Toyotism: mass production adopts supply-chain thinking

Toyotism is the term used for the widespread adoption of the Toyota Production System, also known as ‘lean production’, which tries to address the way in which the mass production system interfaces with the market; an area of tension whereby the mass production system favours efficiency through a lack of diversity, while markets favour diversity. Thus, while lean was regarded as the answer, it was found that tensions could arise where supply chains interface with markets, prompting a move to ‘leagile’ practices. In automotive, it became clear that the present structure of the industry and its dominant business model are so closely linked with Budd all-steel technology, that any significant change will be possible only with the adoption of a different set of core technologies and an alternative business model by the automotive industry. The car mass production system - and by extension that in many other industries - is essentially supply-driven; in a supply-driven system, demand is driven by supply in order to satisfy the manufacturing systems. These need a return on the high investments created to supply in the volumes once essential to meet demand and which therefore demand that level of supply continues to break even. In this context, reducing demand in a move towards more sustainable consumption and production is a non-starter as the implications for some of the largest players in the economy are too awful to contemplate.