Title: The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production — Toyota’s Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry
Authors: James P. Womack; Daniel T. Jones; Daniel Roos
Publication date (EN): March 13, 2007 (Free Press, updated reissue). First published 1990.
Pages (EN): 352.
Value for PMs & founders (problem it solves)
A research-backed blueprint for beating mass production with lean systems: pull-based flow, built-in quality, continuous improvement, and partnership-oriented supply chains—principles you can apply in any value-creating industry. Based on MIT’s five-year, 14-country IMVP study.
Summary
Explains the shift from craft → mass → lean, details Toyota’s integrated production and supplier system, compares global auto plants, and argues for the broader adoption of lean thinking beyond manufacturing. The 2007 edition adds a new foreword/afterword reflecting lean’s spread into many sectors.
3 community-reported takeaways (with sources)
-
Lean > mass production on productivity, quality, inventory and flexibility. SoBrief
-
Supplier partnerships & cross-functional teams are central to lean’s performance edge. Wikipedia
-
Applies outside auto—healthcare, retail, distribution, services have adopted lean ideas. Simon & Schuster
Buy online (FR & international)
-
Simon & Schuster (publisher page) — Free Press 2007 edition. Simon & Schuster
-
Lean Enterprise Institute Store — paperback (352 pp.). Lean Enterprise Institute
-
Bookshop.org — US/UK independents (2007 edition). Simon & Schuster
-
Barnes & Noble (US) — 2007 paperback. AbeBooks
Author of Impact Factories / Co-founder of Shy Robotics and Product Whys / Head of Product at Dassault Systèmes / Engineer passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship
Full bibliography here
