This text is primarily aimed at strategic management in the component supply industry, purchasing and sales staff and directors within the vehicle assembly industry throughout the world. It should also appeal to IPS and BPICS professional examinees, and undergraduate and postgraduate students in MBA and business studies, engineering and automotive engineering. Richard Lamming first developed the "lean supply" model in "The Machine That Changed the World", and this is a complete presentation of that model. The book describes the development of the international automotive components industry from 1900 to the present day and discusses shared technical change and innovation in this context. There follows a comprehensive discussion of vendor-customer relationships, and a development of the "lean supply" model within "lean production". The book then discusses strategies for the future in this industry.