Purpose: This research aims to develop a supply chain maturity model so that Mexican firms can evaluate their current supply chain operations and develop an improvement road‐map.Design/methodology/approach: The Delphi Method was used with 80 experts in Mexico. The Delphi Method gathers multiple perspectives on supply chain operations and delineates a path to reach a group consensus. The results lead to the specification of a supply chain maturity model S(CM)². S(CM)²is validated through experimentation and a pilot test to verify the ability of the model to help managers assess the supply chain processes of a firm by identifying their maturity level in each model viewpoint. A pilot test with a Mexican firm demonstrates the practical implementation of the model.Findings: The research results in a meta‐model, called the supply chain maturity model S(CM)², that describes supply chain maturity at five levels across multiple competency areas, and provides guidance to specify an improvement plan.Research limitations/implications: The meta‐model was developed in Mexico and may not apply to the operations of supply chains in other countries. Additionally, the large scope of the meta‐model calls for further testing and refinement.Practical implications: The research provides a means for firms to evaluate their supply chain operations and develop improvement plans.Originality/value: The paper contributes by integrating the ideas of reference frameworks, capability maturity models, and improvement processes and demonstrates how a holistic meta‐model can be developed to evaluate supply chain operations.

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is challenging for organizations, as workers lack digital competencies, and research on new roles is limited. Additionally, existing models for its adoption focus on technology incorporation, process improvement, and organizational transformation. Therefore, the opportunity exists for designing a new model that emphasizes developing employees’ competencies. A systematic literature review was conducted regarding existing models for I4.0 adoption and the desired worker competencies. After examining the gap in the current models and the categorization of their main elements, a new maturity model (MM) for I4.0 adoption, based on the development of employees’ competencies, is proposed. The MM helps practitioners and researchers assess an organization’s I4.0 adoption level in order to improve future actions. A validation process for the MM was implemented through the Delphi method. Additionally, a roadmap to guide workforce development is presented, which considers the digital challenges face by employees in advancing a strategic I4.0 adoption. The proposed roadmap allows for depicting new deployment strategies aligned with digital trends and employees’ commitments to sustaining the implementation efforts. This research recognizes talent, organizational culture, and communication plans as key elements for defining actions for developing the skills and competencies required for embracing the I4.0 enabling technologies.

This paper proposes a maturity model (MM) to become a smart organization considering Lean as a key enabler to drive I4.0 adoption. A systematic literature review on I4.0 and Lean concepts plus I4.0 adoption models was conducted through the PRISMA method based on articles from Scopus and Web of Science databases, and records from official websites (e.g., consulting firms) published between 2011 and 2022. Identifying the Lean and I4.0 relationship and comparing the models’ relevant characteristics allowed the development of the MM proposal. Although previous research refers to Lean and I4.0 collaboration, the opportunity to design a reference model for adopting both approaches was identified since their interaction enhances value creation. The comprehensive model supports structuring the types of Lean principles/methods/tools and I4.0 technologies and their action to link them and define which of them need to be implemented according to the maturity level chronologically. Additionally, the proposed MM provides an adoption roadmap that starts eliminating non-added activities in the initial stages for process improvement to integrate I4.0 enabling technologies later. The model makes it possible for practitioners to generate implementation and development processes oriented toward I4.0 adoption based on maturity levels in which Lean has the starting point at the first ones. Hence, it defines the enabling technologies to be incorporated and linked throughout the value chain, enhancing a Lean culture. This model will help organizations to become “smart” by allowing them to transition toward the best technology investment and continuously add value to their processes, people, and products. Moreover, the results will motivate researchers to study further the application of models for I4.0 adoption in which Lean is integrated to fill the gap with the I4.0 embrace caused by quickly changing industrial environments and the uncertainty and unknowledge of guidelines associated with incorporating new technologies.

Lean Thinking has been one of the preferred approaches to improve healthcare processes in developed countries; however, it has been barely used in Latin America. This study presents a Lean implementation in a Mexican public academic medical center. The goal was to reduce the time required to discharge patients from the Internal Medicine Department. This non-experimental intervention study measured, analyzed, and improved the process flow through a time study, value-added/non-value-added analysis, and the four-step quick changeover approach. Once changes were implemented, inferential statistics were used to compare results. Lean implementation allowed reducing the time to discharge patients from 6 to 3 h by eliminating 57% of non-value-added activities and 70% of errors found in discharge orders. This represents a 2% annual capacity increase and a 6.423 h bed made available without investment. Other findings include barriers regarding untrained staff about process improvement and departmental barriers and a successful quick changeover implementation. This is one of the handful of implementations of Lean Healthcare in Latin America. Furthermore, this is one of the very first studies that showcase the implementation of the quick changeover approach in healthcare. Further research should focus on the long-term impact and how the specific environment encourages/discourages future implementations.

Purpose: The increase in the supply chain complexity demands new professionals who are able to deal with the new challenges faced nowadays. The purpose of this work is to propose an international university–industry collaboration model to develop supply chain management competences in students as a tool for the training of future professionals.Design/methodology/approach: This study proposes an international collaboration model to develop supply chain competences. The model consists of three main phases from the genesis of the collaboration to the assessment of the competence development. This study validates the model collaborating with one of the largest retailer companies in Mexico.Findings: Results identify collaboration good practices and point at possible improvements for the next model iteration. This study identifies four key supply chain competences as part of this model. Three didactic approaches (i.e. guidance methods) and two student’s involvement schemes were tested. The results show that professors acting as an advisor (i.e. acting as a guider without telling student directly what to do or how to do it) plus a voluntary student’s involvement in the project promote better competence development.Originality/value: The first contribution of this research is the definition of an international collaboration model that promotes competence-based education. Also, this study documents good practices for this type of partnership. The second one refers to a large-scale model validation (i.e. 14-week experiment in nine different regions of Mexico involving a retail company, 20 professor-researchers and more than 100 students). The third contribution includes the assessment of different levels of competences development using diverse students’ participation schemes and professor’s guidance methods.

Teaching a discrete event simulation (DES) course to undergraduates represents a challenge for instructors, particularly for the novice ones. There are many issues to address in designing the course, among which are the scope of the course, focus area of the course, technical depth of the course, and the role of a simulation packages in the course. How to introduce simulation has been a fundamental educational issue for a while. New teaching paradigms and the explosion tools available offers opportunities to design a course that is holistic. This paper presents a framework that enables a holistic design of a DES course such that students acquire a strong knowledge base regarding the use of DES in the real world. This paper also includes an example of how to use this framework.