The propagation of lean thinking in SMEs

Abstract

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal role in economic growth, industrial output, and employment creation. However, SMEs are often ignored by researchers as far as the adoption of lean is concerned in comparison to Large Enterprises (LEs). Therefore, the literature regarding lean implementation in SMEs is not conspicuous, and many SMEs have only a limited understanding and awareness of lean. This paper offers a comprehensive literature review with a focus on the implementation of lean in SMEs and explores the applicability of lean thinking in such environments. An attempt is made to provide an analysis of lean practices that have been applied in SMEs and critical success factors for lean transformation in SMEs. It also contributes to the field of lean implementation research by proposing a framework for lean in SMEs and identifies the scope of future research.

Keywords:

• Lean; Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); literature review; production management

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vinod Yadav

Vinod Yadav is an Assistant Professor at Manipal University Jaipur, India, prior to this he was working as Research Scholar at Malviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He has earned his Bachelor’s degree in Production and Industrial Engineering and Master’s degree in Industrial Management and Engineering from the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, M.B.M. Engineering College, J.N.V. University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. His areas of research interests include multi-criteria decision-making, SMEs, Lean thinking, supplier selection and supply chain management. He has published research papers in Production Planning & Control, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Journal of Modelling in Management and Benchmarking: An International Journal.

Rakesh Jain

Rakesh Jain is a professor in Mechanical Engineering Department at Malviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India. His research areas include, supply chain management, lean manufacturing, new product development, strategic management and total quality management. He has authored over 45 research articles in these areas. He is a life member of ISTE. He is member of IIIE and chairman of Jaipur chapter of IIIE.

Murari L. Mittal

M. L. Mittal obtained his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Rajasthan (India) in 1988, and Master of Engineering in Production Engineering form M. S. University of Baroda (India) in 1991. Obtained his Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (India) in 2006. He has teaching experience of about 25 years to both UG and PG (M.Tech and MBA) and Ph.D. level. His areas of interest include Production and Operations Management, Project Management, Artificial Intelligence. He has published more than 70 papers in international and national journals and conference proceedings.

Avinash Panwar

Avinash Panwar is a director in Centre for Electronics Governance (Established by Government of Rajasthan), Jaipur, India. His research areas include, benchmarking, automation and lean manufacturing. He completed his MTech from Malviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He received his Ph.D. from Malviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He has authored eight research articles in international journals. He has published a book on implementation of lean manufacturing. He is a member of IIIE and joint secretary of Jaipur chapter of IIIE.

Andrew C. Lyons

A. C. Lyons is a professor of Operations & Supply Chain Management, director of Research for the Marketing and Operations Department and director of Studies for the MSc programme in Operations & Supply Chain Management in Liverpool University. He has expertise in supply chain management and design from research and practice in the automotive, aerospace, consumer goods and food industries. He has led major research and knowledge exchange projects funded by the EPSRC, EC FP7, ERDF, TSB and U.K. Ministry of Defence. He has published over 60 articles in the areas of operations and supply chain management, including Customer-Driven Supply Chains, a book published in 2012. He is visiting professor at the Universities of Valencia and Grenoble, a member of CILT and CIPS, a member of the organising committee for several international conferences, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Logistics: Research & Applications.