Impact case study database

Environmental, practitioner and organisational impact in road transport logistics

The development of the STVSM by Garza-Reyes and his guided implementation in several private sector companies has led to environmental, practitioner and organisational impact in the UK and internationally. In OXXO FEMSA, which is the largest chain of convenience stores in Latin America with over 18,000 stores, Garza-Reyes’ research [3.2] led to sustainable indicators being introduced and, under the guidance of Garza-Reyes, the re-engineering of truck routing processes. This resulted in ‘distance travelled in excess’ reducing to nil, fill loss reducing from 71% to 54.9%, and a 40% reduction of trucks needed to serve daily demand. This also resulted in non-environmental improvements, including 40% reduction in transport operation costs and serving time from circa 41 minutes to 18.7 minutes [5.1, 5.2].

By utilising the STVSM framework, in DHL Transport Operations (Monterey, Mexico), Garza-Reyes’ and his research partners reduced excess distance by 57%, resulting in secondary environmental impacts (such as the reduction of harmful gas emissions) [3.3]. Under the guidance and supervision of Garza-Reyes, his postgraduate students Mr Litao Lou, Mrs Khemchira Kaitwatcharachai and Mr Krishna Balaji and companies’ employees respectively applied the STVSM framework at: (1) HPF Co., Ltd., one of the most well-known medium size 3PL companies in Shenzhen, China; (2) ThailandPost Distribution Co., Ltd., a full-service transportation and distribution provider and affiliate of the Thai Post Company Limited (Thailand Post); and (3) Chandra Transports, a traditional third-party logistics service provider operating in Tamil Nadu, India. As an example of impact on practitioners or future practitioners through pedagogy, Garza-Reyes’ students benefitted from his innovative green-lean, applied pedagogic practice, gaining valuable practical experience through adapting the STVSM framework to solve real business problems. Indeed, in the three cases, STVSM helped the companies in identifying wastes and inefficiencies in their logistics processes, which consequently allowed them to change their practices accordingly to reduce costs and become more competitive [5.3, 5.4, 5.5].

Practitioner and health impacts in ambulance settings

Working with Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexico’s Red Cross) in two separate projects, CSCI was able to apply its research on lean logistics and, in particular, sustainable (STVSM) and ambulance transportation value stream mapping (A-TVSM) [3.4], directly into the emergency medical context.

Project 1 focused on improving efficiency/agility and through the guided application of Garza-Reyes’ research toolkit, the organisation saw improved ambulance response times (response times within ten minutes increased from 16.4% to 58% post-intervention). Further, ambulance turnaround times increased by 34%, increasing services from 4 to 6 per 8-hour shift (i.e. creating capacity for two additional services in each shift) [5.6].

Project 2 focused on improving ambulance capacity by using lean principles and adopting the Theory of Constraints. With this knowledge and Garza-Reyes’ methodology, ambulance operations were re-routed following a facilitated process with internal stakeholders. Wastes such as over-processing time were identified in facilitated sessions. As a result, a reduction of ambulance cycle and turnaround times by about 50 min/service was achieved, increasing ambulance capacity from 4 to a maximum of 6 services per shift. Additionally, emergency call coverage within 10 minutes increased from 37% to 85% and response time decreased by 10 min on average. This further increased the number of services per ambulance per shift from 6 to 7 [5.7, pg. 269]. These improved efficiencies created better outcomes for the delivery of emergency care with patients being able to access it and receive an enhanced experience.

Extending the impact reach beyond road transportation

In 2016, CSCI recontextualised its research into a slightly different context – agriculture. Garza-Reyes led a British Council Institutional Links project in farming settings in Mexico [G3.3]. Whilst the project was multi-faceted, CSCI delivered best practice exchanges and workshops to local businesses, universities and government organisations in Mexico, where delegates were trained on the green-lean principles [5.8]. The project aimed to address outcomes relating to poverty and food security.

The commercial impact created by CSCI’s research is further demonstrated by its work with academic and industry partners in an iron ore shipping context in Oman. Working with a leading shipping company who had incurred GBP1m+ penalties/demurrage fees, CSCI was able to develop and apply a lean framework which led to the reduction in commercial time (a saving in excess of 30%) and the reduction in demurrage fees by approximately USD300,000 [5.9, pg. 1092; 1096; 1108].

Practitioner and professional impacts through executive education

The research has also been used in a host of educational exchanges with professional and practitioner groups including professional bodies. CSCIs research has led to its engagement with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and its Logistics Research Network (LRN), and CSCI hosting and chairing CILTs LRN conference in 2016. The research has gained the attention of the CILT in the UK and work is currently underway to embed the research in their resources .