Supply chain performance: how lean practices efficiently drive improvements

PurposeBy applying a systematic literature review, this paper aims to identify the major healthcare problem domains (i.e. target areas) for lean supply chain management (LSCM) and to provide a list of the most common techniques for implementing LSCM in healthcare. Moreover, this study intends to investigate various contingency factors that may have influenced the selection of LSCM target areas or the application of LSCM techniques by healthcare organizations.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was carried out following the method presented by Tranfield et al. (2003). Thereby, 280 peer-reviewed journal articles, published between 1995 and 2018, were selected, profiled and reviewed. In total, 75 papers were also selected for a qualitative analysis, known as meta-study, on the basis of high relevancy to the research objectives.FindingsThis work extracts, from previous research, a set of target areas for improving supply chain in healthcare by applying lean approaches. The work also unifies the language of lean thinking and supply chain in healthcare by defining metaphors in circumstances under which healthcare organizations pursue similar objectives from their supply chain management and lean programs (Schmitt, 2005). This paper also outlines a list of applications of lean for supply chain improvement in healthcare. Finally, a set of contingency factors in the field of lean supply chain in healthcare is found via the published literature.Practical implicationsThis paper provides insights for decision-makers in the healthcare industry regarding the benefits of implementing LSCM, and it identifies contingency factors affecting the implementation of LSCM principles for healthcare. Implementing LSCM can help healthcare organizations improve the following domains: internal interaction between employees, supply chain cost management, medication distribution systems, patient safety and instrument utilization.Social implicationsThe research shows potential synthesis of LSCM with the healthcare industry’s objectives, and, thus, the outcome of this research is likely to have positive influence on the quality and cost of healthcare services. The objectives of the healthcare industry are cost reduction and providing better service quality, and LSCM implementation could be an effective solution to help healthcare to achieve these objectives.Originality/valueThe prime value of this paper lies in conducting a systematic literature review using a meta-study to identify the major factors of implementing LSCM in healthcare. Only a few other studies have been published in the literature about LSCM in healthcare.

Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM) emphasizes waste minimization and fewer interruptions while providing a flow of goods, services, and technologies from suppliers to customers and maximizing value added to all agents in the supply chain. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) also pursues efficiency in industrial and service companies and their business partners with the intensive use of Information Technology (IT). These two strategies, LSCM and I4.0, interrelate to produce positive impacts on supply chain responsiveness. This paper conducts a literature review of the role that IT in the I4.0 domain plays in the Lean supply chain. The various technologies are classified according to the impact that they have on responsiveness, that is, on the Lean supply chain strategy’s flexibility and/or response speed. Implications for academia and management are also stated and gaps identified that need to be addressed by future research.

An integrated Decision Support System for planning production, storage and bulk port operations in a fertilizer supply chain

Since the emergence of rising environmental issues, firms urgently require a supply chain strategy that will allow them to compete effectively in the marketplace. Implementing lean and green supply chain management strategies have been recommended to achieve sustainability and competitiveness. Yet, there is some ambiguity about how these practices must interact with one another. While lean practices have been around for a while and are widely adopted by businesses, the green movement is still evolving in the supply chains for most industries. This paper aims to identify the most important lean-green practices in supply chain management and their relative importance to firms’ sustainable performance in automotive industry context using Best Worst Method. The results reveal that green related practices are the most important to achieve environmental, economic, and social performance respectively. Whereas most lean practices remain the least important. As mentioned by the results three green practices, namely Environmental Management System (EMS), Green Purchasing (GP), and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R), are the most important, while Small Lot Sizing (SLZ) is the least important lean practice. These practices contribute to the improvement of environmental, economic, and social performance respectively. The findings of this research offer a theoretical and empirical roadmap for decision makers seeking to identify key practices that are most likely to contribute to improving various aspects of sustainable performance in automotive context.

Through an international business risk management lens, the widespread and catalytic implications of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on the supply chains (SCs) of fashion multinational corporations (MNC) are analyzed to contribute to existing research on supply chain management (SCM). While a movement towards agile, networked supply chain models had been in consideration for many firms prior to the outbreak, the pandemic highlights issues inherent in supply chains that employ concentrated production. We examined the current state of fashion supply chains, risks that have arisen historically and recently, and existing risk mitigation methods. We found that while lean supply chain management is primarily favored for its cost and waste reduction advantages, the structure is limited by the lack of supply chain transparency that results as well as the increasing demand volatility observed even before the COVID-19 outbreak. Although this problem might exist in the agile supply chain, agile supply chains combat this by focusing on enhancing communication and buyer-supplier relationships to improve information exchange. However, this structure also entails an associated increase in inventory and inventory costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused supply and demand disruptions which have resonating effects on supply chain activities and management, indicating a need to build flexibility to mitigate epidemic and demand risks. To address this, several strategies that firms can adopt to control for such risks are outlined and key areas for further research are identified which consider parties both upstream and downstream of the fashion supply chain.

