Abstract
The effective management of the manufacturing process can help improve the manufacturing competitiveness of the firm, which can, in turn, provide a firm with global competitiveness. However, the obstacles in the process due to the active bottlenecks or other impediments to process flow result in the obstruction to material flow and reduce the overall throughput. Dr Goldratt developed a ‘four concepts of flow’ mechanism that can help streamline the process flow and improve the throughput of the manufacturing facilities. This study exemplifies an application of the four concepts of flow and the full kit solution in the case of a global carpet manufacturer and narrates how the firm help to achieve a competitive advantage. The study can help practitioners and academicians understand the core concept of the swift-even flow concept and how to streamline product movement into different stages of the process using the four concepts of the flow mechanism.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data required to conduct the study is provided within the manuscript itself.
Code availability
Not applicable.
References
Andersson, R., & Pardillo-Baez, Y. (2020). The Six Sigma framework improves the awareness and management of supply-chain risk. TQM Journal, 32, 1021–1037. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-04-2019-0120
Banks, J., (2014). Mazda Executive Credits Theory of Constraints for Company Turnaround [WWW Document]. TOCICO. URL https://www.tocico.org/news/127574/Mazda-Executive-Credits-Theory-of-Constraints-for-Company-Turnaround.htm (Accessed 25 May 2023).
Battesini, M., Ten Caten, C. S., & de Jesus Pacheco, D. A. (2021). Key factors for operational performance in manufacturing systems: Conceptual model, systematic literature review and implications. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 60, 265–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2021.06.005
Baveja, A., Kapoor, A., & Melamed, B. (2020). Stopping Covid-19: A pandemic-management service value chain approach. Annals of Operations Research, 289, 173–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-020-03635-3
Chaudhari, C., (2014). Capitalizing on the after-market [WWW Document]. Financ. Express. URL https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/capitalising-on-the-after-market/1295357/ (accessed 25 May 2023).
Chaudhari, C., (2015). Sailing Against The Tide: The JCB Implementation Case Study, In: 2015 TOCICO International Conference Transforming Businesses Track.
Chaudhari, C., Khanzode, V., Iqbal, R., Dohale, V., (2023). Prioritizing the Distributor’s Key Performance Indicators and Constraints to Implement TOC-Based Solution for Outbound Supply Chain Network. In: Rezaei, J., Brunelli, M., Mohammadi, M. (Eds.) Advances in Best-Worst Method. BWM 2022. Lecture Notes in Operations Research. Springer, Cham, Cham, pp. 146–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24816-0_12
Chaudhari, C. V., & Mukhopadhyay, S. K. (2003). Application of Theory of Constraints in an integrated poultry industry. International Journal of Production Research, 41, 799–817. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020754031000065548
Chawla, S., & Kant, R. (2017). Application of Theory of Constraints in Service Type Organization. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovation, 5, 366–370.
Costas, J., Ponte, B., de la Fuente, D., Pino, R., & Puche, J. (2015). Applying Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints to reduce the Bullwhip Effect through agent-based modeling. Expert Systems with Applications, 42, 2049–2060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2014.10.022
Cox, J. F., III., & Schleier, J. G. (2010). Theory of Constraints Handbook. Mc Graw-Hill.
de Bernardi Souza, F., & Pires, S. R. I. (2010). Theory of constraints contributions to outbound logistics. Management Research Review, 33, 683–700. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409171011055780
De Meyer, A., & Ferdows, K. (1990). Influence of Manufacturing Improvement Programmes on Performance. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 10, 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443579010005939
Dohale, V., Ambilkar, P., Gunasekaran, A., Bilolikar, V., (2021). Application of TOC Strategy Using Simulation: Case of the Indian Automobile Component Manufacturing Firm. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM), Bangalore, India. Banglore, India, pp. 500–508.
Dohale, V., Ambilkar, P., Gunasekaran, A., & Verma, P. (2022a). Supply chain risk mitigation strategies during COVID-19: Exploratory cases of “make-to-order” handloom saree apparel industries. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 52, 109–129. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-12-2020-0450
Dohale, V., Gunasekaran, A., Akarte, M. M., & Verma, P. (2022b). 52 Years of manufacturing strategy: An evolutionary review of literature (1969–2021). International Journal of Production Research, 60, 569–594. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2021.1971788
Dohale, V., Verma, P., Gunasekaran, A., & Ambilkar, P. (2023). COVID-19 and supply chain risk mitigation: A case study from India. International Journal of Logistics Management, 34, 417–442. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-04-2021-0197
Goldratt, E.M., (1980). Optimized Production Timetable: A Revolutionary Program for Industry. In: Proceedings of the 23rd American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) Conference. pp. 14–17.
Goldratt, E. M. (1994). It’s Not Luck. North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M. (1997). Critical Chain. North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M. (2006a). The Haystack Syndrome: Sifting Information Out of the Data Ocean. North River Press.
Goldratt, E.M., (2006b). Standing on the shoulders of Giants. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095410201400073X
Goldratt, E. M. (2009a). Standing on the shoulders of giants - Production concepts versus production applicationsthe Hitachi Tool Engineering example. Gestão & Produção, 16, 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-530X2009000300002
Goldratt, E. M. (2009b). The Choice. North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (1984). The Goal. North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (2003). Production the TOC way. North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (2016). The goal: A process of ongoing improvement. Taylor and Francis.
