Lean Supply Chain Management and Sustainability: A Proposed Implementation Model

Introduction

In the last four decades, Lean Management (LM) has been one of the most popular business strategies for the manufacturing and service organizations (Goetsch and Davis, 2014; Rotter et al., 2018). The researchers have been continuously studying and updating the various facets of LM (Miller et al., 2010; Hajmohammad et al., 2013; Biazzo et al., 2016; Narayanamurthy and Gurumurthy, 2016; Resta et al., 2016; Martínez-Jurado and Moyano-Fuentes, 2018; Narayanamurthy et al., 2018). The input dimensions of LM is the human effort, production space, investment in tools, engineering hours to develop a product, the needed inventory etc. on the output side, it is delivering the value with reduction in defects, etc. (Womack et al., 1990; Narayanamurthy and Gurumurthy, 2016). LM implementation is a continuous process and journey without an end state (Liker, 1997) and therefore, the impact on LM has to monitored on various dimensions, to suggest the future course of action. The stakeholders of organizations usually monitor the business performance for judging the efficacy of any new system (Venkatraman and Ramanujam, 1986; Arellano et al., 2017). The supply chain is critical for the success of the organization (Sezen and Erdogan, 2009). Therefore, organizations are using many methods to improve the supply chain. The LM principles and practices have been applied across the supply chain. This has been applied right from the suppliers to the customer with intention to create more value for the customers. The LSCM thus made possible elimination of waste, improving quality, reducing costs, and increasing costs at all the stages of supply chain (Womack et al., 1990; Womack and Jones, 1996). LSCM advocates a culture of collaboration with clients and works together to accomplish common goals. To cite an example Toyota communicates with customers and suppliers for considering any change in supply chain activities (Sezen and Erdogan, 2009). Nevertheless, many organizations have struggled to implement Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM) programs, due to lack of awareness or improper implementation procedures (Jasti and Kodali, 2015a). Besides, LSCM requires a different set of business models wherein improved profits are as a result of cooperation rather than competition. The integration of LSCM is not simple and has much to evolve in order to better comprehend the adaptation of Lean approaches within the supply chain (Shamah, 2013; Tortorella et al., 2018). Sustainability of results achieved in the supply chain is also another concern. Different approaches such as lean, resilient or green are used by companies to improve the sustainability of supply chains (Azevedo et al., 2012; Govindan et al., 2014). Yet, the studies on the impact of these practices on sustainability are scarce (Ruiz-Benitez et al., 2018). Accordingly, there is a need for a study which evaluates the existing literature on LSCM and sustainability to integrate and develop a conceptual model for implementation of sustainable Lean supply chain. This study is purported to fill this academic gap.