Improving Operational and Sustainability Performance in a Retail Fresh Food Market Using Lean: A Portuguese Case Study

Pedro Alexandre Marques,José Oliveira Santos,André M Carvalho

doi:10.3390/su14010403

Pedro Alexandre Marques, José Oliveira Santos + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010403

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Dec 31, 2021
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Universidade Lusófona

Abstract

This paper presents a real application of a lean–green improvement initiative conducted at a large Portuguese hypermarket store. It explores how lean tools and techniques may be used to not only improve the operational performance, but also sustainability. A case study was carried out in one store of a multinational retail enterprise, with the aim of enhancing both the operational and sustainability performance in the cold meat section, one of the most relevant areas of the fresh food markets. The Gemba Kaizen event approach, which comprises three main stages, was adopted. During the workshop stage, the structured problem-solving methodology was followed, and was recorded in an A3 format. As a consequence of this project, food waste in the cold meat market was reduced by half, whereas the out-of-stock index decreased by a third. In addition, the pilot store hit top performance within all stores of the company in Portugal, ranking first in all key indicators for the cold meat market. The lean–green scope and performance improvement procedures developed and implemented in the pilot store were later deployed to other stores of the company. This is one of the first publications regarding the application of lean management in the food retail sector for improving both the operational and sustainability performance.

Highlights

Food retailers offer a wide range of fresh products, including fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, baked goods, or cold meats and cheese, among others
We focus on “shrinkage” as an indicator of sustainability, once it is applied in a fresh food market with the intention to measure and reduce food waste
By using a familiar lean indicator to tackle sustainability issues, we hope to align the pursuit of the “green” perspective with that of the operational performance, reducing misconceptions and resistance to sustainability initiatives. In light of this reality, this paper aims to understand if and how lean tools and methods may be used to efficiently tackle sustainability issues related to food waste, in the same way that they provided an effective approach to tackle operational and process waste in the retail sector

Summary

Introduction

Food retailers offer a wide range of fresh products, including fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, baked goods, or cold meats and cheese, among others. Fresh categories typically account for up to 40 percent of grocery chains’ revenues and, in addition to this, they are strong drivers of store traffic and customer loyalty [1]. They represent a major risk, derived from lost sales, food waste, and the resulting perception of unsustainable operations. Price reductions or offerings of fresh produce, legislation preventing the dumping of food perishables, and the development of new business models are some the solutions that have risen in the face of this problem [3,4,5].

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