Abstract
Proponents of Lean Manufacturing (lean) claim that the benefits of implementing this system are not restricted to the automotive industry where lean originated. On the other hand, opponents of lean argue against its claimed universality and stress that even within the automotive industry mass production still prevails. This research aimed at examining this claimed universality by investigating whether lean is applicable to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Industry. The research was carried out via qualitative, multiple case-studies of three different Saudi Arabia FMCG operations including two confirmatory interviews, one with a US FMCG manufacturer and another with a UK manufacturer. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews with 22 participants.The research concluded that the same types of waste identified by lean in the automotive industry are present in the FMCG industry, suggesting that lean could be implemented in FMCG operations. The study also identified the conditions required for successful implementation and consequently developed a conceptual framework for implementing lean in the FMCG industry.DOI: 10.12660/joscmv7n2p1-25URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv7n2p1-25
Highlights
In the 1980s it became apparent that the American auto industry which depended on mass production was losing to foreign competition
Lean is similar to mass production in the sense that it “creates outputs using less of every input” (Lehtinnen & Torkko, 2005, p. 58)
We contribute to the lean literature by covering the gap which we found in the literature related to implementing lean in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, and on the basis of our study’s outcome that lean is applicable in FMCG manufacturing and warehousing operations, support the view that lean is a universal system
Summary
In the 1980s it became apparent that the American auto industry which depended on mass production was losing to foreign competition. The results of the study were published in The Machine That Changed the World 9-282), a book which documented the superior performance of Japanese Auto manufacturers due to their implementation of lean manufacturing (Womack & Jones, 1996). The model lost its zest in the 1980s when it became apparent that the America auto industry is losing to foreign competition, the Japanese. The results of the study were published in The Machine That Changed The World, a book by Womack, Jones and Roose which documented the superior performance of the Japanese Auto manufacturers in general, but Toyota company in particular based on lean manufacturing
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