The traditional Japanese approach
(v) Global improvement
The Japanese came to see quality improvement as a matter of improving the whole business process. The principle was to do things right the first time and therefore avoid the need for later stage re-planning and re-working.
(vi) True trade-off model
The traditional trade off model assumed that the customer’s views of quality were fixed and did not vary over time. The Japanese realised that by improving quality they could educate customers to demand higher and higher quality and actually charge the customers a premium for supplying it.
This put them in a unique position of being the only supplier able to supply to that standard and cost.