Adapting lean manufacturing principles to the footwear industry: Kaizen, Kanban or a Mix?

Abstract

This study presents the overview of Kaizen and Kanban implementation, as lean principles and highlights the achievements realised from deployment of the integrated initiatives for sustainable performance of organisations. Lean manufacturing includes various principles and techniques, with the same main goal: to banish waste and non-value-added activities at every production or service process and enhance customer satisfaction. To stay competitive, many Indian footwear manufacturers have sought to optimise their manufacturing processes to readily compete with overseas manufacturers. Therefore, this work highlights the barriers, pathways and potential innovations for sustainable Kaizen and Kanban implementation in organisations. It further brings out the integrated concept of Kaizen and Kanban, and the requirements for its holistic implementation. Methods such as process observations, interviews, plant tours and case studies were used for the investigation. The significant contributions through Kaizen and Kanban initiatives in the organisation, including just-in-time improvements, quality, inventory reduction, optimisation, teamwork and flexibility for sustained organisational development are elucidated and juxtaposed with existing literature. It pivots the approach advised by the various researchers, practitioners and censoriously appraises the desire for Kaizen and Kanban programmes in the organisation. Significantly, this study is valuable to researchers, project and quality managers, development professionals and operations managers in various organisations, especially the footwear industry.