A STUDY ON APPLICATION OF LEAN TECHNIQUES IN INDIAN I.T. INDUSTRY

The Indian IT industry is one of the fastest growing industries and investments are flowing in to increase its manufacturing capacity. But, India is facing incremental challenges such as rising customer’s expectation, widening customer base of existing ones, fluctuating demand, taxation, lack of infrastructure and intense competition. Thus, India needs to be more efficient in her key activities or processes to cope with the challenges. Lean manufacturing could be a solution in order to improve the performance in this competitive globalized market where uncertainty is prevalent. The purpose of this study is to examine the techniques of adopting lean, the tools implemented, the motivators, obstacles and challenges in adopting lean in Indian industries. Lean is not merely a business improvement tool. It is a philosophy which needs to be driven from the top team down if it is to generate required levels of understanding and belief. In this paper, the implication of lean manufacturing used in information technology explored. Does the information technology facilitate the implementation lean techniques like value stream mapping, just in time (Jit) production systems or can it serve as a substitute for lean. Some examples of use of the information technology for these purposes are presented.