Lean Manufacturing Techniques for Supply Chain Management

Running head: Supply chain management
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Supply chain management 1
Introduction
Supply chain management can be defined as managing the flow of products and services within
the organizations. It comprises the movement of the raw materials, works in progress and
finished goods from their origin to consumption (Lee and Nelson, 2010). So, it comprises of
planning, designing, monitoring the supply chain activities with the intention to create net value,
executing, controlling ,building a competitive infrastructure, coordinating the demand and supply
activities and measuring the performance of the company according to the global standards.
One of the techniques of production is the lean manufacturing techniques. Lean is the method for
minimizing the waste within the manufacturing system without surrendering the productivity of
the organization. It considers the wastage arising from the overburden and through ununiformed
workloads. It is a technique of manufacturing which adds value to the processes by decreasing
everything which is not doing the value additions.
Value-added activities comprise of the techniques to verify the wants of the consumers in the
entire supply chain since comprehending the requirements of the consumers is essential for
minimizing the wastages in the supply chain systems (Rose, Deros, Rahman and Nordin, 2011).
Literature review
As per Manzouri et al., (2014) the businesses have been attempting to minimize the total cost
and waste throughout their supply chains in order to be competitive and expand themselves in
the international market. The influence of lean management principles on the supply chain of the
businesses cannot be ignored. The lean procedures and techniques assist the businesses to be
flexible and lucrative. The lean management comprises of quality development processes, pull
production techniques, focus on the processes, continuous improvement, worker empowerment
and value stream management.
The aim of the lean management principles is to fulfill the demands of the consumers with the
help of reducing the waste. Reduction of wastages can be considered in the supply chain
processes of human resources, design and production and activities associated with inventory
and distribution. As per the concept of lean management principles application of its tools and
techniques can assist in the minimization of such wasted efforts (Anvari, Ismail and Hojjati,

Supply chain management 2
2011). The personnel involved in the supply chain should comprehend the concepts of lean
management and apply its practices through cooperation and coordination.
The various processes of Lean management principles are Total Quality Management (TQM),
Just –In –Time (JIT), value stream mapping, human resource management, total preventive
maintenance programs and vendor development. Lean is a concept which applies a series of
activities for removal of wastages and retaining the worth with less of work. In this context, the
lean concept has been used in the production systems (Bicheno and Holweg, 2016). Lean
enterprise or lean production arises when the business integrates the elements of a supply chain
with the lean production, procurement, manufacturing, and distribution together.
However, if the organization overlooks the strategy of lean production, it would not be able to
confront the worldwide competition in terms of fast delivery, high quality, and fewer costs. The
lean management principles can be categorized into six areas viz. planning and control,
manufacturing, product design, process and equipment, supplier and consumer relationships and
human resources (Poppendieck, 2011). The lean principles can further be dividing into three
classes viz. identification of problems, assessment of their causes and resolve the issues. When
waste and problems are recognized in the supply chain, the personnel try to resolve the problems
and implement them to develop the system.
In this context, the lean supply chain (LSC) recognizes and removes all kinds of waste in the
supply chain. While handling the supply chain, they target on the undertakings which deliver the
raw materials, manufacture the final product and transport them to the end consumers in an
efficient manner. The function of LSC is to focus on each activity which generates wastages and
attempting to minimize them. The supply chain management is a total system which requires
assimilation and optimization which are achieved through procedures and techniques of lean
manufacturing (Taleghani, 2010). The combination of LSC and supply chain management
strategy creates the successful and dynamic strategy.
The various aspects of LSC can be classified into the following areas viz. role of suppliers,
nature of competition, source decision, supply structure, supplier development, interchange and
interaction of data and production techniques (Rajenthirakumar and Thyla, 2011). The