Abstract
Road transportation has become an important factor in international trade and the management of supply chains. However, this form of product logistics has generally been considered inefficient. Traditionally, practical inefficiencies of road transportation have been addressed through mathematical modelling, operations research-based methods and simulation. This paper presents an alternative systematic approach to improve road transport operations based on lean thinking and the reduction of the seven transportation extended wastes. To do this, the paper reviews the extant literature in the area of lean road transportation, providing a structured research definition of the application of lean thinking in road transport operations and hence guidance on the limited research conducted in this field. The systematic lean transportation method is then presented and empirically tested through a case study in a Mexican firm. The results obtained from the case study indicate that the proposed systematic lean method is an effective alternative for the improvement of road transport operations, with the number of distribution routes and distance travelled being reduced by 27 and 32%, respectively. The proposed method can be used by organisations as a guide to help them improve their road transport operations. In addition, the paper’s aim is to contribute by stimulating scholars to further study the application of lean thinking and waste reduction in road transport operations.
Highlights
Freight transportation by road has become an important element of international trade and supply chain performance
The rest of the paper is organised as follows: Section 2 provides a brief review of the main streams of research on lean road transportation; a description of the method proposed in this paper to improve road transport operations is outlined in Section 3, whereas its application is undertaken in Section 4; Section 5 discusses the results of the case study; and Section 6 presents the conclusions, limitations and future research opportunities derived from this research
The systematic lean thinking-based method proposed in this paper contributes to expand the very limited application of lean principles and tools in the logistics and transport sector as highlighted by Villarreal et al (2009)
Summary
Freight transportation by road has become an important element of international trade and supply chain performance. Since unnecessary costs and significant waste exist in most transportation networks (McKinnon et al, 2003), the “lean road transportation” movement is based on improving road transport operations by identifying and eliminating relevant wastes, known as “non-value added activities” within the lean terminology. The rest of the paper is organised as follows: Section 2 provides a brief review of the main streams of research on lean road transportation; a description of the method proposed in this paper to improve road transport operations is outlined, whereas its application is undertaken in Section 4; Section 5 discusses the results of the case study; and Section 6 presents the conclusions, limitations and future research opportunities derived from this research The rest of the paper is organised as follows: Section 2 provides a brief review of the main streams of research on lean road transportation; a description of the method proposed in this paper to improve road transport operations is outlined in Section 3, whereas its application is undertaken in Section 4; Section 5 discusses the results of the case study; and Section 6 presents the conclusions, limitations and future research opportunities derived from this research
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