Development of a conceptual model for lean supply chain planning in industry 4.0: multidimensional analysis for operations management

A lean supply chain (LSC) is a set of organizations directly linked by upstream and downstream value streams between processes that work collaboratively to reduce costs and waste. Currently, supply chains (SCs) have been put to the test as the world has had to face a series of unprecedented disruptions in demand and supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, a detailed study of constructs and multistructural components was carried out to develop a conceptual reference model that merges Industry 4.0 (I4.0) digital technologies with lean manufacturing tools to reduce waste and minimize costs in the lean supply chain planning (LSCP) context. The main theoretical contribution of this conceptual proposal is to establish a structured relation among the lean, agile, sustainable, resilient and flexible paradigms to improve SC performance by implementing I4.0 enabling technologies. The proposed conceptual model, dubbed as LSCP 4.0, is applied and validated with a case study in a large footwear company. It can help decision-makers and researchers to improve the planning and management of digital SC production processes, even with unexpected disruptions.