Hybrid Lean-Agile Manufacturing System Strategic Facet in Automotive Sector

The lean production system has been successful in the cost-based winning order criterion markets. However, the automotive market has been volatile and the new criterion of winning orders has been availability, which has called for an agile system. The present paper argues that because of fierce competition the current automotive market winning order criterion is now a blend of cost and availability. It shows how a hybrid lean-agile system can strategically meet such a challenging criterion. The study presents the drivers, attributes and providers in lean manufacturing, agile manufacturing, and hybrid lean-agile manufacturing systems. It investigates how the strategic facet of the proposed hybrid lean-agile manufacturing system addresses the six manufacturing competitive dimensions. It presents as well the hybrid lean-agile manufacturing key performance indicators. The strategic facet of the proposed hybrid lean-agile manufacturing system has been validated through industrial case studies in automotive sector. A cost-benefit ratio qualitative analysis has been conducted on the proposed system and the benefits outweigh corresponding costs resulting in positive present value.