Complementing lean with quick response manufacturing: case studies

Operations management researchers have largely studied and analysed lean manufacturing (LM) for its capacity for productivity improvement in industry. Even so, this approach has found several difficulties in dealing with all production types, especially in high-variety and low-volume production. Managers have complemented other approaches to LM to resolve those issues, but there is little research considering quick response manufacturing (QRM). This research shows how QRM can complement LM in a make-to-order environment. Two cases were analysed, where both approaches were used in a complementary way. Data were collected throughout interviews, document analyses and observation. As the main result, we show that QRM complements LM by means of incorporating concepts of system dynamics, exclusively focusing on lead time reduction and the continuous monitoring of utilisation levels.