While Lean was born in large volume, repetitive manufacturing for the automotive industry sector, Lean principles and benefits apply to all processes (health care, service, high tech, sales & marketing, fast food, etc.).  For this reason, some call it "Lean Thinking", rather than the more restrictive title of "Lean Manufacturing".

For years manufacturers have created products in anticipation of having a market for them. Operations have traditionally been driven by sales forecasts and firms tended to stockpile inventories in case they were needed. A key difference in Lean Manufacturing is that it is based on the concept that production can and should be driven by real customer demand. Instead of producing what you hope to sell, Lean Manufacturing can produce what your customer wants...with shorter lead times. Instead of pushing product to market, it's pulled there through a system that's set up to quickly respond to customer demand.

Lean organizations are capable of producing high-quality products economically in lower volumes and bringing them to market faster than mass producers. A lean organization can make twice as much product with twice the quality and half the time and space, at half the cost, with a fraction of the normal work-in-process inventory. Lean management is about operating the most efficient and effective organization possible, with the least cost and zero waste.