Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature

The move towards greener operations and products has forced companies to seek alternatives to balance efficiency gains and environmental friendliness in their operations and products. The exploration of the sequential or simultaneous deployment of lean and green initiatives is the results of this balancing action. However, the lean-green topic is relatively new, and it lacks of a clear and structured research definition. Thus, this paper’s main contribution is the offering of a systematic review of the existing literature on lean and green, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The paper identifies and structures, through a concept map, six main research streams that comprise both conceptual and empirical research conducted within the context of various organisational functions and industrial sectors. Important issues for future research are then suggested in the form of research questions. The paper’s aim is to also contribute by stimulating scholars to further study this area in depth, which will lead to a better understanding of the compatibility and impact on organisational performance of lean and green initiatives. It also holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a deeper and richer knowledge on lean and green to help them formulate more effective strategies for their deployment

Time-based performance improvement: a methodology for the diagnosis of processes and design of performance improvement solutions: executive summary

Performance improvement is an activity that all organisations must undertake to gain competitive advantage or simplify to maintain parity with the progress of competitors. Such improvement efforts are frequently undertaken in an ad-hoc manner. These are usually ineffective, with projects failing to improve the aspects of the organisation that deliver customer value, and inefficient with resources being wasted. In response to this situation a methodology was developed to aid business processes diagnosis and to design appropriate improvement projects that possess the potential to deliver exceptional improvement. The methodology was designed using time as the key performance metric for analysing business processes and practices. The time-based approach makes the methodology powerful yet simple. The simplicity enable users from within a company to adopt and apply the methodology, a feature that gives the methodology considerable strength. Applications of the methodology in twenty-five organisations found it effective in providing insightful analysis and designing solutions that, when implemented, led to significant performance improvements. The methodology demonstrated a high level of generality, having been applied in organisations as diverse as multinational corporations and Small and Medium sized Enterprises, SMEs, across both manufacturing and service business sectors. Application of the methodology uncovered the need to find better approaches to supply chain modelling and to managing programmes of performance improvement projects. In response, two new techniques were developed and validated. The first was the Time-based Supply Model. This device models the effectiveness of the processes that thread together supply networks using time as the key performance measure. The second was a structured idea-management system for performance improvement projects that uses a stage-gate approach to programme management. Combining this approach with the time-based methodology produced the Performance Improvement Model. This device provides a structure for managing the strategic direction and resource allocation of multiple performance improvement projects

IT Deplyment Assessment: A Two-Dimensional Supply Chain Life-Cycle Management Framework for Strategic Analysis

This paper is to develop a framework for industries to analyze their information technology deployment efforts based on operational activities along the life-cycle of their supply chains. In particular, industries that is mature and with low profit margin will find this framework applicable. It is an accepted principle in these industries that efforts to streamline and reduce cost are easier to achieve than to increase an equal amount of revenue. The framework encompasses all aspects of operations and provides a complete and comprehensive view of the whole supply chain. The first dimension of the framework includes both product-related and logistics-related activities. These are activities that range from product design to production to materials movement and warehousing. The second dimension addresses product and supply chain specific types of characteristics, which vary by industry that will impact the use of new information technology such as RFID, WiMax, and CPFR. These characteristics include the bitability, modularity, and information intensity of the product, cost structure in relation to product versus logistics, and vertical collaboration or standardization opportunities. By reviewing the life-cycle activities with these characteristics in mind, an industry can establish an information technology platform to guide new IT implementations for the future

Information and digital technologies of Industry 4.0 and Lean supply chain management: a systematic literature review

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of research and the key aspects and implications of the relationships between Information and Digital Technologies (IDT) of Industry 4.0 and Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM), with the identification of the lines of research developed and an analysis of the main findings. A Systematic Literature Review methodology has been used for the identification, selection, and evaluation of the published research. A set of 78 papers deduced from the most relevant scientific databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, and ABI/Inform, from 1996 to December 2019, has been analyzed and synthesized. The analysis and evaluation of these papers has enabled a new classification of the literature to be offered that identifies four lines of research based on the Life Cycle of Technology: obsolete IDT in LSCM; mature IDT in LSCM; emerging IDT in LSCM; and an Information Systems and IDT general approach in LSCM. The paper goes on to discuss the gaps found in the literature and proposes new opportunities and challenges for future research. A series of implications are presented intended to be useful from not only an academic point-of-view but also from a management focus, including recommendations for industrial managers and policymakers

Support of advanced technologies in supply chain processes and sustainability impact

This paper aims to present a study of the type of advanced technologies used across manufacturing supply chains in supporting the main processes of the supply chain operations reference model (SCOR). It also intends to identify a set of sustainable performance indicators (environmental, economic, and social) suitable to evaluate a supply chain 4.0 (SC4.0). To attain this objective, based on the literature review, a conceptual model is proposed. The multiple case study is used with a cross-case comparison to identify the type of advanced technologies more commonly used in SC4.0, and the performance indicators more suitable for assessing a SC4.0 sustainability performance. A sample of ten case studies was considered with companies belonging to different manufacturing SCs, from different countries, and belonging to different echelons. Main findings revealed that the level of adoption of advanced technologies in the Supply Chain SCOR processes varies amongst the case studies. Some technologies are quite commonly used among the several SCOR processes and companies while others are seldom applied. Some indicators were also identified that are regarded as very or extremely suitable to evaluate the sustainability performance of a SC4.0. The main contribution of this research to the body of knowledge is the empirical insights on the SC4.0 field and on Supply Chain Sustainability performance measurement. The results provide guidelines for the selection of advanced technologies to support SC processes and for the design of sustainable SC4.0 performance measurement systems.This work has been funded by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., Projects UIDB/05037/2020, UIDB/04058/2020 and UIDB/00319/2020

