Naylor et al. (1999) asserted that both lean and agile supply chain systems
emphasize supply integration, waste reduction, and time compression. However,
a lean system places more emphasis on leveling the production schedule while
an agile system stresses rapid reconfiguration and robustness. Mason-Jones et al.
(2000a, 2000b) also suggested combining leanness and agility to create another
supply chain strategy called “leagility.” This combined supply chain strategy places
a decoupling point in the material flow so as to best suit the need to respond to
a volatile demand downstream while still providing a level scheduling upstream
from the marketplace (Naylor et al., 1999). van Hoek (2000) argued that leagility
is fundamentally similar to agility because both focus on the ability to reconfigure
a supply chain in response to transient market opportunities.