Lean Production Development in SMEs: A Case Study

Abstract

The competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is vital for the European economy. Also, manufacturing is often the core competence of SMEs. Adopting lean philosophy is a viable and popular approach for developing production and enabling continuous improvement. Despite the increased interest in empirical lean research, the body of knowledge about lean manufacturing development in SMEs is currently insufficient. This paper describes a study of a lean development project in a Finnish-based manufacturing SME. A current state analysis and development proposals are presented. The project applies a framework that other SMEs can utilize in identifying their problem areas and creating development proposals for their production activities. The results of the study contribute to the existing body of knowledge in lean manufacturing. In addition, managers in SMEs can utilize the study results as a reference when designing production development projects.

Influence of Open Innovation Variables on the Competitive Edge of Small and Medium Enterprises

“…Usually, SMEs perform worse than large companies in competitive criteria such as flexibility, labor productivity, cost, and delivery [31,32]. To overcome such liabilities, SMEs should handle differentiation and innovation processes [11], relying on intrinsic skills usually found in SMEs, such as quality and responsivity [33,34]. Alternatively, when SMEs need to face competition based on cost leadership, strategic drivers must be triggered by innovation strategies [35].…”

“…As SMEs are close to the customer, their flexibility and reactivity to the market can cause disadvantages such as lower productivity, higher costs, and lower competitive performance in the long run, compared to large companies [31,32]. SMEs must be flexible in their operations, continually developing them compared to large companies, to maintain their competitiveness [33,34]. SMEs' strategic determinants can be based on cost leadership, which is only implemented after survival or based on differentiation and focus, triggered by innovation strategies [35].…”

Importance of first-line employees in lean implementation in SMEs: a systematic literature review

“…Enablers Creativity and innovation(Darcy et al, 2014;Saunders et al, 2014;Yadav et al, 2019a) Task rotation, training and reallocation(Majava and Ojanperä, 2017) Problem-solving demands and activities(Cullinane et al, 2013;Huo and Boxall, 2018) Involvement in activities of checking, reporting and correcting eventual problems(Kull et al, 2014) High level of affect-based trust and cognition-based trust(Li et al, 2015;Bruce et al, 2011); trust built through team activity(Roslin et al, 2019;Shokri et al, 2016) Knowledge-sharing(Eze et al, 2013) Signs of improvements in lean implementation in a particular area within SMEs(Bakås et al, 2011) Adaptable employees(Dombrowski et al, 2010) BarriersUnused employee creativity(Majava and Ojanperä, 2017) Lack of confidence in the lean program Satish, 2018a, 2018b) Resisting to lean(AlManei et al, 2017;Antomarioni et al, 2020;Antosz and Stadnicka, 2017; …”

Challenges in the Fuzzy Front End of the Production Development Process

“…An empirical study was conducted in order to investigate challenges in the fuzzy front end of production development that may have substantial negative impact on future production system performance [31]. The definition of production development in the study relates to the conceptual phase of the production system development process.…”