2.7 Conclusion

The emergence of Toyota as an automotive powerhouse was a wake-up call for manufacturers around the globe. Japan completely changed the rules of the game. Lean arguably has had the biggest impact on process management and on the way firms manufacture goods and provide services compared to any other innovation—ever! Just consider where Toyota is today:

• Largest automobile manufacturer in the world, based on unit sales

• Most profitable automotive company in the world

• A global leader in supply chain management and supplier relations

Toyota’s supply chain success has not just made them successful, but it has actually helped them maintain business operations when others have struggled. In 2020, numerous factors combined to create a semiconductor shortage that caused production freezes at automotive manufacturers around the world. But not Toyota—their supply chain resiliency allowed them to weather the crisis, and even increase inventories during the shortage. Overall, the chip shortage is expected to cost the automotive industry upwards of $60 billion dollars, but Toyota will be largely shielded from any impact.

Due to the success of Toyota, organizations across all industries are stunned by the appeal of lean and many have tried to implement lean systems. Yet, the change to lean thinking has not been easy for every organization. It is important to appreciate the fact that lean is more than a set of tools to be replicated; rather, it is a way of thinking. It is a philosophy that permeates every level of the organization and every worker in it.