Barriers in green lean implementation: a combined systematic literature review and interpretive structural modelling approach

Green Lean has recently emerged as an alternative strategy for organizations to pursue both operational and sustainability excellence. The interest on this approach has rapidly risen in both academic and industry circles. However, despite this interest, very limited research has focused on its implementation, and no research has investigated the barriers that hinder the success of such activity. This study investigates the Green Lean implementation barriers and their contextual relationships and effects on the integration and deployment of this approach. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR), Interpretative Structural Modelling and fuzzy Matriced’ Impacts Croise’s Multiplication Appliqée a UN Classement (MICMAC) analyzes were carried out. Fifteen barriers were extracted from the SLR and then validated in consultation with industry and academic experts. The Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) method was used to understand the relationship between the fifteen barriers and to develop a hierarchical model of these. The different barriers were classified into ‘linkage’ and ‘dependent’ barriers by using MICMAC analysis. The results suggested that all the identified barriers play an important role, and hence can equally act as a significant hurdle to the implementation of Green Lean projects. This study can help managers and policy makers in better understanding these barriers. Thus, they can be assisted in managing and prioritizing barriers towards the successful implementation of Green Lean initiatives for better financial and environmental performance.N/

Supplier selection for smart supply chain: An adaptive fuzzy-neuro approach

In recent years, companies have experienced international changes that have occurred as a result of technological advances, market globalization, or natural disasters. So, organizations are trying to improve their performance in order to be more competitive. In other words, organizations’ competitiveness highly depends on their suppliers. At present, companies need to consider and include so-called ‘resilience’, ‘sustainability’, and ‘smartness’ in the supplier’s selection to retain a competitive advantage. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to present an intelligent decision-making model for selecting the appropriate suppliers. For doing so, a set of criteria evaluation was determined to respond to the novel era circumstances. The suggested work is helpful for academics as well as professionals as it emphasizes the importance of resilient-sustainable supplier selection in the digital era.N/

Industry 4.0 and Lean Six Sigma Integration in Manufacturing: A Literature Review, an Integrated Framework and Proposed Research Perspectives

This paper explores the literature on lean management (LM), Six Sigma (SS), Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and their relationship. A systematic literature review (SLR) combined with bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify, select and evaluate articles and was supported by content analysis to classify papers into group discussed clusters. A total of 134 articles were retrieved from relevant databases and publisher engines between 2011 and June 2022. The analysis of these articles enabled us to identify the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on Lean Six Sigma; the relationship between LM, SS and Industry 4.0 and the implications of their combination on operational excellence. The results show that while a majority of researchers consider Industry 4.0 to be a driver of LSS and a prerequisite for helping companies access the data and analytics needed, others find them to be complementary and synergistic. Similarly, various authors support the idea that LSS could be a facilitator of Industry 4.0. This study provides an overview of the main research streams in this field and its shortcomings and presents an LSS4.0 framework integrating lean six sigma and Industry 4 which will be of great value to academics and practitioners working in this area

Analysis of factors influencing Circular-Lean-Six Sigma 4.0 implementation considering sustainability implications: An exploratory study

In this study, we develop a new paradigm, Circular Lean Six Sigma 4.0 (CLSS4.0) to promote manufacturing sustainability. This paper aims to provide a practical and holistic view of the drivers and barriers that can help companies design an integrated CLSS4.0 model. The paper is based on a qualitative exploratory study using multiple case studies within 12 Moroccan manufacturing firms conducted through semi-structured interviews with top executive managers. The results show that the drivers are related to expected operational and environmental performance, increasing customer requirements, gaining competitive advantage and market growth while barriers are related to insufficient tangible (finance, human and equipment) and intangible (skills and techniques) resources, data privacy, technical issues and management support. The proposed framework identifies the assessment of drivers and barriers and their attributes as a starting point for managers to lead the CLSS4.0 transformation, thereby contributing to its successful implementation. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the very first studies to discuss the CLSS4.0 drivers and barriers. It could be useful to managers as a diagnostic tool to assess their ability to implement CLSS4.0 before investing in the initiative

Supply chain management 4.0: a literature review and research framework

This article presents a review of the existing state-of-the-art literature concerning Supply Chain Management 4.0 (SCM 4.0) and identifies and evaluates the relationship between digital technologies and Supply Chain Management. A literature review of state-of-the-art publications in the subject field and a bibliometric analysis were conducted. The paper identifies the impact of novel technologies on the different supply chain processes. Furthermore, the paper develops a roadmap framework for future research and practice. The proposed work is useful for both academics and practitioners as it outlines the pillar components for every supply chain transformation. It also proposes a range of research questions that can be used as a base to guide the future research direction of the field. This paper presents a novel and original literature review-based study on SCM4.0 as no comprehensive review is available where bibliometric analysis, motivations, barriers and technologies’ impact on different SC processes have been considered

Blockchain Technology for Viable Circular Digital Supply Chains: An Integrated Approach for Evaluating the Implementation Barriers

