Tariq Ahmad Khan - Head, Marketing Planning Dept, Toyota, Pakistan

With the opening of world market, the Pakistani industries cannot afford the luxury of producing products not compatible with that of the foreign products. The presence of globally competitive firms and the continuous innovations in the market has given a new impetus to the competition and the quality standards. The Pakistani manufacturing industries operating in areas not having good infrastructure and uncertain environments, are suffering on account of high cost of production, due to high inventory levels, high cycle times and the enormous wastage. It is high time that the manufacturers should try some innovative and new manufacturing strategies/techniques. Lean manufacturing can be one of the answers thus enabling them to cut down the cost of product by reducing the ‘waste’ as the waste has been the bane of manufacturing sector both inside and between the companies. However, intensive training, high motivational levels, strong commitment and, perhaps, some organizational changes will be required for implementing the lean manufacturing concepts. This chapter, which culminates our sincere efforts in having attempted to understand some aspects of lean manufacturing/TOYOTA Production System spotlights few basic techniques businesses can carry out to grow and be competitive in the future. And that is really the name of the game, growth and competitiveness in a dramatically changing market place.