Powered by Honda: Developing Excellence in the Global Enterprise

The seminal book that began the lean revolution in manufacturing and supply management, Powered by Honda tells the story of what Honda does, and illustrates the BP process with stories, charts, photos, and other powerful methods that guarantee success. From the people on the floor who build the cars, to the suppliers who keep Honda lines running non-stop, and the managers who run the supply chains, you'll feel the Racing Spirit that powers the machine. Honda's global leadership position in profits, growth, and innovation was built on the principles in this book.

Driven by a deep commitment to bettering all operational processes, Honda of America has become the benchmark for manufacturers worldwide in several key areas, most prominently, organizational development and product innovation. Honda′s phenomenal success has garnered many accolades, from its justly famous ratings for outstanding customer satisfaction, to the prestigious J. D. Power Award for excellence in customer focus. Now, for the first time, go behind the scenes for an exclusive inside look at the revolutionary management tools and techniques that have made the name Honda synonymous with customer loyalty, leadership, and outstanding achievement.

Honda of America′s competitive advantage is powered by a potent mix of creative forward thinking and seamless follow–through. The key to the carmaker′s remarkable performance ––exemplified by the radical product development that went into the 1998 Accord ––is a unique program for supply–based excellence dubbed BP. Combining classic quality analysis and problem–solving techniques, BP targets five strategic improvement areas: Best Position, Best Productivity, Best Product, Best Price, and Best Partners. It boils down to a philosophy–driven initiative grounded in developing, rather than leveraging, excellent suppliers, and it is a tenet that has enabled the automobile manufacturer to build a strong supply base whose partners consistently deliver zero ppm defects, with to–the–minute on–time deliveries, at very competitive costs.

BP has revolutionized the way Honda and other companies increase market share and raise performance levels, and it can be applied to virtually any type of organization ––including yours. To illustrate how you can effectively integrate BP into your business structure, Powered by Honda presents a detailed blueprint of all its tools and techniques, taking you step by step through a typical 13–week BP project.

Written by team members who helped design and implement this breakthrough strategy, Powered by Honda contains never–before–published stories from the field that vividly demonstrate key concepts. It also includes sample BP documents, as well as invaluable perspectives from Honda′s own supplier network, customer base, and workforce. A rare opportunity to probe a unique corporate culture, this is must reading for all managers.

Advance Praise for Powered by Honda . . .

"For those who think of Toyota as the leader in lean thinking, here′s a colorful explanation of how Honda′s ′racing spirit′ is creating a truly lean enterprise in North America. Nelson, Mayo, and Moody provide a step–by–step plan for building a smoothly flowing value stream from raw materials into the arms of the customer. Anyone who can′t follow their simple instructions (and who doesn′t get on the case immediately after putting this book down) has little chance of staying in the race." ––James Womack President, Lean Enterprise Institute Coauthor, Lean Thinking and The Machine That Changed the World

"Powered by Honda is filled with valuable insights and uncommon sense. It is an excellent resource for managers who want to achieve world–class performance in their own organizations." ––Richard J. Schonberger Author of Building A Chain of Customers and World Class Manufacturing ––The Next Decade.

"Powered by Honda tells the story of what Honda does by the people who do it. You can hear the belief and commitment behind their actions. With this book you experience the power of a unifying vision, unswerving support, deep human understanding, and the guts it takes to implement effectively. I knew they were good ––but now I know why." ––Rick Dove Chairman, Paradigm Shift International

"Powered by Honda is the inside story of Honda′s BP program for enterprise excellence and is the best program of its kind in the United States." ––Robert W. Hall Founder, Association for Manufacturing Excellence Editor in Chief, Target.