CREATING LEAN SUPPLIERS - DIFFUSING LEAN PRODUCTION THROUGHOUT THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Honda of America has developed a comprehensive approach to teaching th e principles of lean production to its suppliers in which Honda and th e supplier work intensively on narrowly targeted improvement projects in the supplier's plant. Called BP (for ''Best Process,'' ''Best Perfo rmance,'' ''Best Practice''), this approach has been quite successful in enhancing supplier performance; suppliers participating in the prog ram in 1994 averaged productivity gains of 50% on lines reengineered b y BP. However; Honda has found there is high variation in the extent t o which suppliers were able to transfer the lessons taught beyond the line or plant where the BP intervention occurred. Drawing on case stud ies of three of Honda's U.S. suppliers, this article explores how the BP process interacts with the broader relationship between customer an d supplier in terms of organizational learning, technology transfer, a nd the transplantation of Japanese management practices to the United States. These cases illustrate the dynamics of the learning process an d the complex relationship that emerges between the ''teacher'' (provi der) of valuable knowledge and the ''student'' (recipient).