Lean manufacturing focuses on eliminating waste across production. In supplier selection, applying lean principles helps identify partners that minimise waste in the supply chain. This study proposes an integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach for supplier selection in Vietnam's garment industry. It combines stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) with a regret theory-based evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) under spherical fuzzy conditions. The SF SWARA method determines evaluation criteria weights, while the regret-based SF EDAS ranks suppliers by proximity to the ideal solution. Findings show the hybrid approach enhances accuracy and reliability in lean supplier selection, supporting cost reduction and quality improvement. The study also offers a roadmap for practitioners and policymakers to optimise supplier evaluation, strengthen supply chain performance, and advance sustainable lean practices. Overall, it enriches decision-making methodologies within lean supply chain management and extends relevance to other industries facing similar challenges.

Against the backdrop of the rapid development of the cultural and creative industry, the contradictory relationship between cost control and service quality has become increasingly prominent due to the characteristics of non-standardized production, making traditional large-scale methods difficult to meet its needs. From the perspective of lean supply chain theory, this study explores how the cultural and creative industry can achieve a dynamic balance between cost and quality through lean supply chain management. Taking film and television content creation as a typical case, this study constructs its supply chain model, compares and analyzes its differences from traditional manufacturing industries, and reveals that the root cause of the contradictions faced by current cultural and creative enterprises lies in the structural conflict between "non-standard creative production" and "industrialized logic". By introducing lean management concepts, this study proposes a lean supply chain cost management model adapted to the cultural and creative industry. The research shows that cultural and creative enterprises can implement supply-side structural adjustments through lean supply chain management to achieve collaborative development of cost control and quality optimization, providing a practical and systematic solution to address the industry's cost control challenges, promote sustainable industry development, and enhance enterprise competitiveness.

This chapter evaluates the state-of-the-art of research on Lean Management and Supply Chain Management strategies in the aerospace sector using Systematic Literature Review methodology. The complementary aims are: a) to identify the topic set studied and to propose a criterion for classifying the literature, and b) to discuss the empirical evidence that identifies existing interrelationships. The analysis has enabled three main topics to be identified: a) adoption and implementation of lean management, b) development of supply chain management, and c) deployment of lean principles and practices across the supply chain. A number of more specific lines of research are also proposed that have been assigned to each of these three main research topics. Finally, a set of challenges and opportunities for future research are set out, along with a range of academic and professional implications that could be useful not only for the aerospace sector but also for other industrial sectors that share similar contingent factors.

PurposeThis paper presents the concerns in agri-food supply chain. Further the research investigates the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in agri-food supply chain and determines the impact of supply chain management (SCM) practices on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework was proposed for the study on the basis of existing literature. Data for the study was collected with the help of structured questionnaire from 121 executives and officers of the public food distribution agency. Partial least square (PLS)–structured equation modeling was employed to test the framework and hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that ICT and SCM practices (logistics integration and supplier relationships) have a significant relationship. Furthermore, SCM practices (information sharing, supplier relationship and logistics integration) have a significant and positive impact on performance of the organization.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research could be carried out to test the moderation effect of SCM practices between ICT and organizational performance (OP). Extending the research study to the companies operating in other sectors can enhance the external validity of the study and improve the accuracy of parameters examined.Practical implicationsThis study can be of interest to the agri-food industry as well as other industry practitioners interested in improving the performance of the organization from the view of supply chain.Originality/valueThe outcomes of this study have important implications that translate into a series of recommendations for the management of public food distribution as well as other agri-food-based supply chains.

