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Purpose: This article is focused on the premise that applying Lean tools in transport and logistic services can contribute to reduce the costs, stocks, lead time and simultaneously contributing to major financial achievements. The objective is to create a model that allows the analysis and deployment of a Lean project in Logistic and Transport services.  Methodology: Facing the lack of information about the deployment and the results of the Lean tools in Logistic and transport services in Portugal we used as case study one example of a Portuguese company that deployed Lean tools on their services and it will show that the tools and Lean principles can be used to improve quality and efficiency by using the company existing resources, reducing causalities in the service provided and in all logistic process. Findings: Lean tools provide efficiency in the services, allowing the increasing of the existing capacity in the company, provide a continuous improvement process. Even with low investments sustaining Lean projects can produce large improvement in efficiency of the processes and in the company profits. Research Limitation: The data available about the subject in Portugal was the major limitation to the study.

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PurposeThis study illustrates the experience of scholar–practitioner collaboration for data-driven decision-making through the problematic of optimizing facility locations and minimizing logistics costs for La Palette Rouge (LPR) of Portugal.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a mixed mixed-method approach involving (1) a quantitative exploratory analysis of big data, which applied analytics and mathematical modeling to optimize LPR's logistics network, and (2) an illustrative case of scholar–practitioner collaboration for data-driven decision-making.FindingsThe quantitative analysis compared more than 20 million possible configurations and proposed the optimal logistics structures. The proposed optimization model minimizes the logistics costs by 22%. Another optimal configuration revealed that LPR can minimize logistics costs by 12% through closing one of its facilities. The illustrative description demonstrates that well-established resource-rich multinational enterprises do not necessarily have the in-house capabilities and competencies to handle and analyze big data.Practical implicationsThe mathematical modeling for optimizing logistics networks demonstrates that outcomes are readily actionable for practitioners and can be extended to other country and industry contexts with logistics operations. The case illustrates that synergistic relationships can be created, and the opportunities exist between scholars and practitioners in the field of Logistics 4.0 and that scientific researcher is necessary for solving problems and issues that arise in practice while advancing knowledge.Originality/valueThe study illustrates that several Logistics 4.0 challenges highlighted in the literature can be collectively addressed through scholar–practitioner collaborations. The authors discuss the implications of such collaborations for adopting virtual and augmented reality (AR) technologies and to develop the capabilities for maximizing their benefits in mature low-medium technology industries, such as the food logistics industry.

The work reported here intends to identify and mitigate the causes for failure in a plastic faucet holder, a part of an integral float faucet with a well-documented history of fracture occurrence. A methodology for the identification of hidden internal defects in plastic parts and the elaboration of the required corrective actions towards quality improvement is, therefore, presented. Firstly, part defects were identified via injection moulding process numerical simulation. The latter has enabled the prediction of an excessive volumetric shrinkage at the core of the faucet holder, highlighting the presence of internal voids and, hence, the possible deterioration of the load-bearing capacity. The supposition was later confirmed by X-ray topography scans. Part reengineering, consisting of localized thickness reduction, was the option chosen for decreasing the high shrinkage at the core. For validation purposes, structural analyses were carried out, with and without accounting for the injection moulding processing history. The results obtained during part structural analysis have enabled us to conclude that, when taking into account the residual stresses generated during injection moulding, the analysis more closely reflects the experimental data and allows us to implicitly envisage the propensity to fracture. Moreover, the part modifications, undertaken during the faucet holder reengineering, led to the reduction of the cumulative (processing and imposed by load) stresses by 50%, when compared to the original design analysed.