1. Manufacturers and services have begun to master the use of activity based costing (ABC) to aid in making productivity decisions and help their customers pin down costs and value. Read Manufacturing Masters Its ABCs (Business Week, August 7, 2000) to find out about gains made by Alcoa in their efforts in incorporate ABC into their business.

2. Business processes produce value, but can also produce a significant amount of waste. Reducing costs by eliminating waste is almost impossible without the collection of specific information related to those processes. Collecting relevant data can often lead to cost reductions. Beer with a Good Head on its Shoulders (Business Week, Sept. 18, 2000) provides an excellent overview of the results Miller Brewing Company obtained through this approach.

3. In Think Lean (Fast Company, February 2002, the concept of lean thinking is evaluated and one approach to a gaining a lean perspective is discussed.