Following the turmoil of recent years, Toyota’s expansion strategy has an air of caution and appears aimed at both meeting customer demand and limiting supply chain risk. As it adds new models and production, the carmaker has been assessing supplier locations, and for that Brown says measuring total logistics and lead-time impacts is essential, and an important reason why TEMA is working so hard to measure logistics performance and cost. These considerations come together successfully at the Georgetown plant, where high localisation and a well-planned logistics flow allow more flexibility in the supply chain. For example, the plant allows changes to vehicles five days before production, with daily changes possible to paint colour.