that’s the first stage in the decay of the old mass
production model. Lewis Mumford called it a “cultural pseudomorph,”
with potentially decentralizing technologies like electrical power
being integrated into the “paleotechnic” framework of Dark Satanic
Mills, instead of living up to their potential as the basis of a
fundamentally different “neotechnic” era. The first stage of decay
was the introduction of networked, lean methods of physical production
as in the Toyota Production System and the Emilia-Romagna region.

But the cultural pseudomorph, or paleotechnic framework, persisted in
the form of corporate headquarters that retained control of finance,
IP, and supply and distribution chains.

And the supply and distribution chains are the one thing that lean
hasn’t touched yet. So to the extent that lean, networked production
is still dependent on global “warehouses on wheels” (or “in container
ships”) distribution chains, the system is to that still a Sloanist
batch-and-queue system, with the warehouse full of inventory just
outsourced to the highway or ocean.

The final step in the evolution from mass production to lean will be
when production itself is scaled to local markets, and these
warehouses on wheels are eliminated. The transformation of the
distribution system is the last piece in the puzzle, and I think it
will be forced by Peak Oil.

And as numerous people on and off this list have pointed out, the
whole Nike model of outsourced, networked production makes the
corporate headquarters a node to be bypassed. One form the bypass
will likely take is when the networked production chains you mention
decide to cut out Nike and ignore their IP rights, and sell the
sneakers (or whatever) directly to the local market without the
brand-name markup. I think with its localized supply and production
chains, Emilia-Romagna could navigate the Peak Oil transition and
shift to production almost entirely for the local market, with
comparatively little disruption.