KEMSA’s Kaizen Operations Model Inspires Ethiopian Gov’t Officials

NAIROBI,Kenya, Oct, 3 – A high-powered Ethiopian Government delegation comprising the country’s Ministry of Health and Parliamentary Committee on Health Officials have completed a study tour of the
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) facilities as they seek to adopt KAIZEN philosophies back home.

The delegation led by Ethiopia’s State Minister for Health, Dr Dereje Duguma, engaged KEMSA CEO Ms Terry Ramadhan, among other Authority officials, in their quest to replicate KAIZEN philosophies at the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service (EPSS).

During the KEMSA benchmarking tour last week, Dr Dereje was accompanied by Ethiopia’s Parliamentary standing committee for Health, Social Development, Culture and Sports Affairs Chairperson Hon Mrs Werksemu Mamo, Committee member Hon Aknaw Kawza, and EPSS Deputy Director General for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies Storage and Distribution Mr Tariku Belachew and Deputy Director General for In-Bound Logistics Mr Solomon Niguse. Kaizen Institute officials Vincent Nguimbi and Erick Sang also attended the tour.

Having adopted the Japanese heritage Kaizen Philosophy as the Authority’s benchmark for organizational transformation and continuous improvement, KEMSA is now highly ranked as one of the model Kaizen and LEAN Management operating facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. The Authority, which recently renewed its affiliation with the Kaizen Institute as part of the KEMSA 2.0 operating strategy, has received delegations from across Africa seeking to understand the finer details of the Kaizen philosophies and their application in a complex supply chain environment.

During the tour, Ms Ramadhani told the Ethiopian delegation that the enhancement of the Kaizen way of working at KEMSA is pivotal in enhancing the customer experience and repositioning the organization for growth.

While committing to mentor Ethiopia through the Kaizen adoption paces, Ms Ramadhani confirmed that applying the philosophies at KEMSA contributes to the Authority’s efforts to guarantee transparency and end-to-end visibility of health products and technologies.

“We have recently accelerated and enhanced the application of Kaizen philosophies in all our administrative, human capital management and supply chain operating touchpoints,” Ramadhani said.

She added, “The Kaizen Philosophy is our preferred benchmark for continuous operating improvement goals in all our workstreams. We strive to guarantee quality standards through Kaizen, positioning KEMSA as a world-class health commodities supply-chain solutions provider.”

On his part, Ethiopia’s State Minister for Health, Dr Dereje Duguma, described KEMSA operations as inspiring and pledged to maintain contact to ensure Ethiopian counterparts replicate the local success.

“The Ethiopian delegation to Kenya appreciates the good work put in by the KEMSA team on reforms and adoption of world-class standards. We recognize KEMSA as a KAIZEN best practice site. We will strive to maintain mutual support relations as we tap into the learning experiences we have borrowed here to ensure the successful rollout of Kaizen philosophies at our Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service,” Dr Duguma said.

Kaizen is built around five principles: Know Your Customer, which focuses on identifying customers’ interests and creating value. Let It Flow: that focuses on eliminating waste and achieving zero waste. Go to Gemba, which encourages people to follow the action as value is created where things are happening. Be transparent, which speaks to working with actual data as facts are the only things that show real progress and lastly, Empower people that ensure everyone in the team has goals and the system and tools to achieve them.