Brazilian-born Carlos Ghosn was despatched to Nissan after Renault took a 36.8 per cent stake in the Japanese car maker in 1999. What he has done in turning round Nissan’s €15bn of debt and chronic losses has sent shock waves through Japanese business thinking. One of his main targets for change has been the keiretsu system, which he described as a ‘gross waste of capital’.

Ghosn has broken up Nissan’s keiretsu system, and is reducing the number of suppliers from 1,200 to 600. Masaaki Kanno, head of economic research at JP Morgan’s Asian office, is quoted as saying: ‘While many people in Japan realised this system should be changed, it has taken a foreigner to change it. I am not exaggerating when I say Ghosn is a hero in Japan now. People believe that he has saved Nissan from death.’

The system that has acted as a model for Western auto inbound logistics is being dismantled by Nissan. What are the implications for Western supply chains? Discuss.