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Which Supermarket: Reviewing the Origins of Toyota's Pull System
An amusing internet tale about Toyota often goes something like this: the company’s legendary pull system sprang from Taiichi Ohno's epiphany during a visit to a Memphis-based supermarket chain called Piggly Wiggly. According to the legend, Ohno visited the store during a 1956 U.S. visit and was amazed by the way shelves were instantly refilled as customers shopped. And the thus the concept for his replenishment “supermarket” style of production was born. Despite the fact that no one can seem to locate a primary source for this story, it has been widely repeated for decades on internet blogs, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, and even by major news outlets like Reuters.
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