Richard Schonberger is president of Schonberger & Associates—lectures, seminars, and advisory services to industrial and business organizations worldwide (since 1981, involving over 300 client-hosts). Originator of the term and concepts labeled world-class manufacturing, Richard is author of some 150 articles in periodicals ranging from general business (e.g., Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal) to functional (Quality Progress, Cost Management, Manufacturing Engineering), and the following books and videos.

• Best Practices in Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement: A Deeper Look . . . with Telling Evidence from the Leanness Studies (Wiley, 2007)

• Let’s Fix It! Overcoming the Crisis in Manufacturing: How the World’s Leading Manufacturers Were Seduced by Prosperity and Lost Their Way (Free Press, 2001)

• World Class Manufacturing—The Next Decade: Building Power, Strength, and Value (Free Press, 1996, 7 languages, 6 printings), recipient of 1998 Shingo Prize for manufacturing research

• SynchroService: The Innovative Way to Build a Dynasty of Customers (Irwin: 1994, with co-author)

• Building a Chain of Customers (Free Press, 1990, 5 languages, 28,000 copies sold)

• World Class Manufacturing Casebook: Implementing JIT and TQC (Free Press, 1987, 30,000 copies sold)

• World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied (Free Press, 1986, 8 languages, 20 printings, 160,000 copies sold)

• Japanese Manufacturing Techniques: Nine Hidden Lessons in Simplicity (Free Press, 1982, 9 languages, 25 printings, 160,000 copies sold)

• 7 editions, Operations Management textbook (Irwin/McGraw-Hill; 5 editions co-authored)

• 12-tape video program, "World Class Manufacturing," acclaimed by Quality Digest

Schonberger was a practicing industrial engineer for 8 years, followed by 14 years as a professor in management information systems and operations management at the University of Nebraska, during which he was designated George Cook Distinguished (chaired) Professor; later as affiliate professor, Management Science, University of Washington.

Schonberger is consulting editor for Benchmarking and is on the editorial boards of Cost Management, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Quality Management, International Journal of Strategic Cost Management, and Target. Currently, he is director of the “Global Leanness Studies” and the “World Class by Principles” international benchmarking.

Honors:

• Named 1996 Puget Sound Engineer of the Year
  
• Inducted into the 1995 Academy of the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing
  
• Listed on the cover of Quality Digest (1995) as one of 24 “New Gurus: Next Leaders of the Quality Revolution”
  
• Featured in Hong Kong’s World Executive Digest under “Milestones of Management” in the category, “Operations Management” for his World Class Manufacturing contributions (the others listed in this category are Henry Ford, Walter Shewhart, W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, Taiichi Ohno, and Philip Crosby)
  
• Awarded the British Institution of Production Engineers’ 1990 International Award in Manufacturing Management
  
• Received the Institute of Industrial Engineers’ 1988 Production and Inventory Control Award.
  

Web site: www.wcm-wcp.com