5 January, 2026
Scania, Toyota, Tesla, Apple, and IKEA demonstrate that Simplicity is a competitive advantage in its own. Although they may appear to have little in common at first glance, these companies are widely known for their commitment to Simplicity.
For example, Toyota became one of the world’s leading car manufacturers through simplicity and reliability. At the same time, IKEA positioned itself as a leader in easy-to-assemble furniture, becoming one of the world’s largest furniture company with 500 stores world-wide.
Both Tesla and Scania share a similar manufacturing philosophy: designing vehicles with a limited number of parts, making them easier to maintain and, as a result, lowering maintenance costs.
Scania, in particular, has successfully competed with IVECO, Volvo, MAN, DAF, and Mercedes in the European truck market by building trucks with fewer parts, easing maintenance, and lowering operating costs.
As Leonardo da Vinci once quoted, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. So, as a strategist, sometimes you need to think of how to simplify the process or come up with easy to use and simple to maintain products to earn a strong market position.
