Purpose

In spite of huge advancement of Lean in the manufacturing sector, its advantage in the service sector is not fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to cover this gap in particular for the information technology (IT) sector through the implementation of the Lean philosophy in a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME), operating in the IT sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is conducted and following the A3 model, Lean is deployed in the case company. Data were collected through on-site interviews, waste sources were identified and then countermeasures for their reduction were proposed and adopted.

Findings

This study reveals that the implementation of the Lean practices in an SME operating in the IT sector offers good operative and financial results, thanks to the higher productivity obtained through the reduction of non-value-added activities.

Research limitations/implications

This paper reports a single case study, not enough to generalize the results. Moreover, more Lean tools and practices should be tested in IT companies to assess their effectiveness.

Practical implications

This paper increments the knowledge base for the application of Lean and A3 model outside the manufacturing industry. This paper should assist practitioners and consultants who have the desire to understand a better way of Lean implementation in fast-growing IT industry and in SME.

Originality/value

Research on Lean implementation in an SME company and in IT sector is scarce. This study aims to assess the efficiency of the adoption of Lean practices following the A3 model. The results could be highly valuable for similar companies (dimension or sector), especially those that are facing transition situations in terms of size and at the same time want to improve their operations performance, efficiency and avoid waste.

中文翻译：

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在 IT 中小企业中实施精益：一个意大利案例

目的

尽管精益在制造领域取得了巨大进步，但其在服务领域的优势并未得到充分挖掘。本文的目的是通过在 IT 部门运营的中小型企业 (SME) 中实施精益理念来弥补这一差距，尤其是在信息技术 (IT) 部门。

设计/方法/方法

进行了案例研究，并遵循 A3 模型，在案例公司中部署了精益。通过现场访谈收集数据，确定废物来源，然后提出并采取减少废物的对策。

发现

这项研究表明，由于通过减少非增值活动获得更高的生产力，在 IT 部门运营的中小企业中实施精益实践提供了良好的运营和财务结果。

研究限制/影响

本文报告了一个单一的案例研究，不足以概括结果。此外，应该在 IT 公司测试更多的精益工具和实践，以评估其有效性。

实际影响

本文为精益和A3模型在制造业之外的应用增加了知识库。本文应为希望了解在快速发展的 IT 行业和中小企业中实施精益的更好方法的从业者和顾问提供帮助。

原创性/价值

对中小企业和 IT 部门精益实施的研究很少。本研究旨在评估遵循 A3 模型采用精益实践的效率。结果对于类似的公司（维度或部门）可能非常有价值，尤其是那些面临规模转型，同时希望提高运营绩效、效率和避免浪费的公司。