The Lean & AI Advantage: Eliminating Waste, Accelerating Value
Overview
Organizations are rapidly investing in Artificial Intelligence to improve productivity, enhance decision-making and create new business value. Lean principles provide a proven framework for ensuring AI is applied where it matters most—eliminating waste, improving flow and creating value for customers and employees. In this webinar, Jun Chen and Pooja Nanjannavar will explore how organizations can combine Lean thinking with AI + Digitial capabilities to drive operational transformation.
Participants will learn how foundational Lean concepts can help identify, prioritize and scale high-impact AI opportunities. Through practical examples from manufacturing, supply chain, utilities, and life sciences, the presenters will demonstrate how AI can augment human expertise, accelerate decision-making, improve asset reliability, enhance productivity and unlock new efficiencies across operations. The session will also address the challenges many organizations face when pursuing AI initiatives, including unclear business cases, data readiness and pilot fatigue.
Attendees will gain practical guidance on evaluating AI opportunities through a Lean lens, focusing on measurable business value rather than technology for technology's sake. Whether your organization is just beginning its AI journey or looking to scale successful AI pilots, this webinar will provide actionable insights, real-world experiences and a practical roadmap for achieving operational excellence in the age of intelligent automation.
Host Company
The mission of IBM is to be a catalyst that makes the world work better. We aim to have a positive impact globally, and in the communities where we operate, through business ethics, environmental commitment and responsible technology. ttps://www.ibm.com/us-en
Presenter
Pooja Nanjannavar is manufacturing 4.0 consultant that has led multiple supply chain transformation efforts across industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, utilities and other industries. She has helped clients forge the path to a more agentic future through AI pilots for value driven use cases. She comes from a background as a process engineer /manufacturing engineer at companies like Dow Chemical and Altria. She has a passion for improving the human experience in the manufacturing world.
Jun Chen, Associate Partner, IBM Consulting, helps industrial organizations modernize operations by combining data, AI, and intelligent automation. With more than 20 years of experience spanning technology, consulting, and business transformation, she works with organizations in advanced manufacturing, utilities, and life sciences to improve operational performance and prepare for the future of industrial operations. Her expertise spans manufacturing, maintenance and reliability, industrial AI, intelligent automation, robotics, and autonomous technologies. Jun partners with business and operations leaders to shape transformation strategies and implement emerging technologies that strengthen operational capabilities and deliver measurable business outcomes.
Agenda
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Pacific time
10:55 a.m. Check in
11 a.m. Introduction
11:05 a.m. Presenter presentation
11:50 a.m. Q&A
12 p.m. Webinar concludes
PARTICIPANT BENEFITS
- Understand how lean principles can serve as a foundation for successful AI adoption.
- Learn how to identify AI opportunities that directly address operational waste and business challenges.
- Discover how AI can improve productivity, asset reliability, quality and decision-making across industrial operations.
- Understand practical approaches for moving AI initiatives from pilot programs to enterprise-wide adoption.
- Learn how to prioritize AI investments based on measurable business value and operational impact.
- Gain insights into workforce adoption and change management strategies for AI-enabled transformations.
- Leave with a practical roadmap for combining lean methodologies and AI to accelerate value creation.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Manufacturing executives and plant leaders
- Operations and supply chain leaders
- Continuous improvement and lean practitioners
- Industry 4.0 and digital transformation leaders
- Engineering and maintenance leaders
- Operational excellence professionals
- AI, automation and technology decision-makers
Safety Requirements
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