Module : Research Methods And Consulting Skills

(BUSN9200)

Assessment 2 – Literature Review

Student Name : Arjun Raveendranath

Login : ar797
Date : 10/05/2023

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 Table Of Contents
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….…….3
1.1. Structure of the Literature Review……………………………….….…4
2. Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………….….4
2.1. Established Methodologies………………………………………………..5
2.2. Gaps and Controversies……………………………………………………..6
3. Research Questions and/or Hypotheses………………………………………………...6
4. References……………………………………………………………………………………………..8

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1. Introduction
Businesses have sought out and undertaken process innovation efforts as a method to remain
competitive or get one step ahead of the competition because one of the key success criteria
for productivity is innovation. (Utterback & Abernathy, 1975). Process innovation, which
includes considerable modifications to methods, apparatus, and/or software, involves the
application of unique or noticeably improved production or delivery systems (OECD, 2005).
Businesses have successfully used lean manufacturing (LM), which heavily emphasizes
continuous improvement, as a successful example of process innovation. Lean
manufacturing's fundamental objective is to give organizations the ability to reduce costs,
improve workflows, and eliminate waste in order to improve quality, increase customer
happiness, and create more productive employees and machines without impacting their
profit margins. Every production process has considerable room for improvement if waste is
significant (Rajadell & Sánchez, 2010). The food industry is one of the biggest industries in the
world, and process improvement and lean manufacturing have become more popular
recently. According to research by Scott et al. (2009), 44.8% of Canadian respondents of the
survey in the food industry reported not using continuous improvement programs. In survey
research conducted in Malaysia, it was found that around 70% of the supply chain of the halal
food enterprises was not using lean supply chain management (Manzouri et al., 2013).
Seventy-five. 68% of the food businesses surveyed in Brazil did not use Six Sigma (Santos &
Antonelli, 2011). Its effectiveness in the food business has been questioned because of the
low rates of L&SSi implementation. Lean practices assist businesses in becoming more
sustainable because they reduce waste, which benefits the economy, the social sector, and
the environment.

The project aims to contribute to both academic literature and also to real-life practice
through thorough analysis. The shortcomings in the academic literature will be filled with the
literature review as it will be providing more factual information on the significance and
advantages to lean manufacturing in the food industry. The research will give an outline of the
current scenario of the implementation of lean manufacturing in the food industry which is
not adopted completely. The research also aims to provide inputs and information on how
lean manufacturing and its concepts of process improvement can be successfully
implemented in the food industry. Food manufacturing companies may be able to increase
their overall efficiency, quality of their products, and customer satisfaction and become more
competitive and sustainable. The output or the conclusions of the research may ignite the
more interest in and around the activities and discussions of lean manufacturing in the food
industry. In a nutshell, the research on the impact of lean manufacturing and process
improvement in the food industry will addition of knowledge to the area which will improve
the academic literature. Also, it will highly impactful as many businesses in the food industry
can take recommendations and insights from them to improve their overall performance.

1.1 Structure of the Literature Review

The Literature review is structured as mentioned below:

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  The section is a literature review on the significance and advantages of lean
manufacturing and process improvement in the food business.
 The section will also include and explain the significant established themes, its
strengths, and weaknesses.
 The section will also explain the latest developments on the topic and its significance.
 The dominant methods, gaps, and opportunities to implement alternative methods
will also be highlighted.

2. Literature Review
The literature on the effects of lean manufacturing and process improvement in the food
sector frequently refers to a number of well-established themes. The reduction of waste,
ongoing improvement, staff participation, standardization, and customer satisfaction are
some of these topics (Bhamu & Singh, 2014; Kumar & Antony, 2016). In order to become
extremely responsive to consumer demand and produce high-quality products swiftly, lean
manufacturing seeks to reduce waste in human labor, inventory, time to market, and
manufacturing space (Womack et al., 1990).
Numerous studies have examined the benefits of lean manufacturing and process
optimization in the food industry. By applying lean principles to a facility that processes food,
for instance, Rother and Shook (2003) found that production time was cut in half, capacity was
enhanced by 25%, and inventory levels were cut in half. Another study by Dale et al. (2005)
emphasized the value of process improvement in the food industry. The authors presented
evidence to support their claim that process improvement can help food organizations achieve
operational excellence and adapt to shifting consumer needs. They noted that by reducing
waste, improving quality, and increasing customer happiness, process improvement can
improve the food industry's overall performance.
The use of lean manufacturing in the food business reportedly reduced lead times, increased
output, and improved product quality, according to Rana et al. (2020). Similar to this, Said ul
haq et al. (2018) examined the advantages of Lean manufacturing processes and found that
they reduced cycle and delivery times, reduced scrap rates, improved delivered quality,
lowered employee complaints, and increased sales. Additionally, they raised profitability.
Heymans (2015) suggests implementing the lean manufacturing concept to improve
operational efficiency, increase the share of value-adding activities, and streamline processes.
Non-value added time, waste, and related costs could be significantly decreased by applying
LM concepts and approaches efficiently, improving customer service and elevating satisfaction
levels. Additionally, benefits could go beyond the processes that were corrected, encouraging
a culture of ongoing innovation within businesses.
The European food and beverage SMEs can be a good experiment in the implementation of
lean manufacturing and process improvement techniques because of the huge competition
and high customer demand. But there are various studies that show that there is a low impact
due to the singularity of the sector. Various factors like the raw materials, the stagnant

