Providing a Lean Supply Chain Model in Iran's Defense Industries with an Interpretative Structural Modeling Approach

Abstract

On the one hand, the production of defense products is indispensable because of the role it plays in deterring and promoting the national security of the country, and, on the other hand, the economic conditions prevailing in the country have made production of defense products at the lowest cost an obligatory requirement. The lean supply chain of defense industries by focusing on waste removal and reducing costs, the answer is how to produce lower cost defense products. The purpose of this research is to identify the most important practices of the defense industries lean supply chain, and then, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the categorization and verification of the practices based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and then, using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) model, presents a model that shows the relationships between these practices. The power of driving and dependence of practices are also analyzed using the MICMAC technique. The results of the research show that out of a total of 84 practices introduced in the previous research for the lean supply chain, 49 practices are effective in the lean supply chain of defense industries. It consists of 8 categories and includes: Workshop level management, Quality management, Just in time, Repairs and Maintenance management, Human resource management, Suppliers relationships, New products design and Customer relationship. Customers relationship as the most basic and most driving practice and supplier relationship is the most dependent practice of the defense industries lean supply chain.

Keywords

• supply chain lean approach interpretative structural modeling defense industries