Blockchain technology (BT) is creating a new standard for all business operations. It can assist businesses in handling the complexity of circular digital supply chain management. Despite this optimistic view, several barriers hinder its implementation. In this regard, this study contributes to Industry 4.0, Circular Economy, the viability with a critical emphasis on its potential ramifications and influence on the future agenda while using BT technology in supply chain (SC). In addition, the research reduces the knowledge gap by investigating and ranking the key barriers to the deployment of BT in viable circular digital supply chains (VCDSCs) and studies their interdependencies and causal relationships. The barriers to BT adoption in VCDSC are identified through a thorough literature review and considering viability performance. These barriers are then classified using the AHP method. DEMATEL is then employed to examine the cause/effect, correlation, and connection among the 14 barriers selected barriers from the AHP classification to estimate each barrier's overall degree of impact over the others. This paper identifies and analyses the BT adoption barriers in VCDSC as well as examines how the key barriers interact. As a result, according to the AHP/DEMATEL method, the most prominent influencing barriers to the BT implementation in VCDSC are “Data transparency”, “Market competition”, “Missing infrastructure”, “Lack of standardization”, “Complex protocol”, “Lack of industry involvement”, “Financial constraints”, “Missing infrastructure”, “Data transparency” and “Interoperability”. The outcomes offer a potential path for identifying important barriers as well as insight into the implementation of BT in SC while integrating different capabilities such as viability, sustainability, and circular economy principles. Managers and researchers will benefit from this research by gaining an understanding of the challenges that must be prioritized and examined for BT to be implemented successfully in VCDSC. The use and implementation of Blockchain-enabled VCDSC continue to face challenges despite an increase in relevant practice and research. Despite the benefits of blockchain technology, managers struggle to apply such technology in the context of their company. In this respect, this paper uses an integrated AHP-DEMATEL for categorizing the BT barriers as well as the interrelationship between them. In this respect, this paper presents a The BT barriers studied are those related to the use of BT in SC while integrating different paradigms such as viability, digitalization, and circular economy. While many studies look at the barriers to BT adoption, none of them has ever included the viable capability, which means the ability to "react agilely to positive changes, be resilient to absorb negative events and re-cover after disruptions and survive at long-term periods". The study concludes with insightful comments based on the findings and suggestions for eradicating those obstacles and their associated effects

Lean, green practices and process innovation: a model for green supply chain performance

This paper investigates the relationship between lean, process innovation, green practices and green supply chain management performance. Data were gathered by surveying 374 firms in the manufacturing supply chain industry. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the collected data. The study results show general support for the theoretical research framework. Findings reveal that there is a synergetic effect between process innovations, green and lean practices playing a crucial role towards the improvement of green supply chain performance. This paper presents an innovative approach since it studies simultaneously the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social and economic), the lean, the innovation process and green paradigms which are considered strategic for supply chain competitiveness. Investigation of the relationships between the four strategies is a contribution that the authors hope will become a forward step in the promotion of sustainability as a third dimension of the manufacturing supply chain, along with the efficiency and responsiveness dimensions

Sustainable and Resilient Supplier Selection in the Context of Circular Economy: An Ontology-Based Model

Purpose: Selecting the optimal supplier is a challenging managerial decision that involves several dimensions that vary over time. Despite the considerable attention devoted to this issue, knowledge is required to be updated and analyzed in this field. This paper reveals new opportunities to advance supplier selection research from a multidimensional perspective. Moreover, this study aims to formalise supplier selection knowledge to enable the appropriate selection of sustainable, resilient and circular criteria. Design/methodology/approach: This study is developed in two stages. First, a systematic literature review is conducted to select relevant papers. Descriptive and thematic analyses are employed to analyze criteria, solving approaches and case studies. Second, a criterion knowledge-based framework is developed and validated by experts to be implemented as ontology using Protégé software. Findings: (1) Evaluating the viability of suppliers need further studies to integrate other criteria and to align supplier selection objectives with research advancement; (2) Artificial intelligence tools are needed to revolutionize and optimize the traditional techniques used to solve this problem; (3) Literature lucks frameworks for specific sectors; (4) The proposed ontology provides a consistent criteria knowledge base. Practical Implications: For academics, the results of this study highlight opportunities to improve the viable supplier selection process. From a managerial perspective, the proposed ontology can assist managers in selecting the appropriate criteria. Future works can enrich the proposed ontology and integrate this knowledge base into an information system. Originality/value: This study contributes to promoting knowledge about viable supplier selection. Capitalizing the knowledge base of criteria in a computer-interpretable manner supports the digitalization of this critical decision

Green and Lean: a Gemba–Kaizen model for sustainability enhancement

Despite the encouraging results obtained from the application of Green Lean, organizations have found the integration of Green and Lean, and their implementation as an integrated approach, challenging, especially when resources are limited. This paper aims to overcome some of these challenges by presenting a model for integrating Lean and Green based on the Gemba-Kaizen approach. The objective is to help organizations reduce their environmental waste in a practical and easy manner with limited resources. The proposed model was developed on the basis of a through literature review on Gemba and Kaizen, conducted on peer–reviewed journal articles and pragmatic books with managerial impact on the subject, and the more than 40 years of accumulated experience of the authors as academics, researchers, industrialists and consultants after having worked on a number of projects for multinational organisations that wanted to implement Lean Six Sigma and/or environmental management systems in various industrial sectors. The model was validated through two cases study in the aerospace and automotive industries. The results showed that the proposed model helped the case organizations to reduce the consumption of resources and improve their environmental performance. The proposed model can be the basis for further research on Lean and Green, contributing to help organizations to improve their sustainability performance. This research presents a first attempt to develop a model which integrates Lean and Green based on a combined Gemba-Kaizen approach

Lean manufacturing and environmental performance – exploring the impact and relationship

The relationship between Lean Manufacturing and Environmental Performance has attracted much debate but at the same time lack of empirical evidence leaves haphazard opinions on this matter. The objective of this paper is therefore to pro-vide some insight into the impact of Lean Manufacturing on Environmental Per-formance and the existing relationship of these two concepts. Four semi-structured interviews with industrial and academic experts provided a solid ground to suggest that the relationship does exist, despite the fact that these two concepts were developed independently from each other. Being the exploratory nature of this study and its purpose to ignite further research, it does not employ a quantitative approach. The results of this study can help managers to better un-derstand and concurrently tackle both the economic and environmental challenges faced by their organizations.N/