material, it is exhausted employees, confused teams, unclear processes, and organisational


silos.


Lean has therefore become more about pausing to understand the real problem, clearing mental and structural clutter, and creating an environment where people can work with clarity. It focuses


34 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • MAY 2026


on reducing


frustration,


improving


communication, and designing work that flows naturally for the human brain. Modern lean should begin with thinking clearly before improving anything at all. Identified another major shift, Allan


highlighted that lean is now also blending seamlessly with digital technologies. Pre- Covid, lean and digital transformation lived in


automation, data analytics, and workflow tools have become natural


separate boxes. Post-Covid, AI,


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