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This paper aims to examine lean thinking in medical commodities supply chains by considering its applications and success factors. It determines the drivers and wastes of medical commodity supply chain, and the existing lean tools and practices together with their application in the supply chain processes. The paper also examined the challenges and success factors for effective lean application in the medical commodities supply chains.

The study used qualitative approaches, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key informants to form the basis for data collection. Through thematic analysis, the collected data were analyzed by developing themes reflecting the objectives of the study.

The main drivers for waste associated with the supply chain were demand management, supplier development, institutional framework and governance. The wastes were observed at the level of inventory, operation costs, transaction costs, delays in terms of service, commodity delivery time and quality. Digitalization, information technology and standardization were the tools for medical supply chain. Poor infrastructure, unreliable internet supply, environmental uncertainty and poor management support were challenges to realizing an effective supply chain.

Although the qualitative approach used in the study provides detailed information, a quantitative study covers a larger sample for generalization.

Capacity building and professionalism should be given a priority because the philosophy of lean focuses on waste removal and continuous improvement, which highly depends on the quality of human resource (Brito et al., 2020). Limited human resource capabilities in supply chain management will, therefore, result into poor operational efficiency, which are wasted. Moreover, systems interoperability is key waste minimization and, therefore, demands interventions.

The government under the Ministry of Health and other key sector ministries such as local and regional governments should better understand the role of the waste drivers and adopt system-wide reforms to support improvements to remove waste in the medical supply chain. For example, the current institutional framework creates an administrative block and hence leads to wastes. This bureaucratic procedure should be removed to minimize wastes along the chain.

This study is among the first studies to determine applicability and implementation of lean in a resource-constrained context. The paper identifies contextual factors for lean implementation. This paper focused on a holistic view of the entire supply chains to enhance a well-functioning supply chain in delivering health commodities.

The aim of this paper is to review metrics and develop a framework for measuring leagile supply chain. Metrics that are applicable in the lean, agile and leagile strategies are identified in the literature and are then combined into a framework that can reflect both agile and lean strategies – the leagile supply strategy.

This work is based on the systematic literature review. Literature was collected, then lean and agile metrics were extracted, analysed, counted and grouped into the framework. Findings are compared against literature on leagile supply chain.

Findings indicate that there are sets of metrics specific to lean strategy, such as are process-focused, cost, productivity, inventory and delivery-based metrics, and specific to agile such as flexibility, responsiveness, information sharing and cooperation. There are also metrics common for both strategies; they are related to time, quality and customer satisfaction. Lean measures are tangible and focused on internal processes and products, while agile measures are targeted at external environment.

The framework could be used by practitioners as a starting point for performance system design.

There is a need to stop looking at lean and agile as separate and distinct supply strategies. Results of this research indicate that lean and agile are interlinked, both are focusing on customer satisfaction and quality. Applying a proposed set of metrics enables to design supply chain measurement system that reflects both strategies to measure leagile supply chain. The framework could be used by practitioners as a starting point for performance system design.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: firstly, to provide a measurement instrument for supply chain 4.0 ambidexterity by applying the theoretical perspective of ambidexterity to advance Industry 4.0; secondly, to empirically analyse how supply chain 4.0 ambidexterity and lean supply chain management contribute to enhancing the focal firm’s operational performance.

Empirical results are obtained through analysis of survey data from a sample of 209 Spanish focal firms in industrial sectors in an intermediate position in the supply chain. Structural equation modelling was performed to test the three proposed hypotheses.

Drawing on resource orchestration theory and the relational resource-based view, this study empirically demonstrates the full mediating role of lean supply chain management in the relationship between supply chain 4.0 ambidexterity and the focal firm’s operational performance.

Although recent research has highlighted the pertinence of applying inter-organisational ambidexterity to foster Industry 4.0 (Hofmann et al., 2019), to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to apply this theoretical framework to explain the transition to supply chain 4.0. In addition, to date, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study exists that has developed a measurement scale and used this concept in an empirical analysis to advance theory development.

Even though the integration of Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies is relatively recent, it has been receiving a lot of attention. Partly because it is a recent field of practise and research and partly because the number of works developed in this field has grown rapidly, it is important to frequently update the perspectives on this field of investigation. Thus, this study aims to review the integration between LSCM and I4.0 analysing relationship at operative, tactical and strategic levels.

