The Implementation of Lean Manufacturing Tools in Morocco: A Study on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

As part of the continuous improvement process and to achieve better industrial performance, companies have started to implement the Lean project. Studies have shown that through the Lean project, companies have been able to identify and eliminate almost all efficiency losses that mark the value chain (from the receipt of material to the shipment of the packaged product) by relying on some lean tools and techniques. This article presents a review of previous studies on the application of Lean practices within small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, an in-depth questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the application of lean tools and techniques in SMEs in Morocco. The results clearly showed that the implementation of lean in Moroccan SMEs is still in its infancy, and on the other hand, it has been shown that among all lean tools and practices, work organization (5S) is the most known and applied tool in Moroccan SMEs (33.01%), followed by visual management (22.30%), standardization of operations and value stream mapping.