Employing the Internet of Things to Attain Resilience Across Supply Chain

This paper investigates and analyses the features of sustainable warehousing by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) to create a significant insight of the expanding and growing trends of sustainable warehousing, to fit perfectly within the net-zero supply chain strategies and adapting to the new value adding practices of Industry 5.0. Using a set of 65 publications, including journal papers, conference papers, and reviews, for the last 10 years, between 2013 and 2023, the SLR highlights and considers several green logistics areas that are essential to help redesign the features of sustainable warehouses. The paper also emphasizes the need for further research to develop new models for warehouses that can be implemented in the Industry 5.0 supply chain to achieve net-zero goals. In other words, the paper is trying to understand the current state of sustainable warehousing and identify areas where improvements can be made to make warehouses more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and to help the industry move towards a net-zero supply chain. Additionally, the paper is suggesting that there is a need for more research to be done to create new models for warehouses that can be applied in the Industry 5.0 supply chain, in order to reach net-zero goals

Building a boundaryless manufacturing organisation through HITOP method

There is little empirical research to support the allegation that ‘leagile’ manufacturing organisations thrive in hostile environments, nor has it been demonstrated that organisation processes (referred to as enablers) actually support ‘leagile’ performance. This study tests the statistical significance of five selected HITOP (highly integrated technology, organisation and people) ‘leagile’ enablers. This was accomplished by using a mail survey instrument to measure the presence of ‘leagile enablers’ in a sample of companies taken from best factory award winners in UK, US and Japan. [Continues.

A Taxonomy of Supply Chain Collaboration

Supply chain collaboration has emerged as an important cooperative strategy leading to new focus on interorganisational boundaries as the determinants of performance. Although collaboration increasingly receives great attention both from practitioners and academics, relatively little attention has been given to systematically reviewing the research literature that has appeared about supply chain collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to examine previous studies on supply chain collaboration based on a taxonomy. The proposed taxonomy is composed of four different research streams of describing specific subjects of interorganisational settings, namely information sharing, business processes, incentive schemes, and performance systems. The analysis includes the assessment of research ideas and key findings. Results show the great variability of key concepts across the four components of the taxonomy and an increased awareness of complementarity amongst research streams. Several recommendations for future research are also identified in this paper

A Taxonomy of Supply Chain Collaboration

Supply chain collaboration has emerged as an important cooperative strategy leading to new focus on interorganisational boundaries as the determinants of performance. Although collaboration increasingly receives great attention both from practitioners and academics, relatively little attention has been given to systematically reviewing the research literature that has appeared about supply chain collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to examine previous studies on supply chain collaboration based on a taxonomy. The proposed taxonomy is composed of four different research streams of describing specific subjects of interorganisational settings, namely information sharing, business processes, incentive schemes, and performance systems. The analysis includes the assessment of research ideas and key findings. Results show the great variability of key concepts across the four components of the taxonomy and an increased awareness of complementarity amongst research streams. Several recommendations for future research are also identified in this paper. Keywords: supply chain collaboration, literature review, supply chain management, taxonom

Diffusion of agile supply chains attributes: a study of the UK upstream oil and gas industry cluster

This study examines agile supply chain capabilities in oil and gas clusters, in the light of cluster and industrial district theory. The aim is to provide evidence of their potential impact on competitiveness and business performance within the UK upstream oil and gas cluster. Agility is the ability of organisations to operate and prosper in market conditions characterised by dynamism and constantly changing customer tastes. Clusters and industrial districts refer to the geographic concentration of firms in an industry that enables the firms to benefit from competition and cooperation as well as enhanced productivity within the cluster.A review of past theoretical and empirical studies on supply chain management, agility and clusters identifies four dimensions of agility: customer enrichment, cooperating to compete, mastering change and uncertainty, and leveraging the impact of people and information. The cluster theory points to the competitive advantage of being in geographic proximity to the members of a supply chain, including enhanced productivity, easy access to enriched and high quality factors of production, reduction of transaction and transportation costs as well as increased innovativeness. These all contribute to improving the competitive capability of a firm as well as having impact on the business performance of organisations. A survey of 880 firms in the UK upstream oil and gas cluster was conducted to determine the specific impact of cluster location attributes on the agility of supply chains. Six case studies involving the three tiers of the supply chain and supporting organisation were carried out.Structural equation modelling revealed strong impact of clusters on competitive objectives but weak impact on business performance. Results from the survey show that cluster agility has strong impact on both competitive objectives and business performance. The case study revealed that agility is a strategic tool adopted by the smaller organisations within the supply chain to mitigate the scale of large organisations. Equally, SMEs consider that being in UK oil and gas cluster enhances their responsiveness