Lean management in apparel manufacturing

Abstract

Abstract In the era of globalization and digital technologies, consumers are exposed to better products and services at competitive prices with wider options. The global competition is getting tougher, and manufacturers are finding newer ways to operate, survive, and excel in the respective domain. Apparel manufacturing is no exception to this. The dynamic fashion business, with shorter product cycles, puts pressure on manufacturers to deliver the apparel products at a faster pace and competitive price ensuring excellent quality standards. More and more apparel manufacturing organizations are adopting a lean approach in the operations; however, it is still applied in a limited scope as compared to other industries especially automobile manufacturing. Lean tools are getting more acceptance in practice and improvements toward achieving operational excellence are visible. There have been several lean tools and practices adopted by different industries world-wide, but as far as apparel manufacturing is concerned, not all the lean tools are applied to its full potential. This chapter discusses the brief history and evolution of lean principles, different approaches, and stages of lean implementation. The challenges in lean implementation in the context of apparel manufacturing have also been discussed. The objective of this chapter is to introduce and orient readers to provide an overview of lean management practices in apparel manufacturing.