Discuss the development of the philosophy, principles and process of lean in the context of its contribution to manufacturing industries a

Absolute Foods provides the finest fresh meat & meat products

Prior Reading and essential use (articles attached):

Your task is to read the below case, article and conduct research to address the assignment brief below using these articles and books as well as adding 5-6 more scholarly articles references and citings in text:

Kennedy, I., Plunkett, A., and Haider, J., (2013), Implementation of Lean Principles in a Food Manufacturing Company, in Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, Advances in Sustainable and Competitive Manufacturing Systems, pp 1579-1590

Christopher, M., & Peck, H. (2004). Building the Resilient Supply Chain. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 15(2), 1-14.

Greasly, A. (2013). Operations Management. ISBN 978-1-119-97854-1, use chapters about Lean Operations and Supply Chain Management as well as a model for performance measurement from Project Management, f.ex. PERT.

Womack, J.P. & Jones, D.T. (2003). LEAN Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation.

+add about 5-6 more articles to the reference list

Background to Absolute Foods:

‘Absolute Foods’ provides the finest fresh meat & meat products (i.e. Burgers, Sausages) to commercial companies, restaurant chains and to supermarkets using the brand ‘Absolutely free-from’ sausages & burgers in Scotland. They cater for customers with food intolerances (i.e. gluten free, lactose intolerance) and are concerned with the integrity of the ingredients in the product. At ‘Absolute Foods’ there is no compromise, no cross contamination and full transparency of the supply of ingredients into its Leith operations. All beef and lamb are processed on site in ‘Absolute Foods’ own abattoir with all carcasses inspected, stamped & labelled by HMC Inspectors. They have the latest technology and comprehensive traceability system to ensure products will reach the consumer with the highest standards of food safety and integrity. Product quality and standards are crucial to the highest of standards set by customer’s demand (i.e. a supermarket chain, restaurant chain).

‘Absolute Foods’ are proud of their record on animal welfare & livestock procurement. This includes offering full traceability from farm to fork, sourcing locally from approved suppliers and livestock markets who are committed to raising livestock to the highest possible standards of Animal Welfare and Husbandry. Absolute foods have a long history of support for Scottish Farmers and only sells 100% Scottish Beef & 100% Scottish Lamb. The staff at Absolute Foods who handle Livestock have all received Animal Welfare training and together with the full time Vet and Food Standards Agency team, ensure that the highest Welfare Standards are maintained at all times. Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs in August 2016, audited the current site to appraise the Animal Welfare Standards & livestock procurement process and gave the site full DEFRA approval.

Pat Matthews, whom is the Managing Director of Absolute Foods has limited knowledge and understanding of the latest thinking in operations and supply chain management. Therefore, Pat has asked you, as a consultant specialising in lean thinking and process improvement to tender for a ‘lean implementation’ project. To build a relationship, she has invited you and other consultants to write a report on implementing lean principles in a food manufacturing company and transparency in the supply chain. To support you in this activity you may use Kennedy, Plunkett and Haider (2013) case notes on implementing lean principles in a food processing company and Christopher and Peck (2004) article that introduces you to some challenges when “leaning down”.

Report Brief

Pat Matthews, the Managing Director of Absolute Foods has invited you to write a report so to gain a greater understanding of the concept of lean, it’s applicability in the food processing company and potential implications when adopting and implementing lean in an increasingly global business environment. You can assume that the Managing Director’s knowledge and understanding of the latest thinking in operations and supply chain management is limited. You are acting as a consultant specialising in lean thinking, process improvement and performance measurement and been invited to address the brief below. There is an expectation that you go beyond Kennedy, Plunkett and Haider (2013) case notes on implementing lean principles in a food processing company, Christopher and Peck (2004) article and learning gained on the module. This includes a need to conduct your own research into the key themes underpinning the questions below using the academic literature (e.g. journal articles).

Assignment – Lessons Learnt for Absolute Foods (AF) 

1. Discuss the development of the philosophy, principles and process of lean in the context of its contribution to manufacturing industries and applicability in the food processing industry
2. Critically evaluate the implications and challenges that may arise when implementing lean in the company ‘Absolute Foods’. Pay particular attention to AF need to manage and mitigate risk by creating more resilient, traceable and transparent supply chain operations (i.e. as a result of “leaning-down” and increasing complexity of its supply chain in a global business environment).
3. You are expected to offer a set of recommendations to the Managing Director of AF as a result of your responses to questions 1 and 2.

An essential feature of the report is to illustrate how theoretical constructs or models can be critically analysed and applied to organisations in practice.