Lean manufacturing within critical healthcare supply chain: an exploratory study through value chain simulation

Modern goals of supply chain management (SCM) are related to the integration of logistic features with customers and product management, the so called value chain management (VCM). The present work is focused on the implementation of lean principles and value chain concepts into SCM, within a firm supplying power generators for hospitals and humanitarian camps. The aim is to realise a simulation environment to improve firm’s strategies and performance analysis to reduce costs and improve the levels of service and sustainability of the supply chain (SC). In particular, lean manufacturing principles of waste reduction and non-value added activities (NVAA) elimination can be well suited to be implemented by value chain operation reference (VCOR) model. An analysis concerning productivity and product development issues is performed by design of experiments (DOE) techniques, highlighting weakness and strength points in health sector supplying.