Lean logistics

Abstract

Sets out an alternative approach to designing and managing a logistics system, which is called here lean logistics. Draws on research which has sought to extend the production system logic pioneered by Toyota beyond the factory gate and into industries other than automobiles. Starts by outlining the dilemma facing managers trying to implement new business practices and then proposes an alternative way of rethinking the logic of value creation, before illustrating how this works in a complete logistics system. Central to this new logic is a detailed understanding of the waste or inefficiencies that lie in existing systems. Such an understanding is required so that radical or incremental improvements can then be made in the development of a lean logistics system. Presents a framework to do just this called value stream mapping. Illustrates the approach with an example from the distribution industry. Also raises a number of key questions for the academic community in terms of future research and applications within the broad area of lean logistics.

Improving road transport operations through lean thinking: a case study

“…Barber and Tietje, 2008) has been widely documented in the academic literature. However, only a small number of researchers have considered the use of VSM to support the analysis and improvement of the value stream of logistics and transport operations (Villarreal et al, 2013;Villarreal, 2012;Villarreal et al, 2012;Hines et al, 1999;Jones et al, 1997). For this reason, besides documenting the application of lean thinking in road transport operations to expand the limited body of knowledge in this area, this paper also contributes by presenting a further case study of the application of VSM in the road transport industry.…”

The role of the concept of LEAN management in modern business

“…These seven groups of loss are [3]: Overproduction, Waiting time in the processes and inactivity of workers and equipment, waiting time for a product, Transport, Excessive processing, Stocks of raw materials, semi-finished products, Unnecessary movement of labor, equipment and materials and Frequent errors, the occurrence of rejects and finishing. These losses added some authors and inadequate processes of product design, which does not meet the requirements of users, untapped intellectual potential of workers and missed opportunities.…”

Supply Chain Integration

“…Hence, any worthwhile cost leadership approach needs to focus on the optimisation of total supply chain costs and the elimination of non-value-adding activities (NVAs). The author's definition of an NVA -based on Jones et al (1997), Goldrat and Cox (1992), Womack and Jones (2003) and others is: any activity (or resource or asset) that adds cost (or time) to any supply chain process without adding value from a customer perspective. Much of this lean thinking has its origins in the Japanese automotive industry, in particular in the Toyota Production System (TPS) and the just in time (JIT) paradigm (Ohno, 1988;Womack and Jones, 2003).…”