A System Analysis Approach to Analyze and Develop ERP Systems Framework Based on the Principles of Lean Manufacturing
Abstract
Modern manufacturing applies Lean Manufacturing Systems, also known as the Toyota Production System (TPS), to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Organizations are often forced to implement their Lean manufacturing independently of their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system due to their conflicting philosophies and therefore finding themselves administrating two independent systems (Bartholomew, 2012a; Steger-Jensen & Hvolby, 2008). The ERP systems that evolved till now are criticized for not supporting the Lean philosophy and therefore not useful in a Lean manufacturing environment (Bartholomew, 2012a) Organizations make use of ERP systems for planning and to integrate back-office operations. There are currently two points of view; those who believe that the Lean system must be independent of the ERP system and those who believe that an ERP system can contribute to a Lean system (Bartholomew, 1999). Those who believe that the two systems should be independent argue that the Lean principles promote a “pull” action through the system, constantly changing to get rid of all the waste or muda whereas a traditional ERP system promotes a “push” action (Bartholomew, 2012a). The author believes that Lean and ERP might not be mutually exclusive in the field of ERP systems.
Keywords
Full text
Full text is not held in this database for this record. Please contact the library team if you need a copy.