Lean thinking in service digital transformation

Abstract

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic situation has imposed changes in the way many services are being provided. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of lean thinking and digital transformation on services redesign of a higher education institution. The aim is to improve efficiency and incorporate new health and safety recommendations because of the pandemic situation. Design/methodology/approach This paper follows a case study approach to explore how lean thinking contributes to the digital transformation of services. The data was collected through student surveys from a Portuguese University, where three different academic services were selected. Findings This paper identifies important requirements for new and improved online alternatives to face-to-face interactions of the students with the academic services. It also shows that lean thinking is a driver for digital transformation of services. Practical implications This paper presents a dedicated roadmap to aid the implementation of a digital transformation process within student academic services of higher education institutions. Originality/value This paper addresses the digital transformation of services through a lean thinking perspective and considering four dimensions: quality, efficiency, cost reduction and health and safety.

Lean and its impact on sustainability performance in service companies: results from a pilot study

“…Service companies have been encouraged to use Lean to improve their performance and reduce waste, culture change to focus on customers' needs, continuous improvement and search for better service quality (Alsmadi et al, 2012;Suarez-Barraza et al, 2012;Hadid and Mansouri, 2014;Tortorella et al, 2021). The service sector has been adapting and implementing this philosophy to obtain positive results to their flows and processes (Julião and Gaspar, 2021). Hadid et al (2016) affirm that service firms achieve the best potential benefits from Lean implementation; Lean must be seen as an STS, consisting of two interconnected and correlated components: social (soft) and technical (hard) skills (Hadid et al, 2016;Abdallah et al, 2019).…”

“…, 2021). The service sector has been adapting and implementing this philosophy to obtain positive results to their flows and processes (Julião and Gaspar, 2021).…”

“…(1980) established the term “Lean” in the 1980s as a powerful strategy for increasing efficiency through minimizing non-value-added activities while retaining the customer-perceived value. Although various Lean applications have received much-deserved attention in manufacturing over the last three decades, research on Lean in service settings is still at its infancy (Malmbrandt and Ahlstrom, 2012; Gupta and Sharma, 2016; Julião and Gaspar, 2021). One of the early applications of Lean in services was explicitly shown in the work of Bowen and Youngdahl (1998).…”

“…The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1754-2731.htm attention in manufacturing over the last three decades, research on Lean in service settings is still at its infancy (Malmbrandt and Ahlstrom, 2012;Gupta and Sharma, 2016;Julião and Gaspar, 2021). One of the early applications of Lean in services was explicitly shown in the work of Bowen and Youngdahl (1998).…”

Guest editorial

“…Julião and Gaspar (2021) explore the use of lean thinking and digital transformation on services redesign within the context of a higher education institution. Their work aims to incorporate new health and safety recommendations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time, maintain process effectiveness and efficiency.…”