The Limits of Lean Management Thinking:: Multiple Retailers and Food and Farming Supply Chains

This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of lean management thinking in the food and farming industry in the UK. Based on a case study of red meat supply it is argued that the adoption of lean practices internally may be appropriate for all participants in the industry, but the inter-organisational aspects of lean may not be easy to apply in practice, nor appropriate, for many participants. For some participants -- especially the multiple retailers -- the adoption of lean principles may lead to a positive outcome with stable and/or increasing profitability. For the majority of participants in these industry supply chains, however, the adoption of lean principles may result in a high level of dependency on buyers and to low or declining levels of profitability.