Systematic literature review was conducted to identify and explain the integration of LSCM and I4.0 from scientific sources that were published before March 2021.

The analysis of the literature revealed the level of integration of LSCM and I4.0 is present at different managerial levels. Moreover, when the integration is detailed at different managerial levels, it appears that LSCM paves the way for the adoption of I4.0 at a strategic level, while I4.0 technologies promise to enhance LSCM practices at the operational level.

The main contribution of this study is the framework which shows that LSCM paves the way for the adoption of I4.0 at a strategic level, while I4.0 technologies promise to enhance LSCM practices at the operational level.

This study develops a new perspective of the articles published under the thematic of LSCM and I4.0. Additionally, it proposes a framework of analysis that can be used by future researchers. Finally, it shows the most recent implementations of LSCM and I4.0, exposing the current trends, improvements and also the main gaps.

The purpose of this study is to theorize and test the relationships among lean operations and lean supply chain practices, learning- and innovation-oriented lean cultures and dynamic capabilities (DCs) microfoundations. Further, this study aims to assess the association of DCs microfoundations with process innovation.

The researchers combine primary data collected from 153 manufacturing firms located in five continents using a survey designed for the purpose of this study with archival data downloaded from the Bureau Van Dijk Orbis database and test the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modelling.

Results support the contribution of lean operations and lean supply chain practices to the development of DCs microfoundations, which further lead to greater process innovation. Additionally, while a learning-oriented lean culture positively moderates the relationships between both lean operations and lean supply chain practices and DCs microfoundations, an innovation-oriented lean culture only moderates the relationship between lean operations practices and DCs microfoundations.

This study identifies DCs microfoundations as the key mechanisms for firms implementing lean practices to achieve greater levels of process innovation and the important role played by lean cultures. This study provides direction for managers to put in place DCs through lean implementations, enabling their firms to be ready to respond to challenges and opportunities generated by environmental changes.

While previous research has confirmed the positive effects of lean practices on efficiency, the role of lean practices and cultures in developing capabilities for reacting to environmental dynamism has received little attention. This study offers an empirically supported framework that highlights the potential of lean to adapt processes in response to environmental dynamics, thereby extending the lean paradigm beyond the traditional focus on operational efficiency.

The significant changes that supply chains (SCs) are undergoing and the emergence of disruptive technologies have led to a growing effort to integrate novel and mature technologies into existing SC strategies. Thus, this study investigates the relationships between mature information technologies (ITs), emerging IT and the lean supply chain (LSC) and agile supply chain (ASC) strategies.

An empirical study based on structural equation modeling of survey data from 256 Spanish focal companies has been conducted to test six hypotheses.

Drawing on resource orchestration, our results point to mature IT use being an enabler of both LSC and ASC strategy implementation. The results also show an LSC mediating effect on the relationship between mature IT and ASC when SCs follow both strategies. Also, the implementation of emerging IT requires a process of consolidation over time to be genuinely useful as a facilitating mechanism for developing both the lean and agile strategies along the SC. In this sense, a suitable mix needs to be orchestrated between emerging and mature IT.

This study sheds light on the relevance of the mature IT and emerging IT in the context of two SC strategies (lean/agile) and provides practical and theoretical implications.

The importance of sustainable supply chain management practices (SSCMPs) in the financial performance of firms is increasing significantly. However, the influence of SSCMPs on financial performance can vary across sectors and contexts. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence of SSCMPs on the financial sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food processing industry. For this, the influence of sustainable environment practices, customer and supplier relationships, social SCMPs and lean supply chain on the financial sustainability of food processing SMEs is studied.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from 56 food processing SMEs in Mbeya, Tanzania. The study employed a cross-sectional research design and a census approach to capture data from all eligible SMEs in the target population. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were utilized as the primary data analysis techniques.

The findings of the study revealed a positive and significant influence of various SSCMPs on the financial sustainability of food processing SMEs. Specifically, sustainable environment management practices (β = 0.147, p = 0.000), supplier relationship management (SRM) (β = 0.715, p = 0.001), customer relationship management (CRM) (β = 0.894, p = 0.016), social SCMP (β = 0.901, p = 0.005) and lean supply chain practices (β = 0.675, p = 0.003) were all found to have a significant effect on the financial sustainability of the surveyed food processing SMEs.