Goldratt, E. M., Eshkoli, I., & Brownleer, J. (2009). Isn’t it Obvious? North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M., & Fox, R. E. (1986). The Race. North River Press.
Goldratt, E. M., Schragenheim, E., & Ptak, C. A. (2000). Necessary But Not Sufficient. North River Press.
Hayes, R. H., & Pisano, G. P. (1994). Beyond World-Class: The New Manufacturing Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 103, 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1037//1082-989X.5.2
Hayes, R., Pisano, G., Upton, D., & Wheelwright, S. (2011). Operations, Strategy, and Technology: Pursuing The Competitive Edge. Wiley.
Hill, A., Hill, T., (2018). Operations Strategy: Design, Implementation and Delivery. Palgrave Macmillan
Hopp, W. J., & Spearman, M. L. (2011). Factory physics. Waveland Press.
Ikeziri, L. M., de Souza, F. B., Gupta, M. C., & de Fiorirni, P. C. (2019). Theory of constraints: Review and bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Production Research, 57, 5068–5102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2018.1518602
Kim, J. S., & Arnold, P. (1996). Operationalizing manufacturing strategy: An exploratory study of constructs and linkage. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 16, 45–73.
Knight, A.M., (2014). Pride and Joy. Never Say I Know, Aldbury
Kulkarni, S. D., Deshmukh, S. G., Khanzode, V. V., & Alves, A. C. (2021). Unifying Efforts to Rebound Operational Excellence and Export Competitiveness. International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, 16, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-021-00043-7
Malagihal, S. S. (2021). Strategic Options for Automobile OEMs of Indian Origin to have Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Case of Tata Motors. International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, 16, 139–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-021-00029-5
Malhotra, N., & Dave, K. (2022). An Assessment of Competitiveness of Medical Tourism Industry in India: A Case of Delhi NCR. International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, 17, 215–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-022-00060-0
Meredith, J. R., & Mccutcheon, M. (1993). Conducting case study research in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 11, 239–256.
Momaya, K. S. (2019). The Past and the Future of Competitiveness Research: A Review in an Emerging Context of Innovation and EMNEs. International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, 14, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-019-00002-3
NDTA, (2021). Improving Readiness in Commercial and Military Aviation through Theory of Constraints (TOC) [WWW Document]. URL https://www.ndtahq.com/improving-readiness-in-commercial-and-military-aviation-through-theory-of-constraints-toc/ (accessed 25 May 2023).
NHS, (2021). Online library of Quality, Service Improvement and Redesign tools—Theory of Constraints, NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Porter. (2001). What is International Competitiveness? Select Views across Levels. In: Momaya, K.S. (2014), International Competitiveness: Evaluation and Enhancement. Hindustan Publishing Corporation, pp. 2.1–2.9; last accessed at ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276860374_International_competitiveness_Evaluation_and_enhancement_Chapter2
Rowley, J. (2002). Using case studies in research. Management Research News, 25, 16–27.
Rozinat, A., (2020). Lufthansa at Process Mining Camp 2020 [WWW Document]. URL https://fluxicon.com/blog/2020/11/lufthansa-at-process-mining-camp-2020/ (accessed 10 Nov 2022).
Sadeghi Moghadam, M. R., Ghasemnia Arabi, N., & Khoshsima, G. (2021). A Review of Case Study Method in Operations Management Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 160940692110100. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211010088
Sahoo, S. (2019). Lean manufacturing practices and performance: The role of social and technical factors. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 37, 732–754. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-03-2019-0099
Sangani, P., (2015). Continuous Improvement—Understanding Customer Needs [WWW Document]. Econ. Times. URL https://www.tatasteel.com/investors/annual-report-2008-09/html/understanding_needs.html (accessed 25 May 2023).
Schmenner, R. W., & Swink, M. L. (1998). On theory in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 17, 97–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(98)00028-X
Schragenheim, E., Walsh, D., (2019). Four Concepts of Flow, In: 2019 TOCICO Webinar.
Shashi, M. (2023). Sustainable Digitalization in Pharmaceutical Supply Chains Using Theory of Constraints: A Qualitative Study. Sustainability, 15, 8752. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118752
Şimşit, Z. T., Günay, N. S., & Vayvay, Ö. (2014). Theory of Constraints: A Literature Review. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, 930–936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.104
Varshapetian, A., & Semenova, E. (2015). Aspects of integration management methods. International Journal for Quality Research, 9, 481–494.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications, 6th (Edn). Sage Publications Inc.
Acknowledgements
Authors express their heartfelt gratitude to the participating industry and the managers working there for sharing their valuable inputs and data, which help build this case. We also acknowledge and thank the anonymous reviewers and the Editor-in-Chief for their invaluable comments that have reshaped this article.
Funding
The authors did not receive any funding support from any organization for the submitted work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization: CVC; Methodology: CVC and VD; Formal analysis and investigation: CVC and VD; Writing—original draft: CVC and VD; Writing—review and editing: CVC and VD; Supervision: VK and RI. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Chaudhari, C.V., Dohale, V., Khanzode, V. et al. Manifesting Competitiveness Through Theory of Constraints: A Case of Global Carpet Manufacturer. JGBC 18 (Suppl 1), 66–76 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-023-00084-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-023-00084-0
Keywords
- Theory of constraint
- Four concepts of flow
- Carpet manufacturing
- Full kit
- Manufacturing improvement programs