ABSTRACT
Driving Forces for Change Japanese Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), in manufacturing sectors, pioneered fundamental changes in product quality, production tools, stock
reduction with increased flexibility together with a range of manufacturing techniques and management philosophies. Advances such as these lead to increased market share. Observing Japanese steady market share growth performance, organisations based in other regions changed strategies, reducing support function and production costs, whilst reducing delivery lead times of quality products through simultaneous initiatives. Competitive pressures increased, forcing management to review their organisations and supply chains, to find potential improvement areas.
