Leaning the Supply Chain to Maximize Value Delivery to the Customer: A Case Study

ASCE’s Vision 2025 report conceptualizes civil engineering as “entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life” and civil engineers serving “competently, collaboratively, and ethically.” The implied transformation requires the integration of separate production and delivery steps across a supply chain typically consisting of several suppliers. Grown out of lean engineering since the 1950s, the philosophy of “Purpose, Process, People” has made its way out of its original automotive industry application into virtually all production and service industries. This philosophy builds on (1) a clear articulation of the purpose of an organization internally and along the supply chain, (2) the processes required to support this purpose along the supply chain, and (3) the people needed to execute and act on these purposes and support these processes. In support of the above transformation outcome, integration along the supply chain is critical in order to deliver maximum value to the customer. The authors present a South African case study in which a lean approach to implement Purpose, Process, People in a live road construction environment ahead of a global sports event was pursued. Tactics are summarized and lessons learned are discussed.