| Summary: | Companies implement lean manufacturing (LM) tools in their production processes to reduce waste; however, it is difficult to quantify the effect on benefits gained after their implementation. This article proposes a structural equations model (SEM) that relates three LM tools associated with quality as total quality management (<i>TQM</i>), waste, and right first time (<i>RFT</i>) as independent variables associated with commercial benefits gained as a dependent variable. Those four variables were related by six hypotheses that were validated with information from 169 responses to a survey applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry. Partial least squared was used to validate the hypotheses as direct effects. The sum of indirect and total effects was also estimated, and a sensitivity analysis was developed for relationships between variables. Findings indicate that <i>TQM</i> directly affects waste reduction, drives doing RFT, and directly and indirectly affects the commercial benefits gained.
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