ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the issue of downstream organisation and that of the management of variety. The fundamental issue concerns the form of the linkage between the way automobiles are designed and made, and the way they are distributed. Indeed the appearance of the 'lean distribution' concept is designed to capture the attention of the vehicle manufacturers at the end of 1990s in much the same way that 'lean production' kept them occupied during the 1980s. The vehicle manufacturer is obliged to disseminate technical information related to maintenance and repairs outside its own network. The vehicle manufacturer is acting as a co-ordinator in support of the 'bundling' of services offered both to its own network and to the final purchaser, in terms of competencies developed by other types of actors. The implications for producer/distributor relationships of the introduction of increased product variety offer a good example of the conflict.