The study recommends the need to plan and integrate SSCMPs in firms’ operation processes, promote collaboration and networking and offer capacity-building initiatives that equip food processing SMEs with the necessary skills and knowledge to implement SSCMPs effectively. These will nurture effective adoption of SSCMP, leading to improved operations, environmental performance, financial sustainability and long-term viability of the sector.

While SSCMPs have gained attention in the literature, the specific focus on its impact on financial sustainability in the context of food processing SMEs adds originality to this research. Industry stakeholders and policymakers can utilize the findings of this study to develop supportive policies and programs that promote sustainable supply chain practices and enhance financial sustainability in the food processing sector.

This study aims to analyze the lean supply chain management (LSCM) strategy's role as a mechanism to address technology uncertainty and provide organizations with competitive advantage.

An empirical study was conducted of 276 Spanish focal firms in industrial sectors that occupy an intermediate position in the supply chain to investigate the influence of technology uncertainty on LSCM implementation and the latter's effect on operational performance and competitiveness. A covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) was used to test three hypotheses.

Technological uncertainty encourages progress in the implementation of lean throughout the supply chain and so is a mechanism that not only brings stability to the focal company but also improves its performance and puts it in a better competitive position.

Managers are suggested to consider the strategic integration with supply chain partners and the establishment of long-term relationships based on trust and commitment advocated by LSCM to enhance organizations' capabilities and effectively and flexibly respond to technological changes.

This study focuses on the effects of environmental uncertainty on the supply chain. The past literature has focused on the behavior of individual firms to deal with uncertainty, but this work shifts the level of analysis to the supply chain. Therefore, the strategic change to deal with what is happening in the environment is now switched to the supply chain level.

Circular economy (CE) initiatives are taking hold across both developed and developing nations. Central to these initiatives is the reconfiguration of core supply chain management (SCM) processes that underlie current production and consumption patterns. This conceptual article provides a detailed discussion of how supply chain processes can support the successful implementation of CE. The article highlights areas of convergence in hopes of sparking collaboration among scholars and practitioners in SCM, CE, and related fields.

This article adopts a theory extension approach to conceptual development that uses CE as a “method” for exploring core processes within the domain of SCM. The article offers a discussion of the ways in which the five principles of CE (closing, slowing, intensifying, narrowing, dematerialising loops) intersect with eight core SCM processes (customer relationship management, supplier relationship management, customer service management, demand management, order fulfilment, manufacturing flow management, product development and commercialization, returns management).

This article identifies specific ways in which core SCM processes can support the transition from traditional linear approaches to production and consumption to a more circular approach. This paper results in a conceptual framework and research agenda for researchers and practitioners working to adapt current supply chain processes to support the implementation of CE.

This article highlights key areas of convergence among scholars and practitioners through a systematic extension of CE principles into the domain of SCM. In so doing, the paper lays out a potential agenda for collaboration among these groups.

Collaboration and operational capabilities are two strengths for managing supply chains to achieve operational performance. In this context, this study aims to analyze the mediating effect of operational capabilities on the relationship between collaborative supply chain management and operational performance.

The study design consisted of a theoretical framework to estimate the mediation paths by latent variable structural modeling methods. A survey of 138 respondents from Brazilian capital goods companies was conducted.

The study revealed that operational capabilities partially mediate the relationship between collaborative supply chain management and operational performance. The findings provide important guidance for managers to strengthen the relationship with suppliers to continuously improve operational capability.

As the sample size was made up of 138 respondents, it was impossible to revalidate the theoretical–empirical model. New data need to be collected to re-evaluate the structural model and expand them to other economic segments.

By examining the theoretical insights and empirical findings, the study expanded knowledge about collaborative management and the understanding of the importance of operational capabilities in the relationship between collaborative management and operational performance for management practices.

The study developed a theoretical–empirical measurement model, reliable and statistically validated, to test the mediating effect of operational capabilities in the relationship between collaborative management and operational performance.