Jitendra Malhotra
Lean & Manufacturing Excellence
An international professional with extensive experience in manufacturing, Lean transformations and building sustainable operational excellence systems.
in LinkedIn
Lean Champions
The machine does not change first. The person does.
Lean Champions brings together manufacturing companies that develop their people through real challenges, real projects, experience sharing and continuous improvement.
The competition is not simply between companies.
The most important competition is with yourself.
How Change Begins
01
Real Problem
Something we no longer accept as normal.
02
Person
Someone takes personal responsibility for the change.
03
Project
The idea becomes measurable work and results.
04
Stage
People show what they have achieved.
05
Community
Companies share, compare and learn from one another.
06
Next Level
A new challenge follows. And new development.
What is Lean Champions?
Not just a program.
An environment for growth.
Lean Champions is an environment where improvement does not remain just an idea. Companies work on real manufacturing problems, develop the people behind the change, present their results to other companies and learn from the real-world experience of the community.
01
Real Challenges
The work begins with a specific problem in manufacturing, not with theory or a pre-designed exercise.
02
Development Through Action
People do not simply learn Lean principles. They apply them, defend their solutions and see the impact they create.
03
A Community Across Companies
Manufacturing teams from different organizations meet, share real practices and accelerate their development by learning from one another.
Lean Champions turns improvement from a one-time initiative
into a rhythm that continues throughout the year.
Why Does Lean Champions Exist?
The problem is rarely a lack of Lean tools.
Most manufacturing companies are familiar with 5S, Kaizen, TPM, problem solving and other Lean practices. The difficult part is turning improvement into a sustainable way of working. This is where Lean Champions begins.
01
Initiatives Lose Momentum
After a strong start, other priorities emerge, daily pressures return, and what was started gradually fades away.
02
Improvement Remains with the Lean Team
When responsibility is concentrated within a small team, others find it difficult to see improvement as part of their own work.
03
The People Behind the Change Remain Invisible
Real improvements often remain within a department or factory, without a stage, recognition or an opportunity to share the experience.
04
Every Factory Solves Similar Problems on Its Own
Valuable practical experience remains locked within individual organizations, instead of accelerating the development of the entire community.
→
Lean Champions creates rhythm, personal responsibility, a stage and a community —
four conditions that help improvement continue.
How Lean Champions Works
One year.
A continuous rhythm of development.
Lean Champions is not a one-time event. Companies go through a recurring cycle of project work, meetings, presenting results and taking on new challenges. This keeps improvement visible and alive throughout the year.
01
We Choose Real Problems
Each team starts with a specific challenge in its own manufacturing environment.
02
We Work in the Factories
Projects are developed where the problems occur — in the real manufacturing environment.
03
We Receive Regular Support
Teams receive guidance, feedback and support throughout the development of their projects.
04
We Meet at Different Companies
Participants open the doors of their factories, share practices and see how other teams solve similar problems.
05
We Present the Results
At the quarterly meetings, teams present what they have done, what they have learned and what results they have achieved.
06
We Move to the Next Level
Each quarter brings a new challenge. Development does not end with one successful project.
Lean Champions creates a cycle in which action, sharing,
comparison and the next challenge become a habit.
The Competition with Yourself
Why Have Rankings at All?
Rankings in Lean Champions are not an end in themselves. They create rhythm, visibility and a reason for people to keep moving forward. They help teams see their progress, compare approaches and turn improvement into continuous movement.
The real question is not:
“Are we better than the other factory?”
But are we better than we were yesterday?
01
Measurable Progress
Teams can see how they develop over time, so results are not based only on perception or opinion.
02
Healthy External Motivation
The meetings, comparisons and anticipation of the next presentation provide an extra push to keep going rather than stop halfway.
03
Recognition for the People
The effort becomes visible. Teams are given a stage for the real work that usually remains unseen within the factory.
There are winners in Lean Champions, but the goal is not to create losers.
The goal is for every company to finish the year stronger
than when it started.
The Power of Community
Competitors in the Rankings.
Partners in Development.
In Lean Champions, companies compete, but knowledge does not remain behind closed doors.
Throughout the year, participants visit different manufacturing companies, see real processes and solutions, and talk to the people behind them. They share not only their successes, but also the problems, mistakes and lessons learned along the way. In this way, one company’s experience becomes a starting point for another company’s development.
01
We Open Our Factories
02
We Share Real Experience
03
We Develop Together
The Proof Is in the Projects
Real Companies.
Real Projects.
Real Results.
Lean Champions does not happen in presentations or training rooms. The work takes place in real manufacturing processes. Each participant presents specific problems, solutions, results and the lessons learned along the way.
