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Toyota Case Study Analysis Essay

Toyota has a number of key business drivers that contribute to its longstanding global success. One of those key drivers is its supply-chain management. Developed by Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo in the 1940's, its lean manufacturing style gained the interest of competitors worldwide. The main components that make such a supply-chain management successful for Toyota was interlocking structures, compatible capabilities, joint improvement activities, mutual trust and understanding, learning and Kaizen. When Toyota expanded to international waters, some of this process weakened as seen in their 2009 recalls (Takeuchi, 2008, p. 1). Regardless of their setbacks, their efficient using the JIT system, led to customers and competitors remarking on their efficiency and ability to produce quickly. By using parts until they are gone and then ordering more, it helps to eliminate unnecessary inventory and allows Toyota develop capacity planning, leading to continuous improvement. #2

Toyota is an automotive manufacturer or Japanese origin with headquarters in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. As of 2014, the company boasts an international employee population of 338, 875. They take the 11th place in the world for producing the most revenue and stood as the biggest automobile manufacturer by production in 2012, beating out their competitors, General Motors and Volkswagen Group (WU, BLOS, WEE & CHEN, 2010, p. 12). That same year, Toyota made its 200-millionth car. Along its career of firsts, it became the first to manufacture annually, ten million vehicles. Founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff of his own father's business, Toyota Industries.

Toyota's method of manufacturing is called the "lean manufacturing system" with the Toyota Production System or TPS, developed to improve productivity and quality. The company's objective and desire was to make vehicles that are ordered, in the most efficient and quickest way to meet the demands and requirement of their...

That is why TPS took from past innovations such as the automatic loom, developed by Sakichi Toyoda and the chain conveyer in assembly lines (Kiichiro Toyoda), in order to deliver their promise of fast and well built cars (Iyer, Seshadri & Vasher, 2009, p. 46). Quality and speed are what Toyota had to offer in order to compete with Volkswagen and General Motors who supplied vehicles, but a slower pace.
In order to implement faster manufacturing, Toyota had to devise a supply chain management that would help meet the demands of the company. The first was locating local parts, importing parts, receiving goods, storing, them, producing the vehicles, transporting goods to dealerships, and customers buying the cars. The inbound logistics of Toyota in relation to obtaining raw materials meant procuring them from a third party, usually importing from Japan, and then placing these raw materials in the assembly line for production (Drake, 2012, p. 32). The processes of storage and transportation provided Toyota with the means with which to deliver the product to their customer base, usually in trucks and barges.

TPS has two main pillars. One of them is "Just in Time," which means efficiency in the system by using what is needed when it is required and in the quantity asked for in the system. The second is "Jidoka" or the capacity to halt production by means of machine or man, in essence describing equipment malfunctioning (Magee, 2007, p. 120). When efficiency and speed are emphasized in a company, it gives them the competitive advantage of producing products quickly without any squandered resources.

The outbound logistics of the manufacturing management system in Toyota involves collecting finished vehicles, storing them, and then distributing them to buyers. From here the product is marketed, thus providing an incentive and means with which to permit customers to buy the product. Toyota applied the use of indirect channels…

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References

Drake, M. (2012). Global supply chain management. [New York, N.Y.]: Business Expert Press.

Iyer, A., Seshadri, S., & Vasher, R. (2009). Toyota supply chain management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Magee, D. (2007). How Toyota became #1. New York: Portfolio.

Software, R. (2015). Supply Chain Case Study Toyota -- Data Collection Software.Rfgen.com. Retrieved 15 December 2015, from http://www.rfgen.com/supply-chain-case-study-toyota
Takeuchi, H. (2008). The contradictions that drive Toyota-s success. Strategic Direction, 25(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/sd.2009.05625aad.009
WU, S., BLOS, M., WEE, H., & CHEN, Y. (2010). CAN THE TOYOTA WAY OVERCOME THE RECENT TOYOTA SETBACK? -- A STUDY BASED ON THE THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS. Journal Of Advanced Manufacturing Systems, 09(02), 145-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0219686710001867
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