History of Lean: From Toyota to Global Practice

How a post-war car company sparked a worldwide movement in process improvement

When we talk about Lean today, we think of efficient processes, less waste, and continuous improvement. But where did all this come from? To understand Lean, you need to go back — way back — to the shop floors of Japan in the mid-20th century.

Let’s take a quick tour through the fascinating journey of Lean, from its origins in Toyota to its global adoption across industries.

The Roots: Post-War Japan & Toyota

The real birthplace of Lean thinking is Toyota, right after World War II. Japan was rebuilding, resources were scarce, and Toyota couldn't afford the large inventories or production waste common in Western factories.

Enter Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda, two visionaries who transformed how cars were made. Drawing inspiration from supermarket restocking (yes, really!), they developed what became known as the Toyota Production System (TPS).

TPS focused on:

• Eliminating waste (or muda)

• Improving flow

• Respecting people on the shop floor

• Creating pull systems that respond to demand

This wasn’t just about tools — it was a new way of thinking.

Lean Gets a Name

Fast forward to the 1990s. A group of researchers at MIT studied global manufacturing and published a groundbreaking book:“The Machine That Changed the World” (1990). They coined the term Lean to describe Toyota’s system — because it used fewer resources, less inventory, and less effort to produce better results.

That’s when Lean really started to catch on beyond Japan.

Going Global: From Auto Plants to Hospitals

What started in auto manufacturing quickly spread to other industries:

• Healthcare used Lean to reduce patient wait times and improve care quality

• Retail and service industries applied it to streamline customer experience

• Tech companies used Lean principles to develop software faster and more efficiently

Lean proved it wasn’t just for factories — it was for any process that delivers value.

Lean Today: Still Evolving

Modern Lean thinking is more people-focused and digitally driven. It’s often paired with:

• Six Sigma for quality

• Agile for flexibility

• Data analytics for better decision-making

At its heart, though, Lean still asks the same question: “Are we creating value for the customer — without waste?”

Final Thought

From a struggling car company in post-war Japan to a global framework embraced by hospitals, startups, governments, and beyond — Lean has come a long way.

It’s not just a set of tools—it’s a mindset. And its story is still being written by teams like yours every time you challenge the status quo.