Proposing a model of leagile hybrid paradigm practices and its impact on supply chain performance

Given the need to simultaneously implement lean and agile paradigms in the supply chain, managers do not know which of these paradigms practices is in priority. Not knowing this, not only will they fail to apply these paradigms properly, but they will also waste significant financial resources. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the practices of leagile paradigms and their effects on supply chain performance.

Design/methodology/approach: 

Since military products play a key role in national security enhancement, this research has been conducted in the military product supply chain. The research methodology is typically exploratory, mixed, and descriptive. In terms of its purpose, it is applied research based on identifying and searching for practices and the use of interpretive equations. First, the most important and implementable lean and agile practices were identified in the form of importance feasibility analysis (IFA) matrices. Then, using Fuzzy Interpretative Structural Modeling (FISM), a model was proposed to show the logical relationships and hierarchy between paradigms, practices, and their impact on supply chain performance. The data collection tool was a questionnaire completed by industrial and academic experts. The selection of experts was done purposefully.

Findings indicated that out of a total of 100 practices introduced in the previous research for lean and agile supply chains, 21 practices in the lean and agility of the supply chain of military industries were significant and implementable. The final model of this study illustrated the hierarchical relationships between 21 practices and their effect on the key measures of supply chain performance. This model indicated that lean and agile paradigms were intertwined and their simultaneous implementation led to improved supply chain performance. In this model, supplier-related practices played a driving and fundamental role and became a top priority for implementation.

Research limitations/implications: 

The variety of military products in the land, air, and sea areas and a large number of industries in each sector, forced the authors to merely select the land area. Although the results of this study can be used in the air and sea areas, one cannot say that implementation of this study by its presented model will fully lead to the leagility of supply chains of the military industries in air and sea sectors.

Originality/value: 

This is the first study on the supply chain legality in Iran’s military industry, wherein an attempt is being made to apply the two paradigms simultaneously in the supply chain and to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Clustering lean and agile practices based on two measures of significance and feasibility, and defining four strategies for implementing these measures, is a new approach to focus on deploying practices that are currently more feasible. Identifying a significant number of supply chain lean and agile practices (100 practices), and demonstrating the interactions between significant and feasible practices in the supply chain of military products are other innovation aspects of this study.