Modeling 4Ps of Toyota way principles in MSMEs supply Chain-an empirical approach

Abstract

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have witnessed many remarkable contributions to the country's economy in the recent years. But, till now it suffers from profit, quality, efficiency and others issues. The previous contributions by researchers have enlightened on the MSMEs in the context of applying lean principles. This paper aim to guide MSMEs in embarking on transformation exercise by means of applying principles and tools of lean to its supply chain. And, also to establish the relationship between application and understanding of relevance of lean principle model for MSMEs. It is observed that to be successful in the market, competition is not between one company to another company but, between one supply chains to the other supply chain. Company’s competitive strategy is best supported by balance between the supply chain responsiveness and efficiency. So, the scale of this paper is not just restricted to MSMEs but to its entire supply chain. In this epidemic situation, companies are facing a high risk of surviving in the market. The interlinked nature of the supply chain makes them vulnerable to wide range of risk, as the buying patterns of the consumers across the supply chain is changing rapidly due to unpredictable situation. So, to sustain in the market, competition is to see how efficiently the entire process is set by implementing lean principles. The exact need and area of implementation of 4Ps of Toyota way principles are done to entire supply chain of MSMEs Finally; gap that exists in applying and relevance of 14 Toyota way principles for the MSMEs in taking care and how, lean principles to become more effective during pandemic situation is reflected. A structured questionnaire was prepared on 4Ps of Toyota way, with its predefined attributes and data was collected from MSMEs through survey forms. The quantitative data collected was outlined to rank the 14 principles applied in the MSMEs supply chain, and also the extent of perceiving their relevance. The results reflected that all the attributes of each 4Ps model were appreciated by the respondents for their relevance, but still many of them lack in application.