Powered by Honda: Developing Excellence in the Global Enterprise [Hardcover]

Dave Nelson (Author), Rick Mayo (Author), Patricia E. Moody (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 1998

The revolutionary thinking behind Honda of America's record success and how to apply it to any company.

Honda of America is setting the new benchmark for organizational development, product innovation, and customer focus. In Powered by Honda managers--for the first time--get the full story behind Honda America's meteoric rise from a struggling Japanese transplant to an American automotive giant. The authors detail the evolution of Honda's unique supply-based excellence program which entails developing and nurturing suppliers to greatness rather than merely leveraging existing ones. These Honda insiders extract valuable lessons and provide practical guidelines for applying the techniques to virtually any type of organization.

* Co-authored by Honda of America executive team insiders responsible for implementing Honda's culture-based purchasing and product excellence program.

DAVE NELSON (Marysville, Ohio) is Senior Vice President of Purchasing and Corporate Affairs for Honda of America and the President of the National Association of Purchasing Management. RICK MAYO (Marysville, Ohio) is a veteran Honda of America associate who helped design and implement Honda's award-winning BP/BQ program. PATRICIA MOODY (Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts) is a manufacturing management consultant and editor of Target Magazine, the journal of the AME.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Managers learn all about the revolutionary techniques behind Honda of America's record success and how to apply them to their own companies. In Powered by Honda managers, for the first time, get the full story behind Honda America's meteoric rise from a struggling Japanese transplant to an American automotive giant. The authors detail the evolution of Honda's supply-based excellence program which, among other things, entails developing great suppliers rather than merely leveraging existing ones.

From the Back Cover

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047118182X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471181828
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Purchasing & Buying

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honda's Quality Improvement Program, November 29, 2003

By 

B. Ballah (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Powered by Honda: Developing Excellence in the Global Enterprise (Hardcover)

Let me first say that I thoroughly enjoyed "Powered by Honda". I do agree with the review that some of the praise by the authors is a bit over the top, thus the four star review, but the fundementals of what they are teaching are excellent. Too many businesses don't pay attention to the details, both internally and externally, and "Powered by Honda" goes a long way in showing how important the customer/supplier relationship is in building quality products. W. Edwards Deming's PDCA circle and theory of continuous improvement are used throughout and I would suggest to anyone who finds the information in this book interesting to read the works of Dr. Deming, Juran, and Six Sigma teachings to learn more about the tools used by Honda. Anybody who is involved in quality improvement should enjoy the stories in the book and find a few ideas to add to their own work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars valuable insights and uncommon sense, January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Powered by Honda: Developing Excellence in the Global Enterprise (Hardcover)

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ... the best program of its kind in the United States., January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Powered by Honda: Developing Excellence in the Global Enterprise (Hardcover)

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 magazine