3. Lean Concepts and Their Applications in the Supply Chain
Lean Background
Lean thinking has been around for a long time in one form or another. It stems from a management philosophy used by Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota soon after World War II. That philosophy is known today as the Toyota Production System (TPS), and it is important because it shifted the focus of manufacturing from individual machines and their utilization to the flow of the product through the entire process.
TPS focused on having appropriate-sized machines for the volume required as well as machines that in essence were self-monitoring to ensure quality and process sequence. Toyota also originated the idea of quicker equipment setups to enable production of small ...
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