World Class Manufacturing system consists of ten technical and ten managerial pillars.

These, impacting directly and indirectly on each other, generate the flow of internal processes. Two of the mentioned pillars, Early Product Management (EPM) and Cost Deployment

(CD) play a special role in the system, because they create a future strategic management

of a company influencing design engineering, manufacturing and economy [1, 2]. Referring

to the author’s previous publications on Early Product Management methodology [3, 4], the

role of Cost Deployment pillar in the new product launch remains an important issue. Additionally, there is a noticeable lack of publications in this specific field of the WCM system.

Therefore, a proper understanding of the relationship between these two technical pillars

is the basis for effective project management for the implementation of new products. In

this article, the correlation between EPM and CD will be highlighted whereas some critical

remarks will be indicated. The main part of the article will describe: the current approach to

project management according to the standards set by the WCM system and recommended

improvements originated from EPM and CD pillars. The quality scientific methods used in

this article are based on a case study of internal processes in an international plant specializing in agriculture machinery production and include elements of direct observation and

theoretical analysis and synthesis. This paper refers to the presented issues in practical terms

on the example of the methodology of managing of new launch product projects in terms of

cost management. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the problem of the cost

factor generated during the design phase and early implementation of the new product into

production, which will enable effective cost management of new implementation projects.

Lean has established itself as the primordial approach to obtain operational excellence. Its simple and intuitive techniques focus on reducing lead time through continuous improvement, involving all levels of employees in the organization. However, the rate of successful implementations has remained low. This paper contributes to the understanding of continuous improvement in a Lean context, by analyzing a database of almost 10.000 improvement actions, from 85 companies, covering the time frame 2010–2018. It discusses categories of actions, their impact and cost, as well as key characteristics of the companies. It proposes an objective criterion to identify “success” and “failure” in Lean implementation and tries to link these to operational results. It is probably the first time an analysis of this magnitude on the subject has been performed.

Six Sigma as the continuation of comprehensive quality management TQM is of interest to many enterprises. Unfortunately, not everybody successfully implements quality improvement projects using Six Sigma tools. This approach requires proper preparation in many areas of the company’s operation, including: organization of processes, establishing measures, employee engagement and creating conditions for continuous improvement. The goal of the article is to present on the case study the idea of using the organizational maturity model for production management to assess a readiness of organization to implement Six Sigma. The case study presents a company maturity level diagnosis and a successful project of quality and productivity improvement using the Six Sigma concept, confirming that the organization’s maturity model is the appropriate tool for assessing multi-faceted preparation for successful implementation of Six Sigma projects.