Toyota Production System

[Will1991]

Everyone at the auto industrie tries to get as lean as possible, while reducing CAPEX and how long it takes to change product production.

But, once again, TPS is in a class of it's own!

Here it goes:
https://www.thedrive.com/tech/26955/inside-toyotas-takaoka-2-line-the-most-flexible-line-in-the-world

 

[energy88]

What I find so puzzling here is if the TPS is so great, why can't Lexus supply a customer with a build-to-order car in less than 90 to 120 days?

While I can appreciate batching similar colors, or options, or trim levels, etc. to achieve economies of scale (for Toyota), why can't Toyota/Lexus set aside one day a week or month for the customer orders? Chevy can build a Corvette in 6 weeks.

I find the Lexus attitude of "buy a car off the lot with equipment you don't want" a bit arrogant and not putting the customer first.

 

[ssun30]

What I find so puzzling here is if the TPS is so great, why can't Lexus supply a customer with a build-to-order car in less than 90 to 120 days?

While I can appreciate batching similar colors, or options, or trim levels, etc. to achieve economies of scale (for Toyota), why can't Toyota/Lexus set aside one day a week or month for the customer orders? Chevy can build a Corvette in 6 weeks.

I find the Lexus attitude of "buy a car off the lot with equipment you don't want" a bit arrogant and not putting the customer first.

Maybe because Lexus is constantly struggling with capacity? TPS may be flexible but it doesn't change the maximum capacity inherent to the line by much. It just allows more efficient operations at partial capacity or temporary bursts.

Their growth rates in non-US markets are too fast for any automaker to handle. Maybe they can make custom orders better when demand for new models cool off.

 

[spwolf]

What I find so puzzling here is if the TPS is so great, why can't Lexus supply a customer with a build-to-order car in less than 90 to 120 days?

While I can appreciate batching similar colors, or options, or trim levels, etc. to achieve economies of scale (for Toyota), why can't Toyota/Lexus set aside one day a week or month for the customer orders? Chevy can build a Corvette in 6 weeks.

I find the Lexus attitude of "buy a car off the lot with equipment you don't want" a bit arrogant and not putting the customer first.

TPS is always planning ahead so that is why... plus then there is long time for shipping too.

In general, TPS is not great system for custom ordering cars although they have been making changes to that. It is great system for manufacturing efficiency, which means you dont change your production plan on daily basis.

 

[Sulu]

What I find so puzzling here is if the TPS is so great, why can't Lexus supply a customer with a build-to-order car in less than 90 to 120 days?

While I can appreciate batching similar colors, or options, or trim levels, etc. to achieve economies of scale (for Toyota), why can't Toyota/Lexus set aside one day a week or month for the customer orders? Chevy can build a Corvette in 6 weeks.

I find the Lexus attitude of "buy a car off the lot with equipment you don't want" a bit arrogant and not putting the customer first.

I believe that it has to do with the coordination of supplies and suppliers.

TPS relies on just-in-time production. Parts and components, even from outside suppliers, arrive on the assembly line as they are needed; that requires careful pre-planning of the production schedule and careful coordination of arriving supplies. Parts and components arriving early just creates a backlog because modern factories have no warehousing space to store supplies. Parts and components arriving late forces the assembly line to stop production because you cannot build if you have no supplies.

This careful pre-planning is not flexible enough to slot in an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment, unique vehicle on the production line. Creating one-off, special build-to-order vehicles would require a warehouse of parts and components, but there is no such warehouse in a TPS assembly line.