21st Century operational excellence: Addressing the similarities and differences between Lean production, Agility and QRM

For many years companies have attempted to improve their manufacturing operations in a view to achieving Operational Excellence. As such, several models for Operational Excellence have been constructed, particularly the Shingo Prize. However, such models are very much focused on the approach and working practices associated with Lean Production and JIT. As the global market place evolves, consumers are demanding more customized products with shorter life cycles. This has introduced an array of challenges for the producers that were once able to benefit from JIT production of high-volume, low-variety products. In this paper, we review literature on developments in Lean and Operational Excellence in order to develop a framework for 21^st Century Operational Excellence, in which we integrate elements from the Quick Response Manufacturing- and Agile Manufacturing paradigms with the Lean movement. We illustrate the applicability of our framework with the use of practical insights from three case studies.