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demand, the variety of harvests, the complex supply chain, and the activities of the warehouse
can hugely impact the implementation of lean manufacturing in SME companies (Dora et
al.,2013). According to research done by Arrieta et al. (2011), the sectors in the industry with
prominent usage of lean manufacturing are the automation industry at 21%, the metal
mechanical industry at 20%, and the food industry at 16%. It was also found that the textile,
glass, and ceramic industries are the sectors with the lowest implementation of the process.

2.1 Established Methodologies

In 2005, a hospital in Denmark named Glostrup decided to make all the operations happening
to be lean as they wanted to reduce the costs involved in the production of meals. The
production process efficiency was improved with lean using the 3 major tools such as value
stream mapping, Kaizen Blitz, and 5S implementation. The major contribution was the
improvement in the efficiency of production as the processes and the products that do not
add any value were eliminated. Also, the value stream mapping helped the hospital in
reducing the number of meals wasted to less than 5%. The implementation of Kaizen Blitz and
5S simultaneously improved the process making the process go in a flow (Engelund et al.,
2008).

According to a research by Moya et al. (2016), on the implementation of lean manufacturing

on a food enterprise to improve overall efficiency and reduce cost, they have used 3
philosophies in this case such as 5 S, just-in-time and value stream mapping. Initially, 5S was
used which stands for sort, set in order, scrub, standardize and self-discipline. It was applied
to all the activities involved in the transformation of raw materials and also encouraged all the
process to participate as group which will improve the working environment and productivity.
It was followed by the implementation just in time (JIT) to detect the processes that do not
add any value to the company after analyzing seven kinds of waste. And finally, value stream
mapping was used. All these activities helped the food enterprise to improve the overall
efficiency and reduction in cost as every dollar spent on implementing lean manufacturing in
the company generated a return of $0.70. The elimination of various wastes saved 24 minutes
in the production cycle. Lean production affirms the requirement of working by processes and
focusing on the client while simultaneously promoting the full potential, abilities, skills, and
commitment of human talent inside the organization.
According to a study by Kennedy et al., (2013), the company considered is an instant vegetable
and vegan meal products manufacturer in the UK. After identifying the areas of improvement
as high wastage of raw materials and water, electricity and nitrogen, absence of 5S, machine
downtime being high during changeover, etc, a number number lean principles were applied.
The major 4 lean principles used were waste reduction, 5S, Single Minute Exchange Of Dies
(SMED), and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). All these have helped the company in
saving cost in around 6 major areas which is close to 45000 pounds. A significant amount of
the costly raw material waste was also decreased, the process yield has also increased hugely.
The reduction in waste helped the company financially as well as helped in reducing its carbon
footprint.

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2.2 Gaps and Controversies
Numerous research (Naylor et al., 1999; Christopher et al., 2001) supported the assertion
made by Hines et al., 2004 regarding the success of lean manufacturing. Numerous studies
have shown that adopting lean manufacturing practices is challenging and that businesses
face numerous obstacles along the long path to continuous improvement (Abdulmalek &
Rajgopal, 2007; Sim & Rogers, 2008). The success or failure of the lean journey can be
determined by a number of factors, according to studies (Dora et al., 2013). They can't afford
to make mistakes in lean implementation in SME settings since it could jeopardize their
continued existence (Muscatello et al., 2003).
According to Zhou(2016), the various factors that are impacting the implementation of lean
manufacturing are difficulty in understanding the philosophy concepts, mode of
implementation, people’s view on the process, and pros and cons of adopting the processes.
Lean manufacturing techniques and processes can be understood in a better way through this
study and how they can be implemented in the companies. To analyze the benefit that it
provides to the companies, a mechanism to evaluate can be implemented (Walter & Tubino,
2013).
Although process improvement and lean manufacturing have many advantages in the food
sector, there are still some hot-button issues in the literature. For instance, according to some
studies, lean manufacturing may raise worker stress and job dissatisfaction (Imai, 2014).

