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Reflection on Operations Management Concepts
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Theory of Constraints
Application of TOC in Practice
I first encountered the TOC when I was selected to form part of a supervisory team that
was to evaluate the performance challenges facing a local fruit processing plant that had
registered losses for three consecutive years. After two weeks of analyzing the key loopholes, we
proposed to the management that the processing process be streamlined into four steps that
allowed a systematic flow of the fruits from one section to the other. Our findings proved to be
worthwhile as the plant reduced wastage by 17% within the first year. This encounter aligns with
the findings of Tarte et al. (2022) who established that the adoption of TOC in a mid-sized
manufacturing firm focusing of five steps including identifying, exploiting, subordinating,
elevating the constraint, and avoiding inertia through the a Drum–Buffer–Rope mechanism
around its bottleneck operation, helped in boosting throughput by 18% and reduced work-in-
process inventory by 22%, yielding a 12% cost reduction over six months.
The Lean Concept and Its Importance
Lean thinking, originating from the Toyota Production System, seeks to maximize
customer value while minimizing waste (muda) throughout all processes (Cachon & Terwiesch,
2023). Waste encompasses overproduction, waiting, transport, overprocessing, inventory,
motion, and defects. To students aspiring to be future business managers like me, studying Lean
is critical because it provides us with foundational principles such as value stream mapping,
continuous flow, pull systems, and relentless pursuit of perfection. These skills are critical as
they help us in understanding the appropriate measures that we can adopt to drive systematic
waste elimination and process improvement across industries (Cachon & Terwiesch, 2023).
More importantly, lean fosters a culture of continuous improvement (kaizen), engages employees
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at all levels in problem-solving, and emphasizes respect for people, thereby improving quality,
shortening lead times, and reducing costs simultaneously.
Lean is equally potent in service contexts. For instance, in the healthcare sector, Lean has
been applied to redesign patient flow management systems, resulting in reduced waiting times
and variability in treatment lead times by streamlining registration, triage, and discharge
processes (Prado-Prado et al., 2021). Equally, in the banking industry, Lean-driven process
standardization of loan approvals curtails cycle times and error rates, enhancing customer
satisfaction and lowering operating expenses (Cachon & Terwiesch, 2023). The applicability of
lean in both service and product industries demonstrates its versatility in improving delivery in
different sectors.
Work Center Scheduling and Its Strategic Importance
Work center scheduling allocates tasks to specific resources over time, determining start
and completion times (Cachon & Terwiesch, 2023). Effective scheduling ensures high resource
utilization, meets due dates, and balances workloads across the shop floor. Inefficient schedules
lead to bottlenecks, extended lead times, increased inventory, and missed delivery promises.
Firms focus on scheduling because it directly influences operational performance dimensions:
throughput, cycle time, and work-in-progress inventory (Rane, 2020). Advanced scheduling
techniques such as finite capacity scheduling, priority rules like shortest processing time, and
earliest due date, and simulation-based optimization help organizations adapt to variability in
demand and processing times. By integrating TOC’s focus on the system constraint into
scheduling, firms can synchronize capacity-constrained resources, ensuring that the overall
workflow operates at maximum effective capacity (Pacheco & Sampaio, 2020). More
importantly, strategic scheduling also facilitates better decision-making regarding capacity
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expansions, subcontracting, and overtime, as firms can forecast the impact of such alternatives
on the constraint and the entire system (Cachon & Terwiesch, 2023).
Supply Chain Strategies
To strengthen competitiveness, organizations employ diverse supply chain strategies,
which Cachon and Terwiesch (2023) categorize into efficiency, responsiveness, innovation, and
risk management strategies. Two approaches that I found to be highly impactful in the
contemporary business environment are supply chain agility (responsiveness strategy) and the
integration of information technologies with Lean and Agile practices (innovation strategy).
Responsiveness Strategy: Supply Chain Agility and Resilience
Supply chain agility refers to the ability to rapidly sense and respond to market changes,
disruptions, and customer demands with minimal penalty in time, cost, or quality (Cachon &
Terwiesch, 2023). Agility hinges on real-time visibility, modular product architectures, flexible
sourcing, and cross-functional teams empowered to make rapid decisions. Resilience focuses on
absorbing and recovering swiftly from disruptions through redundancy, buffer inventories, and
contingency plans (Singh & Modgil, 2025).
The effectiveness of this supply strategy was reaffirmed in e Oliveira Sousa et al.’s
(2021) survey of industrial firms across manufacturing sectors. The researchers established that
agility antecedents such as supplier modularity, flexible production systems, and rapid
information-sharing networks, positively drive both resilience and financial performance under
volatile market conditions. In addition, they also observed that firms with higher agility scores
reported 23% less revenue volatility during supply chain disruptions and 15% faster recovery of
service levels.
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An illustrative example of a responsiveness strategy is Zara’s supply chain. Zara’s supply
chain emphasizes short lead times, small batch production, and rapid replenishment (Yang,
2025). Through in-house manufacturing of 50% of its apparel and tightly integrated information
systems, Zara can respond to emerging fashion trends in under two weeks, compared with
industry averages of six months (Yahoo Finance, 2019). This agility has underpinned Zara’s 4%
average annual sales growth over the past decade, even amid volatile consumer preferences
(Macrotrends, 2025).
