"The Machine That Changed the World" (1990) by James Womack et al popularised Toyota's manufacturing system with its emphasis on just-in-time parts and proactive workers.

Others struggled over the next weeks and months to get parts for their manufacturing operations, a logjam that led many to rethink Japan's famed ‘just-in-time’ system of inventory.

Just-in-Time manufacturing is a process allowing reduced inventory and rapid correction for quality problems, improving quality.