An innovation step through the Lean Management Approach in agricultural processes

This paper approaches aspects related to the need for innovating agricultural processes by implementing the Lean Management method as a basic condition for a sustainable development. The agricultural field faces the challenge of exerting a strong pressure on the organizations to find viable solutions leading to increased competitiveness by creating new value for the customer. The fundamental objective of the paper is to highlight the implementation of Lean principles at farm level producing milk and throughout the supply chain, as an opportunity to improve performance by eliminating waste and activities that do not add value for the customer. Based on recent studies in the literature and comparative analysis on Lean approaches at the level of the dairy farms, an analysis of a series of activities related to the operational management, shipping and handling, demand management and the possibility of developing the understanding of value from the customer's perspective, is attempted. The results of the study are reflected in the design of the main opportunities of implementing the Lean approach, so that, at the level of the supply chain, continuous processes are secured, and stock and variability are eliminated, encouraging reconfiguration of processes leading to a sustainable development of organizations.