A successful Just in Time (JIT) implementation is based on human resources integration (managers, operators and suppliers) and other lean manufacturing techniques applied in the production process. However, the relationship between these variables is not easily quantified. This paper reports a structural equation model that integrates variables associated with JIT implementation: management commitment, human resources integration, suppliers and production tools and technique, which affect the benefits gained, and are integrated into nine hypotheses or relationships among then. The model is evaluated with information from 352 responses to a questionnaire applied to manufacturing industry, and partial least squares technique is used to evaluate it. The direct effects, sum of indirect effects, and total effects are quantified, and a sensitivity analysis based on conditional probabilities is reported to know scenarios associated with low and high levels in variables’ execution and how they impact the benefits obtained. Findings indicate that managerial commitment is the most important variable in the JIT implementation process, since managers are the ones that determine the relationships with suppliers, integrate human resources, and approve the lean manufacturing techniques and tools that support the JIT.

Supplier selection is a common practice in industrial sector and is usually conducted by engineers and administrators. However, in the healthcare sector, supplier selection is less commonly studied. This chapter proposes a methodology that simplifies the selection of suppliers in hospitals. As case study, the authors propose an example in which they evaluate six potential suppliers as alternatives with five attributes. The proposed methodology integrates the nominal group technique (NGT) to weight the attributes and dimensional analysis to estimate an index of similarity to an ideal supplier. This index of similarity is obtained from the best nominal values of the attributes. This methodology can be easily applied; it is intuitive and friendly to inexpert users, since the evaluation can be performed using a traditional spreadsheet. Also, the proposal allows for the simultaneous evaluation of multiple attributes and can be used by hospital administrators themselves, which prevents hospitals from hiring external services.