The kyro team has just wrapped up three intense days at Lean Around the Clock in Mannheim. Three days filled with conversations, discussions, encounters, and new perspectives. In this blog post, the team looks back on the past few days and shares their impressions of the trade show:
For us, this LATC trade show was special in several ways. First, because we presented our concept for Lean 4.0 and the Orchestrator for the first time in collaboration with Einklang.AI. Second, because we could sense that this idea was well-received by many people in the Lean community.
And last but not least, because we were able to take 3rd place with kyro at the Lean Base Award – and even 1st place in the community vote.
But the most important gain from these three days wasn’t the votes or the ranking. It was the conversations with visitors and exhibitors on-site.
Lean Around the Clock 2026: Three Days of Exchange with the Lean Community
Anyone walking through the halls of Lean Around the Clock quickly realizes: Lean is alive and well. Everywhere, people are discussing, explaining, and experimenting. They talk about value streams, flow, problem-solving, leadership, and culture. The energy of this community is impressive.
At the same time, a common theme emerged in many conversations. The world in which Lean operates today has become more complex. Processes are more interconnected, data volumes are growing, decisions must be made faster, and artificial intelligence is part of the reality for many organizations.
This does not mean that Lean methods have become obsolete. On the contrary. They remain one of the strongest foundations for improvement and learning in organizations. But the context has changed.
Many Lean experts described exactly this to us. They continue to work with robust methods, yet at the same time are dealing with more tools, more initiatives, and more data than ever before. And yet, something crucial is often missing: clarity.
From Lean Expert to Lean Orchestrator: A New Role in Lean 4.0
For many years, the role of the Lean expert was clear: analyze, structure, optimize. But in a world of increasing complexity, this perspective alone is no longer sufficient.
Today, organizations need people who not only drive individual improvement projects but also connect people, processes, and technology. People who think end-to-end, make connections visible, and provide direction. The Orchestrator is precisely this next step.
In this role, the Orchestrator thinks not just in terms of methods or projects, but in terms of impact. They connect leadership, teams, data, and decisions. And they ensure that Lean remains effective even in a complex, data-driven world.
Many conversations at our booth showed that this role strikes a chord. Time and again, we heard statements like: “That’s exactly what we’re experiencing right now.” “Lean works – but the environment is different today.” “We have many tools, but no unified system.”
For us, this was a strong signal.
Conversations at the Booth: The Orchestrator, the Orange Belt and Tool Chaos
Some elements of our booth sparked particularly lively discussions. In the center stood a mannequin – our Orchestrator. It wore a striking orange belt and a shirt with a QR code. Anyone who scanned it was taken directly to the Komax Story, which shows how Lean can evolve toward Lean 4.0. Many visitors stopped right there. It wasn’t uncommon for the conversation to begin with a simple question: “What’s the deal with the Orchestrator?” From there, an in-depth discussion often unfolded about the future of Lean, new roles within organizations, and how people, processes, and AI can work together in the future.
The orange belt also sparked many conversations. In the Lean world, the Black Belt has stood for analytical excellence and data-driven optimization for years. But in many conversations, it became clear: this very image is currently changing. The orange belt was therefore deliberately intended as a symbol. It stands for a new generation of Lean experts – people who continue to work analytically but, at the same time, connect, lead, facilitate, and design systems more effectively. Less focus on pure data optimization, more focus on system understanding, collaboration, and impact.
Another detail of our booth also sparked a lot of discussion. Behind the screen hung a large, deliberately chaotic brown paper covered in Post-its. Many Lean experts recognize this scene from their daily lives: workshops, rolls of paper, markers, Excel lists, and presentations. But this is precisely where a problem often arises. The insights from workshops later disappear back into everyday life. Those who work with brown paper struggle with tool chaos and media discontinuities. kyro addresses this very issue. Instead of isolated documents, a shared digital process landscape emerges. Problems remain visible, improvements become traceable, and teams can work together on processes. For many visitors, this was less a new tool and more a new way to organize improvement work in everyday life. kyro was understood as an improvement system.
Lean 4.0: How People, Process and AI Interact
Our joint booth with Einklang.AI was based on a simple idea: Lean 4.0 emerges when people, processes, and artificial intelligence interact.
Einklang.AI demonstrates how people can evolve into orchestrators – through a structured path to AI literacy, Lean leadership, and end-to-end value stream thinking.
kyro demonstrates how Lean 4.0 can be implemented in everyday life. Not as yet another tool, but as a system that makes processes visible, engages teams, and provides structured support for continuous improvement.
Feedback from the community also confirmed that this idea resonated at the trade show. One visitor aptly summarized her impressions on LinkedIn: AI is of little use if a Lean system consists only of tools – and of great value when it is based on standards and rituals. It was precisely this combination of structure, routines, and technology that was described as crucial in many conversations.
The atmosphere of the event itself also reinforced this impression. One participant wrote that the LATC had once again been a place where one could “immerse oneself in the Lean bubble” – with people talking about clarity, flow, value streams, and genuine improvement. In this context, kyro was also cited as an example of how digitalization can pragmatically support Lean principles rather than overshadow them.
This feedback reflects very well what we experienced time and again over the three days: The Lean community isn’t looking for ever-new tools, but for systems that meaningfully connect people, processes, and technology. That’s exactly where Lean 4.0 begins for us.
Lean Base Award 2026: kyro Takes 3rd Place and Wins the Community Vote
A special moment at the trade show for us was the Lean Base Award. We are very pleased that kyro was able to take 3rd place here. We were even more delighted that we actually ranked 1st in the community voting.
For us, this is above all a sign that the idea behind kyro is understood: to digitize Lean not as a documentation system, but as a living system of continuous improvement.
Many thanks to everyone who voted for us.
Three Insights from Lean Around the Clock 2026
The conversations at our booth provided us with many valuable insights. Three observations stood out to us in particular.
First: The Lean community is open to new perspectives. Many are actively seeking ways to further develop Lean so that it remains effective even in a more complex world.
Second: The issue of tool chaos is a concern for many organizations. Numerous companies today work with a multitude of systems for processes, projects, metrics, and improvements. There is a strong desire for greater clarity and integration.
Third: The role of people is becoming more important – not less. Artificial intelligence does not replace Lean experts. It changes their role. This is precisely why the concept of the orchestrator is gaining significance.
Lean Remains – But the Role Behind It Continues to Evolve
Lean Around the Clock has once again demonstrated just how strong and vibrant this community is. It was particularly gratifying for us to see that our concept of Lean 4.0 and the Orchestrator has resonated so strongly.
Perhaps this is because many organizations are currently at exactly this juncture. Lean remains – but the role behind it continues to evolve.
That is precisely the next step: not more methods, but a better connection between people, processes, and artificial intelligence.
