Improving distribution and business performance through lean warehousing

Abushaikha, Ismail, Salhieh, Loay and Towers, Neil ORCID: 0000-0002-2582-2241 (2018) Improving distribution and business performance through lean warehousing. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 46 (8). pp. 780-800. doi:10.1108/IJRDM-03-2018-0059

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Abstract

Recent literature recognizes the role of warehouses in enhancing the overall logistics performance. Thus, lean thinking has recently found its way in supporting warehouse and distribution center operations. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among warehouse waste reduction practices, warehouse operational performance, distribution performance, and business performance. A two-stage study was conducted. First, a Delphi technique was adopted to develop a relevant questionnaire. Second, this questionnaire was used to measure the degree of waste reduction in the different warehouse activities and to test the developed research hypotheses. We test our hypotheses with a sample of Middle Eastern warehouse operators. There exists a positive relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and both warehouse operational performance and distribution performance. There was no direct relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and business performance. However, results revealed that the relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and business performance was mediated by warehouse operational performance and distribution performance. The developed instrument provides a guide for logistics managers as to understand how to optimize waste in each warehousing activity. The results also inform logistics managers of how distribution performance can be improved through lean warehousing. The resulting performance improvements in the distribution operations will ultimately be reflected in the logistics performance of downstream retailers. The study develops an original instrument for measuring waste reduction in warehouses, and provides insights on the evolving lean warehousing research area. This is the first scholarly work to uncover the relationships among warehouse waste reduction practices, warehouse operational performance, distribution performance and business performance.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/5801. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Lean; Logistics; Distribution; Warehouse; Performance; Delphi; Partial Least Squares (PLS)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Research Priority Areas:	Applied Business & Technology
Depositing User:	Susan Turner
Date Deposited:	23 Jul 2018 15:48
Last Modified:	03 Aug 2023 09:55
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/5801

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