Using lean management to advance supply chain efficiency

Abstract

Lean management has been traditionally used in the manufacturing world but recently there has been a move to apply lean manufacturing principles in the supply chain management. There is an ever-growing pressure for organisations to achieve shorter lead times, lower costs and better quality. Lean provides a systematic approach to optimize value stream from suppliers to consumers through elimination of non-value adding activities. This paper looks at the benefits of implementing lean in supply chain, supply chain performance review tools, evolution of lean in other sectors out of manufacturing and how it can be implemented in an integrative manner with other approaches such as Industry 4.0. It further reviews the peer reviewed case studies where lean has been implemented successfully and how can the results be amplified further.