As part of our 20th anniversary, we sat down with David Arregui (General Manager) and Andrés López (Technical Director) from Berioska, a cosmetics manufacturer specialized in sun care products. They shared how Lean has helped them boost operational efficiency and, above all, build a culture where everyone contributes more value.
What made you decide to implement Lean in your company?
We decided to implement Lean to improve our operational efficiency, ensure quality in our processes, and optimize resources—but above all, to build a culture of Continuous Improvement. We had identified inefficiencies and bottlenecks in our processes that were impacting both lead times and quality. With Lean, our goal was to eliminate waste, standardize workflows, and empower people to actively engage in improvement efforts.
What results have you achieved through the implementation of Lean?
In Lean, we’ve found a way of thinking and acting that compels us to focus not only on what we do, but also on what happens to the product throughout our process.
As a company, Lean challenges us to step out of our personal and organizational comfort zones. Lean is here to stay—and it’s positively transforming the way we had envisioned our business project until now.
What was the key moment or highlight of the project?
It’s a slow and often non-obvious process, but without a doubt, the project began to deliver real value when we succeeded in transforming the company’s culture. That culture is largely shaped by the daily behaviors and habits of leaders and team supervisors. If we had to highlight a key turning point, it would be seeing how cross-functional, multi-level teams began working in regular cycles, with a structured and systematic approach—deploying objectives with a high level of transparency and data-driven information sharing, based on facts rather than opinions.
Why did you choose SGS PRODUCTIVITY?
We chose to work with SGS PRODUCTIVITY because of their deep expertise and extensive experience in Lean methodology. Beyond their technical competence, what stood out most was the human quality and approachability of the team—creating a collaborative, trusting environment that was essential to the success of the project. In fact, we consider them part of our organization.
We especially value the practical approach, the knowledge transfer to our people, and the way solutions were tailored to the realities of our organization.
Tell us about a memorable experience you’ve had with SGS PRODUCTIVITY.
At the beginning of this phase, we would often hear from our team: “Carlos said we have to do this…” And our response was always: “No, no—Carlos isn’t here to tell us what to do, he’s here to help us do it.” This has been a key factor: getting the organization to understand that you’re here to support us, not to impose.
Over these 10 years of collaboration, there have been many anecdotes that reflect the great work of the people from SGS PRODUCTIVITY who have been by our side. What we’d like to highlight is the constant smile on your faces, and the empathy and optimism you bring to every action you implement.
In what ways has your team evolved over the course of the project?
The conditions have been created for everyone to contribute more value. Team leaders are now able to carry out their role by systematically encouraging participation, working around standards, and paving the way for continuous improvement.
If you had to sum up your collaboration with SGS productivity in just one sentence…what would it be?
Continuous Improvement—endless and infinite—but it all starts with meeting the standards.