We have addressed the subject of lean holistically, though our discussion has by no means been exhaustive. Indeed there are endless aspects of lean implementation we could have tackled: the application of lean into the new product process, supply chain management or translation of lean into a service environment, to name just a few. However, for the purposes of focus and keeping our target readership, we have limited our discussions to lean implementation in a manufacturing environment. In this chapter we do allow ourselves a little latitude, and cast our thoughts to what we believe are some of the major challenges facing our target readership today. An awareness of these issues is a sound starting point for solving them. Key to this is the prime driving force of lean – that of delivering value to customers. Before we continue, however, we offer the reader a brief summary of this journey through the book so far. For those that have read the book from end to end, this will act as a review and reminder; for those that have dipped in and out, this will offer a useful overview.

Brief review of the book

In our Introduction we present our research sponsors and dismiss the myth that lean is just an automotive or Japanese phenomenon. We identify our target readership and set our aims and objectives in writing this book.