3. Research Questions and/or Hypotheses

The following inquiries regarding lean manufacturing will be addressed and resolved
throughout the research:
1. How are process improvement and lean manufacturing now faring in the food industry?
2. What benefits can process improvement and lean manufacturing bring to the food
industry?
3. What challenges must companies in the food industry face to embrace lean manufacturing
and process enhancement?
4. How can lean manufacturing and process optimization be successfully used in the food
industry to increase output and reduce waste?

To address the issues stated above, this study will conduct a qualitative analysis. In order to
examine books, articles, and journals that concentrate on lean manufacturing in the food
business, a desk-based study will be carried out. This implies that analysis and synthesis of the
available data sources will be addressed to the research objectives. You will use qualitative
data, such as journal articles, industry reports, and case studies since these sources will
provide you with in-depth knowledge and insights into the effects of lean manufacturing and

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process improvement in the food business. As there are no humans or comparable subjects
involved, access to them or the type of sampling procedure used is not necessary.

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4. References

1. Abdulmalek, F. A., and J. Rajgopal. 2007. “Analyzing the Benefits of Lean

Manufacturing and Value Stream Mapping via Simulation: A Process Sector Case
Study.” International Journal of Production Economics 107 (1): 223–
236.10.1016/j.ijpe.2006.09.009
2. Arrieta, J., Muñoz, J., & Salcedo, A. (2011). Aplicación Lean Manufacturing en la
industria colombiana Retrieved in 2014, July 21, from
http://www.laccei.org/LACCEI2011-Medellin/RefereedPapers/PE298_Arrieta.pdf
3. Ben Naylor, J., M. Naim, and D. Berry. 1999. “Leagility: Integrating the Lean and Agile
Manufacturing Paradigms in the Total Supply Chain.” International Journal of
Production Economics 62 (1–2): 107–118.10.1016/S0925-5273(98)00223-0
4. Dale, B. G., Bamford, D., & Van Der Wiele, T.(2005). Managing Quality. John Wiley &
Sons.
5. Dora, M., Kumar, M. and Gellynck, X. (2015). Determinants and barriers to lean
implementation in food-processing SMEs – a multiple case analysis. Production
Planning & Control, 27(1), pp.1–23.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2015.1050477.
6. Dora, M., Kumar, M., van Goubergen, D., Molnar, A., & Gellynck, X. (2013). Operational
perfomance and critical success factors of lean manufacturing in European food
processing SMEs. Trends in Food Science & Technology 31(2), 156-164.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2013.03.002
7. Heymans, B. (2015). Lean manufacturing and the food industry. Retrieved June 5,
2015, from http://www.flowmakers.com/articles/ Articlefoodindustryandkaizen.pdf
8. Hines, P., M. Holweg, and N. Rich. 2004. “Learning to Evolve: A Review of
Contemporary Lean Thinking.” International Journal of Operations & Production
Management 24 (10): 994–1011.
9. Imai, M. (2014). Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to a Continuous
Improvement Strategy. McGraw Hill Professional.
10. IMPACT OF LEAN MANUFACTURING ON PROCESS INDUSTRIES Authors’ Name: Kazi
Mohammed Saidul Huq (kahu16) Konstantinos Mitrogogos (komi16). (2018). Available
at: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1221378/FULLTEXT02.pdf.
11. Kennedy, I., Plunkett, A. and Haider, J. (2013). Implementation of Lean Principles in a
Food Manufacturing Company. Advances in Sustainable and Competitive
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12. Manzouri, M., Nizam Ab Rahman, M., Saibani, N. and Rosmawati Che Mohd Zain, C.
(2013). Lean supply chain practices in theHalalfood. International Journal of Lean Six
Sigma, 4(4), pp.389–408. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ijlss-10-2012-0011.
13. Mishra, R., Singh, R.K. and Rana, N.P. (2022). Developing environmental collaboration
among supply chain partners for sustainable consumption & production: Insights from

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 an auto sector supply chain. Journal of Cleaner Production, 338, p.130619.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130619.
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Planning (ERP) Systems in Small and Midsize Manufacturing Firms.” International
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Madrid: Díaz de Santos .

17. Rother, M., & Shook, J. (2003). Learning to see: Value stream mapping to add value to
eliminate muda. Lean Enterprise Institute.
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gestão da qualidade: um survey com indústrias de alimentos de São Paulo Application
of statistical approach in the context of quality management: a study in food industries
in the state of São Paulo. [online] Available at:
https://www.scielo.br/j/gp/a/PSL96NjSrTdnk9BV8BKTdcc/?lang=pt&format=pdf.
19. Scott, B.S., Wilcock, A.E. and Kanetkar, V. (2009). A survey of structured continuous
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innovation. Omega, 3, 639-656.
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