I don't know what "Kaizen" is, but I smell a strained metaphor. Going from "no inventory" to "don't buy excessive hardware", no matter how the latter may or may not be a good idea, seems like a stretch. Are you sure "no inventory" doesn't actually translate to "don't keep excess code around"? (Multiple plausible translations implies none of them are particularly solid.)
Kaizen is a quality/continuous improvement methodology...kind of like Six Sigma, ISO 9000, etc. It has its benefits over those programs, is less formal, and is more realistic for small companies.
