Implementing workload control through lean-based project in MTO-MTS environment

Kaustav Kundu

doi:10.1108/JMTM-05-2021-0183

2022-03-08

PRE

Kaustav Kundu *

Matteo Rossini

Federica Costa

DOI：10.1108/JMTM-05-2021-0183

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Purpose Due to high customization, companies, which used to follow the make-to-stock (MTS) strategy, are now adopting the make-to-order (MTO) strategy along with MTS in order to cope with high variability in customer demand. Although lean is quite popular in general, its advantage in MTO-MTS environment is quite rare. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of lean techniques in this environment. Design/methodology/approach A popular furniture company in Italy is selected for the longitudinal action research and as a part of the lean project, workload control (WLC) is deployed in the selected company. Data were collected through on-site interviews, potential areas of improvement were identified and then suitable countermeasures were proposed and adopted. Findings This study reveals that the implementation of lean techniques including WLC in a furniture company reduces the throughput time and improves the inventory turnover. Research limitations/implications This research is based on a single company. Additional empirical studies can help to refine our proposition. Practical implications The paper shows the practical implementation of WLC as a part of the lean project in MTO-MTS environment. It provides the practitioners and consultants with the way of implementing lean techniques in companies that are planning to adopt MTO-MTS hybrid strategy. Originality/value This is the first paper that aims to assess the efficiency of the adaption of WLC based on lean principles in a company using MTO-MTS hybrid strategy. Hence, the results are highly valuable for similar companies, especially when are facing transition situations (e.g. from MTS to MTO-MTS).

Keyword:

Workload control

WLC

MTO

MTS

Lean