Thrift Store Production Starts With the Donation Attendant

Tim Gebauer writes a weekly blog about his experiences working in a thrift store.

He shares tips and reasons why turning donated goods into sellable items helps bring back recurring customers, and why processes and systems are key to long-term success.

He doesn’t talk specifically about Lean, but mentions backlog, wasted steps and motion (touching items multiple times), floor space, cash flow, and transportation waste. He shares an example where 50 minutes per day is wasted moving racks around the facility.

I liked this quote, “As soon as an item is donated it becomes an ongoing expense in space and time. It doesn’t stop until it’s left the building.”

Read the entire article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/production-starts-donation-attendant-tim-gebauer/