Toyota Motors lost US$4.4B from Jan-Jun 2009 but managed a US$242M profit in the Jul-Sept quarter through aggressive short-term cost cutting in areas from Travel Expenses to Labor costs to pulling out from the F1 races. But for the next 3 years, it is has announced a plan to reduce its manufacturing costs by 30-40% (May 2009, www.businessweek.com) by 30 to 40%.

Starting in the 80's as part of Lean developments in Japan, TCM evolved as a costing method based on value-streams to enable Organizations to use product cost to drive their Lean improvement and cost reduction activities using cost measurements as drivers. Toyota has drawn up detailed TCM plans to achieve this 30-40% cost reduction through improving its rethinking their car design and production processes, .machine efficiencies, quick model changeover, reduce material costs, fixed costs, as well as empowering each employees to innovate through it's famed Suggestion Program and working with suppliers.

TCM can comprehensively measure all aspects of processing activities and wastes. It can report or predict the financial impact of any Lean Improvements as well as major or minor product and process redesign and modifications. TCM ( also known as advanced Lean Accounting) evolved in Japan where it is common for an Accountant to have an Engineering background and vice-versa.

Although initially developed for the automobile industry, TCM has found its use for all types of manufacturers and its principles and concepts are also readily applicable to the Service, Public Sector, Projects and Construction industries.