Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Packaging also allows the consumer to acquire the product in the desired form. Therefore, Goldsby and Martichenko (2005, p. 47) assert that packaging is vital part of any implementation of lean operations. Most firms incur losses during packaging and also produced a lot of waste. Most companies have realized the importance of the lean philosophy to gain optimisation in their operations as well as the whole supply chain (Tsigkas, 2012, p. 12). The losses can be alleviated through lean packaging. Lean packaging results in value added activity and also reduce costs. The concept of lean packaging is not industry specific. Lean packaging eliminates waste in packaging. In the packaging industry, the packaging materials are regarded just like raw materials. Therefore, they contribute significantly to the overall costs of packaging. Any firm that adopts lean packaging has the net effect of driving the costs down. This means that a change in packaging results in a considerable reduction in overall costs. Companies gain competitive advantage by eliminating wastes. The new competitors enter the market as low cost providers. Since lean is the elimination of all waste in order to develop an operation that is faster, more dependable, produces higher quality products and services, lean packaging ensures that waste is eliminated by coming up reusable packaging materials. Using the reusable materials for packaging enhances the flow of products along the supply chain, thus reducing costs. World-class firms, such as Tyson, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Ford, John Deere, Unilever, Gregg’s, and Amcor among others have already recognised the significance of reusable packaging in moving their products better, faster, and in a more cost effective manner (ORBIS Corporation, 2004, p. 6). Proceeding further, reusable packaging fits perfectly into the lean environment. The packaging is designed in a way that it fits specifically