Lean manufacturing adoption in the transport and logistics sector of Thailand - An exploratory study

This paper investigates the adoption status of lean manufacturing (LM) in the transport and logistics sector of Thailand. A survey questionnaire was design, validated and distributed among Thai transport and logistics companies. In total, 120 useable responses were received and analysed using descriptive statistics. The results of the study indicate that the implementation of LM is relatively high, with PDCA, 5S and root cause analysis being the most implemented LM approaches and tools. However, the LM’s implementation was found to be mainly contained within individual departments or improvement projects, rather than being a company’s wide strategy. Main challenges to LM implementation included: organisational structure of companies, misalignment between goals of individuals and their companies, and lack of sustainment of a lean culture. Main benefits were the ability to identify and reduce waste, increased productivity and better organisation of workstations. On the other hand, lack of understanding, knowledge and expertise in LM were the main reasons for not implementing it, plus the use of technology-based tools instead of LM. Non-LM companies showed interest in adopting LM in the future, with JIT, Kaizen and Six Sigma being the most likely to implement. This study is among the very first of its kind. It offers academics, researchers and practitioners interested in LM and/or the transport and logistics sector with some initial evidence of the adoption of LM in this industrial sector of Thailand.