What Strategos does

Strategos, Inc. is a privately held Lean Manufacturing and Manufacturing Strategy consulting firm headquartered at 3916 Wyandotte Street in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded by Quarterman Lee — who began his consulting career in 1977 after rising from Engineer to Plant Manager at Ford Motor Company — the firm has operated for more than three decades serving manufacturing enterprises globally, with consultants traveling onsite for client engagements.

The company's core technology is a set of structured Lean Manufacturing methodologies, including Cellular Manufacturing, Socio-Technical Systems (STS), SMED (Setup Reduction), Kanban Scheduling, Value Stream Mapping, Process Mapping, 5S, and Manufacturing Strategy development. The proprietary Workcell Design Methodology is a four-task approach (Select Products, Engineer Process, Define Infrastructure, Layout Cell) grounded in Eric Trist's STS framework that integrates technical and human elements of factory design. Service delivery spans quick operational assessments through planning of major factories, offices and warehouses, supplemented by instructor-led training programs (Kanban Systems Design workshop at $5,700 onsite / $4,700 online; 5S & Mini-Kaizen at $3,600; SMED Kaizen Event at $5,500; Workcell Design & Implementation Kaizen Event at $9,700) and a publishing arm selling books (Facilities & Workplace Design, Value Stream & Process Mapping, Warehouse Modernization Planning Guide NS529 co-developed with the U.S. Navy, Cycle Counting Guide) and the Human Side of Lean video via a Shopify storefront.

Strategos operates with a lean five-to-six person consultant bench and generates revenue primarily through professional services — onsite consulting and training engagements sold via field sales and content-driven inbound marketing, plus a small e-commerce line. The firm is bootstrapped and founder-owned with no institutional investment, and partners with Sims Consulting Group (Ed Phillips) as an affiliate to extend its warehousing and supply chain capability. Customer concentration spans enterprise manufacturers across diverse verticals — air-handling products, electronics fabrication, commercial windows — with documented outcomes including 96% finished goods inventory reduction, 24-hour lead-times, 20-30% productivity gains, and defect rate reductions from 47% to 3% over seven weeks.

Name

Strategos

Legal name

Strategos, Inc.

Website

https://strategosinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Strategos, Inc. is a privately held, Kansas City-based Lean Manufacturing and Manufacturing Strategy consulting firm serving global enterprise manufacturers with onsite consulting, instructor-led training workshops, and published methodology books grounded in Socio-Technical Systems design.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lean Manufacturing Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Operational Excellence (OPEX) & Performance Management (KPI/OKR) (EDABAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Process Mapping & Improvement (SIPOC, VSM, BPM) (EDABAKAG), Corporate & Workforce eLearning Modules (EDAGAEAC)

Keywords

• Lean manufacturing consulting
• Manufacturing strategy services
• Workcell design training
• Value stream mapping
• Facility planning consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services ranging from quick assessments to planning major factories, offices and warehouses. Consultants guide Manufacturing Strategy development or assist with implementation at the factory floor level.
2. Training Programs - Onsite Workshops: Onsite workshop delivery with travel costs included. Programs include Kanban Scheduling (2-day, $5700), 5S Workshop (1-day, $3600), SMED Kaizen Event (2-day, $5500), and Workcell Design Kaizen Event (5-day, $9700). Participant counts range from 5-40.
3. Training Programs - Online: Online workshop delivery options for Kanban Scheduling (2-4 weeks, $4700) with 5-20 participants.
4. Books and Publications: Sale of books and videos through their Shopify store including Facilities & Workplace Design, Cycle Counting Guide, Warehouse Planning Guide, and The Human Side of Lean Video.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Strategos provides Lean Manufacturing/Operations consulting and instructor-led training programs for manufacturing clients, ranging from quick operational assessments to the planning of major factories, offices, and warehouses. Offerings include structured workshops on Kanban scheduling, 5S, SMED setup reduction, and workcell design/implementation kaizen events, complemented by books, videos, and a free newsletter on manufacturing strategy.

Product overview

Strategos is a Lean Manufacturing consulting and training firm offering a portfolio of consulting services, structured training programs, and educational publications. The core offering consists of Lean Manufacturing/Operations consulting engagements supplemented by instructor-led training workshops including Kanban Systems Design, 5S/Mini-Kaizen, Setup Reduction (SMED), and Workcell Design & Implementation events. These programs are complemented by a publishing arm offering books (Facilities & Workplace Design, Value Stream & Process Mapping, Warehouse Planning Guide, Cycle Counting) and video training (The Human Side of Lean). The company also publishes a free monthly Lean Briefing newsletter. Services are delivered through experienced consultants who travel globally, with training formats available as onsite workshops or online programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lean Manufacturing/Operations Consulting
• Lean Training Programs
• Designing Kanban Systems Workshop
• 5S Workshop & Mini-Kaizen
• Setup Reduction (SMED) Kaizen Event
• Workcell Design & Implementation Kaizen Event
• Facilities & Workplace Design (Book)
• Strategos Guide To Value Stream and Process Mapping (Book)
• Warehouse Modernization Planning Guide NS529 (Book)
• Strategos Guide to Cycle Counting (Book)
• The Human Side of Lean (Video)

Quantifiable outcome

• Finished Goods Inventory reduction of 96% with 24-hour lead-time
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sims Consulting GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSims Consulting Group is described as a Strategos Affiliate and 'literally wrote the book' on warehousing with the U.S. Navy's 800-page publication NS529 (Warehouse Modernization Planning Guide). Ed Phillips is described as one of the foremost authorities on Warehousing, Supply Chain and Materials Handling.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Planview LeanKit: LeanKit (now part of Planview) provides kanban and Lean project management software used by manufacturers running continuous improvement programs — adjacent to Strategos's Kanban Scheduling workshop offering.
• Six Sigma Development Company: Six Sigma Development Company offers structured Six Sigma and Lean training programs (Green Belt, Black Belt) — partial overlap with Strategos's workshop catalog, particularly for clients blending Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

Direct peers

• Kaizen Institute: Kaizen Institute is a global Lean consulting and training firm offering kaizen events, value stream mapping and lean transformation programs — directly comparable to Strategos's onsite workshop and consulting portfolio.
• TBM Consulting Group: TBM Consulting Group is a Lean/operational excellence consultancy delivering workshops, kaizen events and transformation programs to manufacturers — the closest direct competitor to Strategos in scale, methodology and customer profile.
• Lean Enterprise Institute: Lean Enterprise Institute educates and disseminates Lean thinking through training, workshops and publications — comparable to Strategos's combination of workshops, books and the Lean Briefing newsletter.
• Velocity Resource Group: Velocity Resource Group provides Lean manufacturing consulting and training services to industrial clients, comparable to Strategos in its Lean workshop and transformation focus.
• Gemba Academy: Gemba Academy delivers Lean training (online and onsite) covering value stream mapping, 5S, kanban and cellular manufacturing — a direct competitor to Strategos's structured workshop catalog.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company (Operations Practice): McKinsey's Operations Practice delivers large-scale manufacturing and supply chain transformations to Fortune 500 manufacturers — overlapping with Strategos in problem solved (lean operations, facility strategy) but at vastly larger scale and scope.
• Boston Consulting Group (Operations Practice): BCG's Operations and Manufacturing practice covers lean transformations, footprint design and production strategy — a broader incumbent competing for the same enterprise transformation budgets as Strategos.

Others

• SIMS Consulting Group: Sims Consulting Group is a Strategos Affiliate specializing in warehousing, supply chain and materials handling — directly comparable in consulting model and customer base, and already formally aligned with Strategos.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strategos-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strategos