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Later on, the spread of lean techniques has been mainly due to the coming of major automotive players in the Indian market. Further, the spread has been enhanced due to the efforts of these companies to improve the performance of their suppliers. With the opening up of Indian markets
and increasing deregulation, the Indian companies have to cut their costs. The major products exported are software, textiles, etc. So, to reduce costs lean production is a very good alternative.

It is very important to note the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to an economy especially when it is in the growth stage. The benefits led by SMEs are the increased output, creation of employment and the development of market forces in the economy at the ground level. The government also has introduced various schemes for SMEs.

Lean Production can be very beneficial to the SMEs because they typically function on an order-to-order basis. Therefore, they stand to gain a lot by reduction in the lead times and production smoothening. There have been initiatives taken up by business organizations and other private organizations to spread lean manufacturing in India. FIAT and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched a Partnership Programme in 1999 aimed at raising the production capability of Indian auto parts suppliers in the western region of the country.

Broadly, the various types of industries, which can benefit from lean manufacturing are process industries, automobile industry, service industries as well as software development. Now we will look at the implementation as well as future prospects of lean techniques in the above industries.

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* Contributed by -
Aditya Aggarwal & Lalit Kumar Agarwalla,
NITIE, Mumbai.