Matthias Holweg

摘要

In several ways this is an extraordinary book, firstly for the dedicated and exhaustive way in which the authors have collected together many of the key aspects of the operations of the whole automotive industry. This is achieved with particular emphasis on the car companies themselves, and on their method of distributing and selling the finished cars. It is also extraordinary for another reason, only partially explored by the authors. That is the picture which emerges of a whole industry whose development over the last two decades has been largely driven by the "bottom upping" techniques associated with the Toyota Production System, or as it is now called Lean management. As the Authors point out at the end of the book, ..."..Lean production, which offered the initial guidance to attaining efficiency and better quality, also facilitates product flexibility and volume flexibility, but responsiveness (to customer demands) requires a more systematic approach..." It is this latter, better response to customer demands, which the authors state will be the future of the car industry.