Amazon.com
In the revised and updated edition of Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, authors James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones provide a thoughtful expansion upon their value-based business system based on the Toyota model. Along the way they update their action plan in light of new research and the increasing globalization of manufacturing, and they revisit some of their key case studies (most of which still derive, however, from the automotive, aerospace, and other manufacturing industries).
The core of the lean model remains the same in the new edition. All businesses must define the "value" that they produce as the product that best suits customer needs. The leaders must then identify and clarify the "value stream," the nexus of actions to bring the product through problems solving, information management, and physical transformation tasks. Next, "lean enterprise" lines up suppliers with this value stream. "Flow" traces the product across departments. "Pull" then activates the flow as the business re-orients towards the pull of the customer's needs. Finally, with the company reengineered towards its core value in a flow process, the business re-orients towards "perfection," rooting out all the remaining muda (Japanese for "waste") in the system.
Despite the authors' claims to "actionable principles for creating lasting value in any business during any business conditions," the lean model is not demonstrated with broad applications in the service or retail industries. But those manager's whose needs resonate with those described in the Lean Thinking case studies will find a host of practical guidelines for streamlining their processes and achieving manufacturing efficiencies. --Patrick O'Kelley
From Publishers Weekly
There's a missionary zeal to this book for corporate managers: it wants to convert companies the world over to the streamlined production process pioneered by Toyota after WWII. Womack and Jones chronicled Toyota's concept of lean production in The Machine That Changed the World, and embarked in 1990 on a tour of North America, Europe and Japan to persuade organizations, managers, employers and investors that mass production was out of date and should be chucked for something better. They formed a network of companies and individuals dedicated to lean production. Network members, whose stories form the basis of the book, gather annually to update procedures and refine theory. Showa Manufacturing, a Japanese maker of radiators and boilers, for instance, pulled itself out of an earnings slump by changing from mass-producing batches of standardized equipment to producing customized small lots. Heavily laden with details, this is for specialists who want to streamline. It makes few references to the larger, global economy. Author tour. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
An expanded version of a well-known guide that apparently has a cult following, this audio provides a road map on how to squeeze the most value from a product idea, from concept and manufacturing to product launch and distribution. The writing and reading are conversational and include excellent examples from a variety of business realms. Womack and Jones offer a sweeping view of value from the customer's perspective. However, the focus is on efficiency, so creative or marketing types may drift off. But it all makes great sense and ought to be required listening for the new entrepreneur, especially if disciplined and conservative thinking is not a personal strength. T.W. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
In The Machine That Changed the World (1990), Womack and Jones, along with Daniel Roos, lauded the manufacturing technique used by Japanese automakers, known as "lean production" and also as the Toyota Production System. Lately, though, some critics have argued that "lean production" has been used as simply an excuse for downsizing, and recent books, such as David Gordon's Fat and Mean (1996), have questioned whether corporate trimming has been effective at all. Undaunted, Womack and Jones argue their case anew. They now move beyond "lean production" to propose "the lean enterprise" and describe the successes at 25 U.S., Japanese, and German companies that have effectively implemented the "lean principles" of value (as defined by the customer), value stream, flow, pull, and perfection. Because their earlier book has sold well, this follow-up could generate interest. David Rouse
Review
Fortune A new and coherent thesis about automotive production...[the authors] back up their conclusions with unique statistical measures that are authoritative, extremely timely, and highly revealing. Think of this book as another step in the decade-long process of getting the attention of recalcitrant mass producers.
Book Description
Expanded, updated, and more relevant than ever, the bestselling business classic by two internationally renowned management theorists shows how companies of any size in any industry can seize opportunities in the post-bubble economy. Lean Thinking begins by helping listeners to identify value, asking, "What does the customer really want?" instead of "What can we try to convince the customer to accept?" Lean thinkers then identify the value stream -- every step required to move a specific good or service from initial concept into the hands of the customer -- for each product and ask if each step really creates value. Those that don't -- the great majority -- are then removed, and the remaining steps are conducted in continuous flow at the pull of the customer, as the firm manages toward perfection. As a consequence, lead times, costs of all sorts, and defects shrink, while responsiveness to customer needs and selling prices increase. In an economic downturn, many companies are searching desperately for a sustainable formula for renewed growth and success. Lean Thinking is that formula -- a proven blueprint and specific action plan that will help any company stabilize its position and grow steadily while better serving its customers, employees, suppliers, and investors.
Book Info
Clearly demonstrates simple ideas that can breathe new life into any company in any industry, routinely doubling both productivity and sales while stabilizing employment. DLC: Organizational effectiveness.
About the Author
Jim Womack and Dan Jones are co-authors of The Machine That Changed the World, The Future of the Automobile and Seeing the Whole. Jim is Founder and President of the Lean Enterprise Institute (www.lean.org), a non-profit education and research organization based in Brookline, MA, dedicated to spread of lean thinking. Dan Jones is Founder and President of Lean Enterprise Academy UK (www.leanuk.org).
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