A New Lean Logistics Management Model for the Modern Supply Chain

Lean Logistics is a work philosophy to identify and eliminate waste from the supply chain. This is used in different areas to avoid lack of material or information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of Lean and its principles applied to logistics to guide a material supply process. A survey was conducted among 25 experts located in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and 21 usable responses were obtained. A factor analysis was performed using the principal components method to identify the factors that affect the orientation of Lean Logistics. It was found that 76.19 percent of the experts’ response considers the concepts of Lean Logistics in the sourcing process taking into account management’s commitment. Areas of opportunity were identified and it was observed that Lean philosophy tends to be accepted within this area. The survey was limited to state Nuevo León. A future study should explore more areas, contemplate more variables and all the principles that apply in a Lean Supply Chain. Lean Logistics is applicable to eliminate activities that do not add value and optimize resources for a process. Communication and effective training of area managers are necessary to influence resistance to change and involve employees to know and understand the improvements in the methodology and concepts of Lean Logistics. This research sought to provide factors and variables of greater impact. The results provide information to improve logistics operations and guide the control of the variables that are involved in the material supply process.