Abstract :   The supply chain director of VKC Footwear Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Manoj Bastian seemed to be lost in thought. Competition in the middleclass footwear segment was getting intense. Many players had entered the footwear industry, trying to get a share of the pie for the middleclass footwear, especially the PVC footwear and the Hawaii slippers market. Mr. Manoj was planning to compete on cost. He wanted to further reduce the costs of production and also the procurements costs of the various raw materials. He was discussing with Mr. Swarnakumar, a supply chain management intern, about the various costs in the manufacturing of the footwear and in the procurement of raw materials at VKC footwear. Mr. Manoj was keen on introducing lean supply chain management at VKC. The various wastages in the company were analysed by Swarnakumar and suggestions to reduce the wastages were given by him.

Learning objectives

• To implement lean manufacturing in the footwear
• Identify the wastes in the production and supply chain processes
• Eliminate the non-value adding activities
• Jointly work with suppliers to reduce costs and improve quality