Do enterprises implement a process architecture towards Lean in product development? A comparative study among large and small firms

The benefits of Lean Thinking have been applied and proven in manufacturing. However the potential of its application in New Product Development (NPD) has not been fully attained. Due to their iterative and evolving functions, NPD processes are generally unstructured and complex compared to other business processes. Within the scope of the LeanPPD European research project (partially funded by the European Commission-NMP-FP7-214090), which aims to propose a new model and tools to help companies implement Lean Thinking in the product development process, this research aims at understanding the opportunities in both large firms and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to deploy a Process Architecture (PA) towards a lean new product development process. As main results, the paper will highlight relevant trends based on twenty-one face to face interviews done in eleven large firms and ten SMEs located in Switzerland, Germany and Mexico. Thus, this research provides a new body of knowledge comparing the state of art implementation of a PA within several industries.