Lean Management Fundamentals with Regards to Services

Lean Management was developed by Japanese manufacturing companies many years ago. Right now it has a pretty well described methodology and strong justification of its validity due to the outstanding business results achieved by a number of companies. But its application in the service industry reveals many doubts and gaps in knowledge. The aim of this study is the identification of the necessary adaptations of Lean principles when they are implemented in a service organization. The study also identifies several questions for further studies. The idea of the study is to supplement existing research on the specifics of Lean Service. The study is a conceptual work. It confronts the fundamental Lean principles with the service system characteristics. The major findings of the study are the necessary adaptations when Lean principles are implemented in services: (1) the inclusion of the direct presence of the customer in the value stream, (2) the identification and elimination of waste on the customer’s side, (3) the Lean philosophy must coexist with the service-oriented organizational culture, and (4) standardisation needs to be more flexible and focused on organizational knowledge increase.