Eiji Toyoda

Eiji Toyoda gave Taiichi Ohno the authority to build the Toyota Production System, which became the model for lean methods used in warehouses today. After a three-month study of Ford's Rouge plant in 1950, he concluded Toyota could not copy mass production at its scale and instead needed a system that eliminated waste. Under his leadership Toyota built the Motomachi plant in 1959 and spread just-in-time and quality practices across its suppliers. Lean programs in fulfillment centers trace back to the system he championed.

• Taiichi Ohno1912–1990 · Architect of the Toyota Production System
• Kiichiro Toyoda1894–1952 · Founder of Toyota Motor Corporation
• Sakichi Toyoda1867–1930 · Loom inventor and Toyota Group founder

• The Machine That Changed the World1990 · An MIT study of car plants popularizes lean production

1. Remembering a Lean Giant (Assembly Magazine) assemblymag.com
2. Eiji Toyoda, Toyota chief and industrial pioneer, dies at 100 (KQED) votersedge.kqed.org