Applicability of the lean concept to the management of small-scale manufacturing enterprises in Serbia

Abstract

Lean management (LM) is a set of procedures and principles used in industrial processes for finding and eliminating useless activities. This paper presents the analysis of business practices in small-scale manufacturing enterprises in Serbia in comparison with defined LM principles. Application of LM standards to reduce waste and optimize production in SMEs in Serbia has not been investigated before, although this practice has been successfully used in neighboring countries. The importance of this approach is related to the benefits of improving business practices in SMEs in Serbia. This study shows that enterprises lack a system ensuring that the customer gets a quality product on time, the optimization of production and resources are limited, and a significant difference exists between job requirements and skills. The recommendations to improve operations include introduction of a monitoring and control system to ensure timely delivery and customer satisfaction, and introduction of various LM tools.