While agility offers a competitive edge, it incurs costs such as maintaining flexible
capacity and investing in real-time information systems (Singh & Modgil, 2025). Moreover,
overemphasis on speed can sacrifice economies of scale. Hence, firms must calibrate their agility
investments to balance responsiveness with cost efficiency, often via segmentation strategies that
apply agility primarily to high-variability, high-margin products (Cachon & Terwiesch, 2023).
Innovation Strategy: Integrating Information Technologies with Lean and Agile Practices
Information technologies (IT), including Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, cloud-based
analytics, digital twins, and blockchain, amplify Lean and Agile supply chain capabilities. IT
enhances real-time visibility of material, information, and financial flows; supports pull-based
replenishment by triggering orders upon consumption; and enables rapid decision-making
through advanced analytics and scenario simulation (Cachon & Terwiesch, 2023). This position
was affirmed in a bibliometric systematic review study by Oliveira-Dias and Moyano-Fuentes
(2021), which, upon evaluation of research conducted between 1996 and 2019, confirmed that
the intersection of IT and Lean or Agile paradigms can reduce waste by more than an industry
average of 20%, improve process flexibility, and streamline demand-driven operations.
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Siemens stands out as one of the companies that has effectively integrated IT-enabled
Lean and Agile integration. At its Amberg Electronics Plant, Siemens implemented a digital twin
of the production line, capturing real-time data on cycle times and quality metrics. Coupled with
Lean cellular layouts and pull-based Kanban controls, this digital twin reduced defect rates by
40% and cut average throughput time by 30%, while enabling rapid reconfiguration of
production for new product introductions (Ivanov & Dolgui, 2024).
The main challenge of IT integration into supply strategy is the extensive reliance on
near-perfect quality data, cross-functional collaboration, and change management (Ahmad et al.,
2023). Without proper training and governance, digital initiatives risk becoming siloed pilots
with limited scalability. In addition, cybersecurity and data privacy concerns must be addressed
to realize trust in digital networks (Yang, 2025). Despite these challenges, firms that strategically
align IT investments with Lean‐Agile principles can unlock superior performance in cost,
quality, and flexibility.
Conclusion
Through my reflection on the TOC and supply chain strategy reflections, I have gained
insights into the importance of identifying and managing system bottlenecks and aligning
processes through Lean principles. Notably, TOC’s focus on the constraint accelerates
throughput and reduces waste when combined with deliberate scheduling and buffers. Equally,
responsiveness strategies such as agility and resilience, and adoption of innovation mechanisms
through IT integration are useful for companies that are facing competition in volatile markets.
By blending real-time visibility, modular processes, and digital tools with Lean–Agile mindsets
in my future management endeavors, I have understood how I can enhance cost efficiency,
quality, and flexibility in organizational leadership roles.
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References
Ahmad, T., Boit, J., & Aakula, A. (2023). The role of cross-functional collaboration in digital
transformation. Journal of Computational Intelligence and Robotics, 3(1), 205–42.
[Link]
Cachon, G. P., & Terwiesch, C. (2023). Operations management (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill
Education.
Ivanov, D., & Dolgui, A. (2024). Supply chain competitiveness through agility and digital
technology: A bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Production Research.
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Ladeira, M. B., Oliveira, M. P. V. D., Sousa, P. R. D., & Barbosa, M. W. (2021). Firm's supply
chain agility enabling resilience and performance in turmoil times. International Journal
of Agile Systems and Management, 14(2), 224-253.
[Link]
Macrotrends. (2025). Industria De Diseno Textil SA Revenue 2010–2025. Macrotrends.
[Link]
Oliveira-Dias, D., García-Buendía, N., Maqueira-Marín, J. M., & Moyano-Fuentes, J. (2021).
Information technologies and lean and agile supply chain strategies: A bibliometric study
through science mapping. International Journal of Business Environment, 12(4), 338–
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Pacheco, F., & Sampaio, P. (2020). The constraints of theory: What is the impact of the Theory
of Constraints (TOC) in operations and supply chain management? International Journal
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Prado-Prado, J. C., García-Arca, J., Fernández-González, A. J., & Mosteiro-Añón, M. (2020).
Increasing competitiveness through the implementation of lean management in
healthcare. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14),
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Rane, A. (2020). Reducing work in process inventory to improve business
performance. Advances In Industrial Engineering and Management (AIEM), 9(2), 33–42.
[Link]
Singh, R. K., & Modgil, S. (2025). Adapting to disruption: the impact of agility, absorptive
capacity and ambidexterity on supply chain resilience. International Journal of
Productivity and Performance Management, 74(2), 637–658.
[Link]
Tarte, N., Suryawanshi, Y., & Batule, R. (2023). Implementation of Theory of Constraints For
Cost Reduction in Manufacturing Industries: A Case Study. The Online Journal of
Distance Education and e-Learning, 11(2), 2329-2336.
[Link]
Yahoo Finance. (2019, September 13). Zara owner Inditex profit jumps 40% as price rises slow.
[Link]
Yang, B. (2025, July). Analysis of Zara’s Fast Fashion Supply Chain Rapid Response Strategy.
In 2025 11th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research
(ICHSSR 2025) (pp. 1339-1352). Atlantis Press. [Link]
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