Lean management practices to improve supply chain performance of leather footwear industry

Leather Industry in India is among the top ten foreign exchange earners and export of footwear contributes to 44 % of the total export of leather and leather products from India. The demand for leather footwear is highly fluctuating leading to bullwhip effect and its price elasticity adds to further complications. Lean management practices are applicable to all sectors. However, suitable models need to be developed for different sectors. The purpose of this paper is to identify the set of lean practices adoptable in footwear sector and to investigate the synergistic effects of lean management practices on supply chain operational performance of footwear sector. Lean concept is not only applicable to production but can also be extended to supply chain to improve the supply chain operational performance. The enhancing attributes of Supply Chain Operational Performance (SCOP) specific to footwear industry has been identified and prioritized. A comprehensive set of lean management practices were scrutinized based on its applicability in the footwear sector and a model is designed to maximize supply chain operational performance of the footwear sector.