Previously organizations used to do mass production thinking that it would cater every segment of the market but many times this strategy did not work either due to price or availability of resources. The organizations have to come up with new and innovative ideas to sustain in a competitive world where the cost of resources, labor, and use of technology is increasing.

There is a term called ‘lean management’ which is common in the corporate culture as it means that companies should improve their methods of operation with time, remove the wastage of resources and do small but meaningful changes to their processes to achieve efficiency and overall quality. Lean service management is a concept which can be used in every type of business and does not matter if it’s a car manufacturing plant or software development. The main purpose of the lean services is to eliminate any waste of resources, effort, or money by first identifying each process and then taking steps to remove the tasks that do not add value to the completion of the task. Lean services can be employed in health care, customer service centers, software houses, and higher education. The implementations of lean concept in other fields of business follow the same tools and techniques as a lean concept works in a manufacturing setting. The word ‘service’ usually describes all the types of services that normally occur and the place can be anywhere from a restaurant to a hospital ward to a university class to a warehouse and even a consultancy office. Service is a word that means to deliver value to the customer.

In general, the lean management principle is used to enhance customer value, reduce the waste and optimize the work processes. Lean management also helps to incorporate a specific culture in an organization one that is not focused on clients and customers but one that respects all the employees, helps them to effectively perform their daily tasks, take opportunities to learn and grow and also give them a chance to share their idea or experience which can help the company to improve. The lean principle allows organizations to analyze their work processes and business function in detail. The main reasons for lean service management are

• To improve the quality of the work processes and systems employed by the company

• Reducing or removing the errors and faults in the processes which affect the quality

• Reduce the overall cost of operations

• Simplifying some of the complex workflows, and reducing the time to complete different tasks

• Reducing the lead time

• Improving the productivity and efficiency of the employee

The lean management is not only needed to give value to the customers but also improve the value stream which is the name given to the entire process from the raw materials to the finished good to the usage of the customer and finally the disposal of the product. The steps, materials, input, and workflow that do not add value are removed.