01
Real Manufacturing Challenges
Projects begin with specific problems in the processes — losses, instability, organization, quality, efficiency and workplace development.
02
Visible Results
Progress is demonstrated through real data, photos, presentations and results from the teams’ work.
03
Experience That Remains Accessible
Projects do not disappear at the end of the quarter. They remain available as practical examples that other companies can learn from.
Explore the participants, their quarterly projects,
presentations and the real results behind Lean Champions.
View Participants & Projects
→
The Next Step
From a Bulgarian initiative to an international ecosystem.
Lean Champions started in Bulgaria, but the idea behind it is not limited by country, industry or a specific manufacturing process. The next stage is to connect real experience from factories with an international community, a digital platform and a new way of sharing knowledge.
01
International Community
The Lean Champions model is gradually being prepared for expansion beyond Bulgaria — bringing together companies, teams and practices from different manufacturing environments.
02
Lean Champions Platform
Projects, meetings, tools and accumulated knowledge are gradually being brought together in a shared digital environment, allowing development to continue between meetings.
03
AI That Supports Thinking
The next generation of the platform will use AI to help structure problems, identify appropriate tools and connect people with real examples from the community — without taking responsibility away from the person.
Technology can accelerate development.
But the person remains the one who makes the change.
International Jury
External Perspective.
International Experience.
Independent Evaluation.
Lean Champions includes an international jury of professionals with extensive experience in Lean, Operational Excellence, manufacturing and organizational development. Their external perspective adds a different point of view to the participants’ development.
The jury does not evaluate only the final result.
The team’s development, the sustainability of the change,
the way of thinking and the ability to make improvement
part of everyday work are equally important.
Marc Pick
Lean Leadership
A practitioner with international experience in Lean manufacturing systems, people development and building a culture of continuous improvement.
in LinkedIn
Dieter Emmert
Operational Excellence
An international expert with extensive experience in the automotive industry, manufacturing management and the development of high-performing organizations.
in LinkedIn
Robert Varacka
Lean & Management Systems
A professional with experience in manufacturing, operations management and the development of Lean and management systems.
in LinkedIn
Attila Ivacson
Operations & Continuous Improvement
An international professional with experience in operations management, organizational development and continuous improvement.
in LinkedIn
Different experience brings different perspectives.
This is precisely what makes external evaluation valuable —
it complements the perspectives of the participants and the Lean Champions team.
The Story Behind Lean Champions
Real experience becomes knowledge.
The book “LEAN Champions – The Competition with Yourself” tells the story of how real manufacturing teams turn problems into projects, projects into results, and results into the next challenge.
This is not a book about Lean tools alone. It is about the moment when a person stops waiting for someone else to solve the problem and takes the first step. That is where change, the team, the community and the movement behind Lean Champions begin.
The machine does not change first.
The person does.
Book
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Real Projects
→
Community
→
Platform
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International Development
Learn More About the Book
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Participation · Rules · Investment
What Does It Mean to Be Part of Lean Champions?
Lean Champions is not a subscription to a few meetings each year. It is year-round work with the teams and personal support for the development of every participating company. The goal is for improvement not to remain a separate initiative, but to become a sustainable way of working.
01
Personal Support
Working with the company’s people and real challenges, with regular feedback and support throughout the year.
02
Access to Real Experience
Meetings with other manufacturing companies, open factories, shared practices and the opportunity for teams to learn directly from one another.
03
Visibility for the Company
Visits and meetings are documented through photos and video. Real projects and the people behind them gain visibility through Lean Champions channels.
04
Community and Ecosystem
Participation connects the company with a community of practitioners, international experience and the growing digital Lean Champions ecosystem.
The Lean Champions Tradition
A Trophy That Must Be Earned Again.
The annual winner receives the specially crafted Lean Champions challenge trophy. It does not remain permanently with the winner — every year brings a new challenge.
01
The name of each annual winner is engraved on the trophy and becomes part of the history of Lean Champions.
02
The trophy remains with the champion for one year, after which it is passed on to the next winner.
03
A company that wins Lean Champions three times — whether consecutively or not — receives its own replica of the trophy, which it keeps permanently.
Investment
One Clear Monthly Fee.
For new companies joining Lean Champions from 2027, participation comes with a fixed monthly investment that provides access to the year-round initiative and its activities.
New Participants from 2027
800 €
per month · excl. VAT
Transitional conditions for 2026 participants.
The financial benefits for the top three positions —
100% for the winner, 50% for second place and 25% for third place —
apply to companies that participated in 2026.
They are not part of the permanent model for new participants from 2027.
The Next Challenge
The next Lean Champion could be your team.
Lean Champions brings together companies that do not wait for change to come from outside. They develop their people, open their factories to exchange experience and turn improvement into a permanent part of the way they work.