Mission Critical: Realizing the Promise of Enterprise Systems

‘Masstige’ marketing: A review, synthesis and research agenda

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of Lean methodology through an exhaustive literature review, and its implications and application in the service industry right from its initiation in 1990s till date.




Design/methodology/approach




The paper summarises the evolution of Lean in services and has systematically classified the reviewed literature in four dimensions, namely time, publisher, region and content. Further under “time” dimension, the literature is classified into Pre-Lean era, Lean awareness era, Lean Exploration era and Lean implementation era. Under the “content” dimension, the categories include theoretical foundation, frameworks/models and application/case studies.




Findings




The analysis inferred; Lean is gaining roads in services, though the research is still at nascent stage. Lean is applicable in services though transfer of Lean manufacturing principles to services has certain limitations because of the characteristics of services. The need is to focus on process difference between services and manufacturing. Respect for people and employment engagement is critical to Lean in service. The authors identified the necessity to standardise the Lean service definition, principles, and tools and to develop guidelines for structured implementation in service industry.




Research limitations/implications




Though multiple databases have been taken-up but that does not assume that the literature presented in this paper is by any means comprehensive. Development of a standard model/framework for Lean services is critical for future research. Rigorous industry-specific studies, specifically in developing nations are another area for future research. Future studies could analyse the impact of join applications and possible links between Lean service and other approaches like TQM, Six Sigma, etc., with an aim of process improvement.




Practical implications




This paper would serve as a resource for Lean practitioners as well as researchers as a fundamental platform, contributing to Lean body of knowledge.




Social implications




Service industry has special significance to the society in large. Many services including governments, public interest services, non-profit organisations, healthcare, banking, consulting, etc., has a significant share across markets. Lean being a proven methodology for successful process improvements has to be looked at from a services perspective. This paper helps in such interest.




Originality/value




Publications reviewing the adoption of Lean in services is scarce in literature. This paper serves as an excellent resource for research on the subject and will facilitate academicians and practitioners to objectively understand Lean in service sector.

Lean services: a systematic review

Strategic Management

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) for services, construct a morphological analysis (MA) framework and identify research gaps to point to future research possibilities and priorities.,The MA framework is based on literature review of 175 papers published from 2003 to 2015, across 67 journals recognised by Scopus or ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide 2015. A three-phased methodology is used by the authors, with Phase1 featuring a five-stage systematic review protocol to identify relevant journal papers for review; Phase2 presenting a framework for classifying the reviewed papers in terms of their fundamental, methodological, chronological and sector-wise orientations; and Phase3 constructing an MA framework on the classified papers and identifying the research gaps.,The MA framework constructed based on six dimensions, namely, organizational context of applications, desired outcomes, implementation systems, LSS tools and techniques, integration with other management philosophies and evaluation methods, involving 40 focused themes, has revealed 355 distinct research gaps as opportunities for future research.,This paper confirms the existence of substantial scope and points to specific topics for further research in the area of LSS for services. The findings demonstrate the gaps in academic research on the subject. In addition, the study also helps organisational leaders and practitioners to look at LSS from a holistic perspective in the services context.,The MA framework of the existing literature on LSS for services presents a unique, systematic effort to identify research opportunities. In addition, a five-stage systematic review protocol is proposed in this paper. This could be valuable to researchers and practitioners in enabling them to systematically review the literature on research subjects of interest to them.

A morphological analysis of research literature on Lean Six Sigma for services

Better healthcare operations are required to deal with issues of ageing population, increased costs and unmet demand. This paper induces, from an in-depth analysis of the operations of Aravind, the operational principles of early triage and lean practices that can be used to this end. Aravind, an Indian non-for-profit organisation that treats two thirds of its patients without charge, is the largest eye care provider in the world, with over 2.5 million operations performed and 20 million patients treated in the last 30 years. The methodology used is grounded on in-site primary data collection and on extensive secondary data analysis. Based on process and value stream map analysis, we identify the key lean practices of Aravind, and propose a conceptual model for the improvement of healthcare operations. The contribution of the paper is a grounded analysis of the applicability of established manufacturing lean principles to healthcare service operations.

Improving healthcare services: lean lessons from Aravind

Spare parts optimisation requires an integrated approach that starts with the removal of factors that create noise: bad coding, resulting in parts proliferation; lack of classification and thus of focus; poor network practices (uncoupled warehouses, poor relation with key suppliers); and poor data integrity (non-centralised, non-real time data). Emphasis is also placed on improving forecasts and the application of multi-echelon inventory models for repairable items. The METRIC model is then applied to a hypothetical and two real cases, an underground system and a mobile telephone company in Venezuela.

Modelling Approaches to Optimise Spares in Multi-echelon Systems

Despite an increased emphasis on strategic alliances in supply chain in the academic and practitioner literature, we have a limited understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the sustainability of partnership model in buyer-supplier relations.

This paper examines the role of context and actors in the dynamics of strategic alliance development, and their effect on its subsequent sustainability. Reconciling resource dependence, social network and contingency theories this paper proposes a model that links alliance sustainability with various conditions of supply chain’s internal and external environments. The theoretical conceptualisations are substantiated by the case study that examines the evolution of Rolls-Royce and Airbus partnership in the aviation industry.

A resource dependence, social network and contingency model of sustainability in supply chain alliances

Improvements in logistics and supply chain practices are essential to the competitiveness of businesses. In this paper, we present the most relevant findings of a large government-funded research project focused on the logistics and supply chain capabilities in Spain. In particular, this study highlights the gaps between logistics and supply chain practices in Spain and the best practices identified in the literature. Our research generated a rich database that will facilitate further research into this highly relevant topic. In our research design, we have been meticulous in addressing the current debate on the tension between rigorous research design and practical relevancy.

Improving logistics and supply chain management in Spain: An analysis of current practices and future requirements

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanisms through which the use of enterprise systems (ESs) enhances buyer-supplier integration (BSI). More specifically, the authors explain a model where ES enhances BSI indirectly, mediated by inventory management capabilities (IMCs), as the way ES enhances BSI remains under-explored in the literature.




Design/methodology/approach




Application of the resource orchestration framework to explain how capabilities and mechanisms interplay to enhance BSI. Data were collected by means of a survey instrument. Data collection took place as part of a larger project, sponsored by the Spanish Government, to evaluate logistics competitiveness in Spain.




Findings




ES enhances BSI by serving as a coordinating mechanism that maintains capability configurations in a value-creating alignment. IMC plays a key, yet under-explored role as a mediating mechanism that supports ES-enabled BSI.




Research limitations/implications




First, this research does not fully capture the multi-party nature of the supply chain context. Second, data collection was limited to companies that were more likely to have a systematic approach to logistics issues (i.e. large- and medium-sized companies) and companies based in Spain.




Originality/value




This paper enhances both scholarly and practitioner understanding of the mechanisms through which the implementation and use of ES contributes to BSI. In addition, this paper integrates literature from different fields (e.g. strategy, information systems, and operations) to gain a better understanding of how the implementation and use of ES affects BSI.

Angel Diaz

Papers

Improving healthcare services: lean lessons from Aravind

Modelling Approaches to Optimise Spares in Multi-echelon Systems

A resource dependence, social network and contingency model of sustainability in supply chain alliances

Improving logistics and supply chain management in Spain: An analysis of current practices and future requirements

Integration through orchestration : the interplay between enterprise systems and inventory management capabilities