Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a Lean Manufacturing technique that visually charts the flow of materials and information through a production process, to find and remove waste.
VSM originated at Toyota, where it’s called Material and Information Flow Mapping. Unlike the broader value chain, which covers a business’s activities in general, VSM zooms into the physical flow on the shop floor – overproduction, excess inventory, unnecessary movement – so teams can see exactly where waste sits.
Used well, it’s a continuous-improvement tool, not a one-off exercise: teams update the map as processes and technology change, using it to guide the next round of optimization rather than filing it away after the first pass.
See how process mapping tools and steps translate into real examples.