It is obvious that the Japanese success in both
productivity and quality management is by embodying
these in all corporate thinking. They are very conscious
of the fact that the rest of the world is copying their ideas,
which they originally developed from the West. To
improve performance further, they are looking at such
scenarios as “holonic manufacturing” which allows much
flexibility in an organic rather than mechanistic
approach. In order to reduce lead time further, especially
in the car industry, they are attempting to increase the
“made-to-order” element.