Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 8, No. 5, Oct 2019 57 How Applying Soft Lean Components Can Contribute to Reducing Costs in the Service Sector: The Case of Al-Ahliyya Amman University Ahmad Areiqat #1 , Ahmad Zamil #2 # Business Management Dept., Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Jordan # Marketing Dept., Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz University, Saudi Arabia 1 ahmadareiqat@ammanu.edu.jo 1 am.zamil@psau.edu.sa Abstract—This research aims to identify the rules of lean system application in the service industry. It also seeks to highlight the requirements of applying the lean production system on Al-Ahliyya Amman University to reduce costs. The research was conducted in the form of a case-study in Al-Ahliyya Amman University. Data was collected through discussions with some the officials in the university. Including the HR manager, the financial manager, the student affairs manager, and the student registration manager. The results showed that lean production was most successful in service organisations that depend on the core components of lean; such as continuous improvement, problem- solving, decision-making, knowledge management, and technology usage. These components together can be a critical key to reducing costs which is what Just- in-time technique aims to do. Keywords— Lean System, Reduce Costs, Personnel Development 1. Introduction When Lean production systems had received significant attention from many academics, authors, researchers, and practitioners since the second half of the last century when the idea of this system was launched in Japan by Toyota Motor Company. The Japanese engineer TaichiOhno invented the system of Just-In-Time (JIT) production to gain an advantage in the competitive market, which had been led by American auto products [9]. Ohno’s idea was based on mixing the benefits of the production systems that were known in that period such as mass production, and handicraft production with the new advanced management and production system. In addition, because this system was created by Toyota, it was known as the Toyota Production System (TPS) or lean system [1]. According to the recommendations of the International motor vehicle program, published in 1980, manufacturing firms are most likely to benefit from applying lean systems. These lean systems focused on the factors and practices that led to the distinguished performance of Toyota regarding productivity and achieving the seven zeros to the idle time and money compared with their Western vehicle manufacturing rivals [7, 9]. The implementation of lean systems has expanded on a global level. As well as the diversity of business sectors including the service sector, This literature indicates that applying lean among service firms represents an important progress because there are potential benefits to be reaped in this sector rather in traditional manufacturing [2]. 1.2 Problem statement and questions: Because the lean production system has replaced the mass production process in the motor vehicle industry and clarified the differences between quality and productivity, it has also transformed manufacturing operations including service operations from the familiar production environment. From here, the problem of this study will be more favourable to take the following statement: “Lean production systems can be applied in the service sector through exploiting soft lean elements to reduce costs.” This problem will be discussed through the following questions: What are the soft lean elements that affect the service quality? How are these elements managed in the service sector? Does Al Ahliyya University implement a lean system? ______________________________________________________________ International Journal of Supply Chain Management IJSCM, ISSN: 2050-7399 (Online), 2051-3771 (Print) Copyright © ExcelingTech Pub, UK (http://excelingtech.co.uk/)