Contact us
 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
Useful Links
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Free-Pass Model to Manage Quality Relationships With Suppliers: An Italian Case Study
Author(s)
Federica Murmura, Laura Bravi
Full-Text PDF
XML 5327 Views
DOI:10.17265/1537-1506/2017.08.001
Affiliation(s)
University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy
ABSTRACT
In order to be competitive
in today’s challenging business environment, manufacturing companies must have
the ability to effectively integrate
internal functions within a company and effectively link them to the external
operations of suppliers and supply chain members. This could be done
thanks to the implementation of an effective Supply Chain Management System.
The aim of the research is to contribute to the literature panorama on Lean
Supply Chain Management through the analysis of a case study of Alpha, Italian
company in the arm industry, which has developed a new model called
“Free-Pass”, and to give a useful, realistic tool, expendable by companies that
want to open up to Lean Supply Chain. A
qualitative approach has been chosen, based on a longitudinal, single case study;
a semi-structured interview has been carried out per year, with the company’s
Quality Manager from 2009, the year in which the “Free-Pass” model has been
implemented, until 2016. Relevant secondary data were also used such as company
reports, web site, and performance quantitative data. The implementation of the
Free-Pass model across the company leads to a great change, both in terms of
the transformation of the production process in a process flow “pulled”, both
at the organizational level, with the reduction of hierarchical levels, the
process orientation, cross-functional teams, the streamlining of functions, and
above all, the involvement of suppliers. This implied a radical change in
thinking from management and from all the staff and a true “cultural revolution”
for the company itself and for its suppliers, but it bought to both financial
and organizational benefits. In conclusion the research has shown the
importance of implementing quality relationships with suppliers based on trust
and cooperation in order to achieve mutual benefits. The value of the research
is given by the definition of a new model of Lean Supply Chain as an important
tool of operation management which is expendable by companies.
KEYWORDS
Lean Supply Chain, Lean Thinking, Lean Production, Free-Pass, quality management, suppliers’ management
Cite this paper
References