Hello! I am Roberto Takami, originally from Adamantina, São Paulo, Brazil

I am a mechanical engineer graduated from UNESP, with postgraduate specializations from Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, Fundação Getulio Vargas, and FIPECAFI. In 1983/84, I had the opportunity to spend one year in Japan as a JICA scholarship recipient, at a time when Lean was still widely known as “Japanese Manufacturing Techniques.”

Over the course of 22 years at Ford Brazil, I built my career in operations and logistics, with strong involvement in the Ford Production System. I led pioneering initiatives in the country, including the implementation of Kanban systems, sequenced deliveries (JIT), and Milk Run operations, contributing to the advancement of logistics practices in Brazil.

Following this period, I worked as a Lean/Kaizen consultant and later served as Logistics Director at JSL, where I also had the opportunity to teach logistics in higher education. Subsequently, I joined TK Logística do Brasil, participating in the expansion of services beyond the automotive sector, including transportation, warehousing, cross-docking, and consolidation centers.

My professional journey has always been deeply connected to logistics—a field rich with opportunities to eliminate waste and generate value through Lean/TPS principles. Today, my goal is to share more than four decades of experience, supporting organizations in their pursuit of more efficient and sustainable processes.