Portal:Business/Selected quote/84
"Sloan grabbed hold of this important modification in the marketplace and began to offer more and more different models. This "full-line" policy was General Motor's unique strategy to answer public demands. How did the automobile industry as a whole respond to this diversification?
In the transition from mass-produced Model T's to the full-line policy of General Motors, production processes became complicated. To reduce costs while making various types of cars, standard parts had to be developed for use in different models. The Ford system, however, was not modified to any great extent.
At about this time, pricing policies were actively studied and employed in response to the wide variations resulting from diversification in the marketplace. I think that in production, however, the unfinished Ford system changed little and became deeply rooted.
When building up the Toyota production system, I always kept in mind the Japanese market and its demands for many types of cars in small quantities - different from American demands for a few types in large quantities.
The Toyota production system helps production meet market demands. We now know that producing many types of cars in large quantities is economically desirable, even though the Toyota system was built on the premise of many types in small quantities for the Japanese environment. Thus, the system is proving its effectiveness in the mature Japanese market. At the same time, I think the Toyota production system can be applied in America where the market for many types in large quantities has existed since Sloan's time."
- —Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production System, English edition of 1988