Lean in the supply chain: a literature review

"Lean" is a management philosophy that enhances customer value through waste elimination and continuous improvement in a system, by applying lean principles, practices and techniques. The focus on lean implementations and research had been on a single company without extension to the entire supply chain. When the lean concept is implemented across the entire supply chain, however, it is referred to as a lean supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to review literature on lean in the supply chain and identify research trends and issues within the field. The paper involves a comprehensive review of articles on lean in the supply chain using structured content analysis. The reviewed articles were classified based on the basic characteristics and contextual issues of the articles. The researchers in the field agree that the identified benefits of lean in the supply chain, which include reduced cost, improved quality, faster delivery and flexibility, are linked to the implementation of certain lean principles, practices and techniques in the supply chain. Most of the reviewed articles are case studies, and evidence for the benefits of lean in the supply chain is anecdotal. While the empirical work done in the field is encouraging, quantitative studies to substantiate the claims for the efficiency of lean in the supply chain are lacking. In the reviewed articles, the manufacturing sector received much attention, while the service sector received little attention from researchers in the field. It was generally suggested that the supply chain members, suppliers and manufacturers should be considered in the implementation of lean in the supply chain, while the inclusion of distributors and end customers was not discussed in detail in many of the reviewed articles.