Lean and mean - from Toyota to Tesco

A nice short article on lean production here which traces the evolution of lean techniques from Toyota (who pioneered its use in the automotive industry) to a diverse mix of markets such as healthcare, grocery retailing and call centres.

Lean production is often covered poorly by the business studies textbooks - many of the authors simply dont get the breadth of what is covered by the concept, prefering to concentrate on the narrow use of just-in-time (JIT) in the context of manufacturing businesses.

In practice, lean management techniques are much more about flexibility in business processes and management decision-making. For example, delayering (removing layers in the organisational hierarchy) is an example of “lean”.

The use of customer relationship management (CRM) methods (the Tesco Clubcard is a terrific example) in personalising the customer experience is another illustration of lean production in action.

Well worth a read and sharing with your students.