A recent trend in aerospace is that aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Eurocopter and for instance Dassault, are developing from a “production” orientated company towards “integrators of value.” Suppliers were already involved mainly with “built to print” activities, leaving most of the risk with the OEM. Today, the suppliers are involved with the co‐development of entire functions of the aircraft such as wings, fuselage, and stabilizers, which causes the production value to shift from the aerospace OEM towards the supply chain (SC) and network. The co‐development includes the investment in development for the specific aircraft function(s) by the suppliers. The aerospace OEM is in fact leveraging value on suppliers; this is what we call “value‐leverage.” The rational behind this value‐leverage approach is the reduction of supply complexity, which destines from lean manufacturing theories adopted from the automotive industry. Examples of Boeing B787 and Eurocopter show the approach of value‐leverage on the suppliers. The 3C value‐leverage model is found as an applicable method to measure value‐leverage effects in a network, from which suppliers are most important value drivers. Aerospace OEM companies are challenged to leverage value smart on the supply chain and network to make value to flow.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present a set of critical factors for total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) practices through an extensive literature review; and, second, to identify the relationships among them by comparing the identified TQM and SCM practices in order to explore the concept of supply chain quality management (SCQM). Design/methodology/approach To meet the goals of this work, a review of published quality research papers was carried out. For this, the authors identified papers on TQM and SCM practices and observed how these practices improve the business performance of organizations. Further, on the basis of identified practices, a conceptual model of SCQM was developed. Findings The results presented a set of six critical factors each for TQM and SCM practices. Further, it was found that management support and commitment, customer focus, information and supplier partnership are the most common practices found in both TQM and SCM practices. The integration of TQM and SCM (SCQM) throughout the supply chain has the strongest impact on the organizational performance. Research limitations/implications The study used data from various research papers of reputed journals which considered the study of India’s manufacturing industry as well as other countries, which may not provide a clear picture. However, this can be overcome by applying the findings of this paper to collect data from Indian manufacturing industry in future studies. Practical implications Indian manufacturing industry can improve its competitive image through the synergy of TQM and SCM. The result of this paper will help in providing a greater understanding of identified TQM and SCM practices that will lead to the successful implementation of TQM and SCM strategies to enhance business performance in terms of the improved levels of customer service. Originality/value Much of the attention is given on TQM and SCM practices, and very few studies have been undertaken to integrate TQM and SCM practices. But as far as the authors know, there is no study undertaken to integrate TQM and SCM practices in India for the manufacturing class. Therefore, this study compares TQM and SCM practices and considers their integration and can be thus treated as filling a gap in the extant literature. Therefore, the findings of this review paper will contribute in future research.

The supply chain of the palm oil agro-industry is quite complicated and lengthy and involves many actors. This causes supply chain performance to be less than optimal. In addition, it also raises doubts applying the principle of sustainability in its business activities. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of the supply chain of the palm oil agro-industry to know the actual conditions at the moment and to identify existing problems and opportunities for improvement. Thus, the right strategy can be formulated to increase the sustainability and responsiveness of the palm oil agro-industry. This study aims to identify the condition of the palm oil agro-industry supply chain mechanism and analyze the performance of the palm oil agro-industry supply chain so that improvement strategies can be formulated. Analysis of the supply chain performance of the palm oil agro-industry was determined using the Supply Chain Operation Reference (SCOR) method by weighting the results of the Analytical Hierarchy Process questionnaire (AHP) to obtain the supply chain. The results showed that the supply chain structure of the palm oil agro-industry consisted of farmers, transportation, palm oil mills, private partners, distributors, and consumers. Analysis of the performance of supply chain actors in the palm oil agro-industry is primarily in the medium and above average categories. Improving supply chain performance needs to be emphasized at each stage of the planning process with reliability performance attributes and performance indicators in the form of accuracy in predicting the number of requests. Alternative strategies that are prioritized to improve supply chain performance are increasing the competence of human resources and supply chain partnerships.

Supply chain management survey of Swedish manufacturing firms

Impact of supply chain digitalization on supply chain resilience and performance: A multi-mediation model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the complex interrelationships among the key constructs, supply chain orientation (SCO), supply chain integration (SCI) and supply chain performance (SCP) in Indian manufacturing industries. These relationships have been studied using the relational view (RV) and the knowledge-based view (KBV) theoretical perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model was derived from the existing body of knowledge in the supply chain domain. The study is based on a sample size of 122 data collected via face-to-face meetings with the Indian manufacturers using well-established scales. The covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings In Indian manufacturing and supply chains, SCO has a positive relationship with SCI and SCP. Moreover, the direct impact of SCO on SCP diminishes when SCI is used as a mediating variable. This study also observes positive impact of: i) SCO on SCP, ii) SCI on SCP and iii) discovery of mediating role of SCI on SCP under the theoretical lenses of RV and KBV. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional survey of manufacturing firms of one country (using one response per firm) calls for validation covering other parts of the world and demands a longitudinal survey. This research will trigger more scholarly, practice and policy debate among researchers studying Indian and emerging economies context. Practical implications The notion of a holistic view of the SC with a focus on improving the customer value can enhance strategic partnerships among the SC partners (i.e. SCI) and overall SCP. Firms should make efforts to include SCI in SC designs to successfully transform SCO into SCP. Originality/value The originality of the research lies in studying the complex interrelationships among key concepts of SC in a unique Indian manufacturing context. The Indian supply chains operate in a set of unique characteristics, which have been detailed out in this paper. This paper not only establishes the mediating role of SCI for overall SCP in emerging economies but also enhances the scholarly knowledge in the SC domain. Most studies report SCO as a single-order construct, measured by scales comprising of only few items. The second-order SCO measures in this study bring credibility to the findings. Additionally, it contributes to both academicians and practitioners alike in the context of an integrated SC in emerging economies.