An integrated Industry 4.0-Sustainable Lean Six Sigma framework to improve supply chain performance: a decision support study from COVID-19 lessons

Abstract

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic era has severely hampered the economy over the globe. However, the manufacturing organizations across all the countries have struggled heavily, as they were among the least who worked on online mode. The organizations are adopting various innovative quality methodologies to improve their performance. In this regard, they are adopting the Sustainable Lean Six Sigma (SLSS) concept and Industry 4.0 technologies to develop products at a faster rate. The use of Industry 4.0 technologies may reduce material movement and supply chain disruptions with the help of smart intelligent systems. There is a strong synergy between SLSS and Industry 4.0 technologies, resulting in an integrated approach for adoption. This study aims to develop a framework that practitioners can use to adopt Industry 4.0-SLSS practices effectively. Design/methodology/approach This study portrays 31 Industry 4.0-SLSS practices and 22 performance metrics identified through a literature review to improve the manufacturing supply chain performance. To compute the weights of these practices, the Robust Best–Worst Method (RBWM) is used. The Pythagorean fuzzy combined compromise solution (PF-CoCoSo) method is used to rank performance metrics. Findings According to the RBWM results, “Process Development Practices (PDP)” are first among the major criteria, followed by “Organizational Management Practices (OMP)” at second, “Technology Adoption Practices (TAP)” at third, “Strategy Management Practices (SMP)” at fourth and “Executive Management Practices (EMP)” at fifth, whereas the PF-CoCoSo method resulted in the performance metric “On time product delivery” ranking first. Research limitations/implications The identified practices have the potential to significantly improve the performance of the manufacturing supply chain. Practices that encourage a sustainable manufacturing supply chain and the usage of emerging technology will benefit organizational effectiveness. Managers can assess performance using prioritized performance metrics. Originality/value During the COVID-19 pandemic era, this is one of the unique attempts to provide a framework to improve the manufacturing supply chain performance. This study integrates and identifies Industry 4.0-SLSS practices and performance metrics for enhancing overall performance.

Integrated DEMATEL-ML approach for implementing lean supply chain in manufacturing sector

“…Previous studies have contributed to LSCM literature reviews (Jasti and Kodali, 2015;Ugochukwu et al, 2012), lean practices, lean barriers, lean enablers, and lean six sigma critical success factors (Ali et al, 2020;Berger et al, 2018;Borges et al, 2019;Khorasani et al, 2020;Raval et al, 2021;Sharma et al, 2021). Recent studies have analyzed LSCM performance (Garcia-Buendia et al, 2022), lean, green, and agile practices in supply chains (Saeed and Shoukat, 2023), lean applications to improve supply chains performance through Industry 4.0 principles (Rana and Jani, 2023) and lean thinking in medical commodities supply chain (Kessy et al, 2024). According to (Oliveira-Dias et al, 2022), the use of digital technologies and IT tools are important for monitoring manufacturing processes, optimizing the flow of resources during production, and identifying problems or causes of downtime in real time.…”

“…Recent studies have analyzed LSCM performance (Garcia-Buendia et al. , 2022), lean, green, and agile practices in supply chains (Saeed and Shoukat, 2023), lean applications to improve supply chains performance through Industry 4.0 principles (Rana and Jani, 2023) and lean thinking in medical commodities supply chain (Kessy et al. , 2024).…”