| Abstract [eng] |
Today's business faces increasingly complex development conditions due to increased aggressiveness of competition, globalization dynamics, emerging new requirements, fast technological environment, etc. These factors reveal the multifaceted globalization of the economy, representing not only the technological spread related to market integration, but also foreign trade, capital flows, etc. This reveals that companies are currently facing rapidly increasing challenges that may lead to withdrawal from the competitive environment. The aforementioned challenges become even more important in the trade sector, which is one of the most important in the world economic system. In order to remain competitive, the trade sector must provide competitive prices to consumers, increase the range and quality of goods/services, meet higher standards and needs of consumers, and much more. For the aforementioned reasons, it is necessary to look for solutions that could effectively improve operational processes and increase competitive advantage in the trade market. In this context, the Lean philosophy becomes important, the goal of which is the optimization of business processes and continuous improvement in order to meet market requirements in both the long and short term. The object of the work is the application of the Lean concept in trading companies. The purpose of the study is to investigate the assumptions and challenges of applying the Lean concept in trading companies. The results of the study revealed that the implementation of the Lean concept was focused on the manufacturing sector, but due to its rapid evolution, it became widely applied in other sectors, including trade. Lean concept can help trading companies to reduce costs, improve operational processes and increase net profit. However, Lean implementation may fail for various reasons, including organizational and people-related barriers and lack of control, where Lean implementation may not produce the desired results. Therefore, in order to successfully integrate the Lean concept in a trading company, it is important to determine the prerequisites for the need for Lean and possible barriers. When ready to implement the Lean concept in a trading company, it is important to carry out the appropriate selection and implementation of Lean methods in specific areas of the trading company's activities, identifying and eliminating losses, optimizing processes and ensuring control, in order to achieve continuous improvement. |
