Lean Supply Chain Management Principles and Practices - Admission/Application Essay Example

The pros of a lean supply chain as evidenced by the supply chain managed by Toyota include swift response to the needs of the customer, reduced wastage in the production process, and low inventory reducing inventory holding costs in a company (Nightingale, 24). Toyota has also benefited from lean supply chain management through high inventory turnover, short lead time, increased working space due to fewer inventories, high-quality output, and improved employee attitude. Another benefit derived by Toyota from the lean supply chain is reduced work in progress.

The cons of the lean supply chain are the requirement for Toyota to have high skills and technology for use in planning purposes, there is a requirement for Toyota to share confidential information on production with suppliers, and the high input that Toyota had to invest in to change to a lean supply chain during the initial stages.

The lean supply chain is achieved by ensuring supplies are received when they are needed at specified quality and quantity, hence the need for high supplier collaboration and alliances to ensure this occurs to avoid a production breakdown due to lack of raw materials (Nightingale, 4). Toyota makes extensive communication with suppliers specifying the quality and quality requirements and there is high sharing of technology with suppliers to achieve a lean supply chain especially Kankei Keisha and Dokuritsu Kaisha (Nightingale, 44). The lean supply chain also required Toyota to make a substantial investment; low amounts of inventories are delivered to Toyota and ensuring transparency and visibility in the relation between suppliers and Toyota. Toyota trains its supplies to ensure supplies are made in the required quantity and quality (Nightingale, 48).