The increased international competition in the current open global market is putting incessant pressure on organisations to improve their performance in order to deliver value to their customers, employees, and the society. To sustain and increase their market share, they must deliver high-quality and innovative products and services in a cost-effective manner with shorter lead times. Lean Thinking has been evolving to cope with the global trends and emerging practices and technologies. Organisations are in the need of new ways of working; learning and implementing new practices and technologies that go beyond the traditional lean thinking. They aim to transform to become competitive in today’s demanding marketplace.

In early 2021, three organisations joined forces to design the Lean Diamonds Awards: The Lean Analytics Association in Switzerland, Price Waterhouse Coppers in Belgium, and the University of Cranfield in the United Kingdom. Organisations were invited to participate by submitting their cases in one of the three categories: lean, lean innovation and lean digital