Modern Manufacturing Processes for SMEs: Lean, Flexible, Agile, Leagile, Green, and Sustainable

The uncertain and unpredictable business environment in which the organizations of the moment are working is one that permanently encourages the identification of solutions that lead them to a sustainable competitive advantage. The objective of the first part of this paper is to present in a descriptive and comparative manner the modern manufacturing concepts found in the studied literature. The emphasis is on the knowledge of their characteristics and practices, the benefits of their implementation, the similarities and differences between them. The second part of the paper discusses the example of SMEs in Romania, aiming at identifying elements that can lead us to the conclusion if they have implemented the modern methods of manufacturing that I have referred to, are under implementation or, on the contrary, are only found in the early stages of research and training. In our opinion, the results were not very satisfying, creating the image of firms that encounter difficulties in their work, with little emphasis on innovative activity and customer satisfaction in general. The present paper gives interested people a clearer picture of some of the most current production methods in order to inform and raise awareness of the need to pass another level.