Lean management´s impact on lead time of ETO processes

Lean management is considered a key to lead time reduction while being efficient, in order to survive in the actual market. Despite this, there is relatively little research done about implementation of lean management in ETO processes. Knowing that ETO processes are a reality in the industry, because there is a demand of customized products in the market. Nonetheless, the early phases of the ETO processes are critical. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate how lean management can be used to understand and early phases of ETO processes, in order to evaluate potential lead time reduction. Analysing issues that arise when implementing lean in this kind of processes, such as variety, variation and standardization. The empirical data was collected from two different companies with ETO processes on different stages of lean implementation. A theoretical background in the area is supported by a comparison of the historical development and current state of two companies. The access to these two companies provides a view of the state before lean implementation and during implementation, and also a brief view of the effects. This helps to understand how lean management could be implemented in ETO processes. As a result, this research describes what should be considered when implementing lean management in early phases of ETO processes and what the effect of this implementation could be