Lean Supply Chain Management by Definition

Lean supply chain management is the application of Lean Thinking to the end to end supply chain. Traditionally Lean manufacturing was applied within the four walls of a manufacturing enterprise – from the receiving dock to the shipping dock and everything in between. Lean Supply Chain Management extends the application of Lean upstream into the management of suppliers, downstream in to the management of the distribution network and upwards in to the overall integration and management of the supply chain. In Lean supply chain management, the focus is on the relentless elimination of non-value added time and consequent reduction of lead time at every step of the supply chain from the manufacturing of raw materials by suppliers to the delivery of finished goods to the end user.

The Four Major Elements of Supply Chain Management

There are four distinct elements that typically make up your Supply Chain. These are Integration, Operations, Purchasing & Procurement and Distribution & Logistics. Lean thinking can be applied to every element.