Operations Management in Toyota

OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Application of Operation Scheduling Techniques.......................................................................3
Layout Planning...........................................................................................................................5
Work System Processes...............................................................................................................6
Integration of Layout Planning & Work System Processes in Toyota........................................7
Inventory Management Policies..................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Operations management is used in businesses so that the organization will be able to have higher
efficiency in the working which includes converting labour and materials into services and
goods. This is going to make the profit margins higher for the organization and the brand image
in the market is going to be higher. Toyota is a multinational automobile company and
manufacturer which is headquartered in Aichi, Japan. The company is the tenth-largest
automotive manufacturer across the globe by revenue (Toyota, 2020). The essay would consist
of operations scheduling techniques, layout planning and work system processes which is taking
place in the organization so that the company will be able to have higher performance. There is
also going to be a discussion on inventory policies which the business can use to have higher
brand image for themselves in the market.
MAIN BODY
Application of Operation Scheduling Techniques
Scheduling basically deals in producing desired quantity of product within the decided time
frame. In order to produce the required quantity, there must be proper allocation of both time and
resources. Therefore, short term planning is done according to operation scheduling. The main
objective behind operational planning is deciding the best way in which labour and equipment
can be allocated in order to make balance between the time and justified use of resources within
the organisation.
The main tasks involved in the operational scheduling is the resource allocation and scheduling
of workforce & production equipment. Toyota follows mainly two approaches for operational
scheduling: Backward and Forward. These two approaches help the managers of the company to
achieve the full potential of their supply chain.
Under the Forward Scheduling, the planners within the organisation considers the date when the
order is taken and perform all the activities accordingly whereas under the Backward Scheduling,
the planner keeps in mind the delivery date of order as the starting point and plan the backward
activities accordingly.
There are many ways in which different types of operational scheduling techniques can be
implemented in the companies in order to get the best outcomes. The operational management of
Toyota is considered to be the best management system on the basis of efficiency and rapidly
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increasing productivity which forced many scholars to set it as a significant benchmark. They do
so by merging the theories and practices coherently.
Toyota adapts various operational strategies like Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing and Just-In-Time
manufacturing among all the approaches which also helped it to decrease its production costs and
increase the output capacity to lead the major automakers of the world (Rüttimann and Stöckli,
2016).
Toyota’s Kanban: Push and Pull System
This tool was made to accomplish the just-in-time production strategy which embraces
scheduling system in order to make decisions regarding what should be produced, at what time
and the ways in which its execution can take place. Toyota implements this by printed cards
which contains information including the quality, parts’ description, names, instructions etc. The
companies can adapt this system to ensure a constant flow of materials during the process of
manufacturing.
Toyota’s Just-in-Time
The company adopted this in 1970’s in order to eliminate the waste and reduce the
inventory levels. This was based on Kanban-card. The main purpose behind this was quality
control, minimizing waste, reducing complexities in production, increasing transparency and
ensuring production to be done in small batches. The companies can plan for its implementation
also to gain competitive advantage.
Toyota implements this technique by fulfilling the demands of customers and also by integrating
all the production activities to the demand of the market (Mohammadi and et.al., 2020). For this,
the company must select an appropriate product mix which satisfies the customers demand of
automobile cost-effectively. This also gives the workers an opportunity to concentrate only on
the tasks which adds value to the company and the business.
Toyota’s Forecasting
This technique helps the company to ensure that it is capable of meeting the needs of the
clients to secure the future of the business. Some products in the companies like Toyota are
considered as mainstay products which drives the profitability of the organisation. Forecasting is
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