Are Companies Continuously Improving their Supply Chain?
Abstract
Lean enterprise, six sigma, and other productivity improvement techniques use continuous improvement. Too often, however, it appears continuous improvement is haphazardly applied or even lacking in companies, especially across the supply chain. This research identifies key continuous improvement characteristics in regards to leadership, learning, and collaborating that need to be executed more effectively. This research was conducted among a population of 174 different automotive companies in nine industries. Only 7.1% of companies with less than 100 to 249 employees used lean or six sigma. Participants using lean or six sigma struggled with extending initiatives to include suppliers (56%), as well as other areas that support building a competitive supply chain. While initial gains from these productivity improvement techniques are beneficial, the long-term impact of continuous improvement across the supply chain will offer these companies sustainable market power.
Recommended Citation
W. J. Huehn-Brown and S. L. Murray, "Are Companies Continuously Improving their Supply Chain?," Proceedings of the 27th Annual National Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management (2006, Huntsville, AL), pp. 501 - 509, American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM), Oct 2006.
Meeting Name
27th Annual National Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management (2006: Oct. 25-28, Huntsville, AL)
Department(s)
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Second Department
Psychological Science
Keywords and Phrases
Collaboration; Continuous improvements; Leadership; Lean enterprise; Learning; Six Sigma; Productivity; Supply chains; Work simplification; Industry
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
978-1604237146
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2006 American Society for Engineering Management, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
28 Oct 2006
