Portfolio: Manufacturing Industry Challenges and Development

This portfolio provides an in-depth analysis of the manufacturing industry, using Toyota as a case study. It begins with an introduction to the industry, its key features, and the various professions available within it. The first part of the portfolio discusses the features of the manufacturing sector, current trends and changes, and the challenges faced by the industry, such as demand and supply forecasting, technological advancements, maintaining plant efficiency, and labor shortages. The second part focuses on career and self-development within the industry, detailing experiences gained in areas such as technology, resource management, and production processes. The portfolio highlights the skills developed, the reasons for choosing the experience, and the impact it has had on career development. It concludes with how the learning will be utilized in future endeavors. The report uses references to support the analysis and provide context to the points being discussed.

Portfolio

Contents
PART A...........................................................................................................................................3
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Key challenges and issues faced by the industry.........................................................................4
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................5
PART B Career and self development.............................................................................................6
Description about the development experience...........................................................................6
Reasons for choosing this experience..........................................................................................7
Impact upon the experience and career development..................................................................7
Using the learning in moving forward.........................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Manufacturing Industries are the industries which are engage in the production of
products which are meant for sale. These industries for manufacturing the products use the
various resources which may include raw materials, labor, machineries, tools and equipments
and the so on. There are some manufacturing industries which require a huge investment for
setting it up. For example the company Toyoto is an automobile manufacturing company which
need a lot of investment as production of cars at such a huge scale which can satisfies the needs
of global market demands a lot of resources. Unlike any other industry manufacturing sector has
also undergone to various changes according to the change in business contemporary
environment. For reference purpose this report has taken an example of a manufacturing
company, Toyota. This organization has engaged its business in manufacture the automobile
products. The company is a Japanese multinational company that was first establish in the year
1937. The founder for the same was Kiichiro Toyoda. The Toyota Company serves worldwide
with its luxury, commercial, engines vehicles.
This report discusses about the features for manufacturing sector, the trends and changes, the
types of professions which are available in this particular sector and key challenges faced in this
sector. The report also includes my experiences regarding this particular career and the related
skills which I have developed in this particular industry.
PART A
Introduction
Manufacturing Industry is an industry in which the organization performs the production
activity. In that activity they convert the input into outputs with the use of various resources.
Some of these resources may include technology, labor, machineries, raw materials, tools and
equipments and etc. Toyota is a automobile manufacturing industry which is engaged in the
production and manufacturing of automobiles for the global market. They try to bring new and
innovative product through technology (Ahmad and Wong, 2019). There are many features
which are used to express the manufacturing sector, these may include:
Inventories are tangible: In manufacturing industry the products are in the tangle form which
means that they can be see and touch by an individual. The products which get in process store in
the warehouse.
Manufacturing process: All the resources which are used convert the input into outputs get
through a particular process. In the manufacturing sector a particular and desired process is being
used to convert the resources into final product.
When it comes to Automobile industries there are various influential companies which runs in
this particular sector. These companies are Toyota, Ford, BMW, Hyundai, general motors,

Volkswagen, Nissan, Honda, Fiat, Renault and much more. All these automobile companies
work at the global level by providing and delivering their products all through the globe.
Like the other entire sector, the manufacturing sector has also undergone to various
changes according to the trend and changes in contemporary business environment. As in the
case with automobile industry the companies are now putting the major focus upon
manufacturing of hybrid energy vehicles which runs through the use of solar energy or through
the electricity (Chirumalla, Oghazi, and Parida, 2018). They also are seeking focus upon engines
which produces the minimum carbon in the environment resulting into less air and noise
pollution in the surroundings. There are various types of professions which are available within
this sector. The job for production manager which monitors and manages the production activity
of products, inventory manager who monitors and take care of required raw materials which will
get used in manufacturing process, quality manager who checks the right quality standards for
the products, and packaging manager who takes care about all issues related with packaging. The
individuals who want to pursue for the same sector should posses the knowledge about
machineries, product, process which help in converting the output into input, raw materials used
and final product. For that he must have a degree of an engineer in the required field and such
have some certain internship into the same field.
Key challenges and issues faced by the industry
There are several challenges and issues which are faced by manufacturing industries and
these are as follows:
Demand and supply forecasting: The number of units which needs to get manufactured is very
hard to determine. The manufacturing of a product should be in accordance to its demand and
supply in the market. There are times when the demand which is forecasted by the organization
does not get match with the actual demand creating a loss for the company and the supply which
has been decided by the company does not get equal to the actual supply that also leads to issues.
For example as in the case with Toyota company, they have predicted a demand for their new
hybrid vehicles high in countries like Indian and China for that they have also manufactured the
high volume of automobiles. But in reality the demand from these 2 countries were very much
below than expected creating a big loss for the company as they have no customer for the
purchase of their product. Similarly, there were times faced by the company when the supply
gets lower than the actual demand for the product (Engström and et al., 2018). But in such
situations the prices for the products generally goes high as due to high demand. Therefore
forecasting or prediction for the product’s demand and supply creates issues for company.
Changing technology: As the competition in all the sectors are getting increase very fast, this is
also leading to change into technology. The new and advance technology is making the
technology used by the manufacturing industries dull and outdated. As the technology for the
manufacturing industry would get changed, the companies would face more burdens upon them
to cope up with these changes. As in the case Toyota company the technology which they uses in

their vehicles or in their manufacturing process does get outdates within a small period of time
due to the speedy change in technological sector (Esfahbodi and et al., 2017). People or the
targeted customers would like to choose that product which can satisfies their needs in a more
effective manner and the new technology can easily provide the same to these targeted
customers. Also the increase in competition can be a factor of technology change. The
competitors to maintain or bring the competitive advantage in their system or market position try
to bring new and advance technology in their vehicles that attract the customers. This factor
forces the Toyota Company to work and cope up with the technology so that they can also bring
competitive advantage in their market position and vehicles.
Maintaining and improving the efficacy for manufacturing plants: Maintaining the
manufacturing plant requires the regular check up for the machineries and the premises. The
machineries which the company or the organization used in manufacturing of products does get
depreciate with the time causing the effect upon their production units or efficiency (Fu, B., Shu
and Liu, 2018). As in the case with automobile manufacturing industry, the maintenance is very
high and costly process. As all these companies are operating at a global level, their production
activity would also be at such scale. All these companies have to check for their machines
working, their processes and the whole plant to reduce the risk for any mis-happening. The
Toyota Company’s production unit is establishing at Japan and in Australia where the products
or vehicles manufactured there get delivered to the whole world. This can give an image about
the amount of production these two units does for the company. Any careless activity can cause a
big risk or loss for the company. To reduce the same the company has installed fire extinguisher
at every wall and corners of the plant, proper ventilation system in the plant so that the oxygen
can pass freely, proper doors for entry and exits, safety materials and first aid facility and etc can
help the company in reducing the risk to a great extant.
Lack of labors: All though in major manufacturing units the technology or machines do major
of work but still labors are required in there. There are time when the organization or the
manufacturing units get lack in the labor which may cause stoppage in production activity and
process. The lack of labor can be due to various reasons; some may include shortage of labors in
the surroundings, rallies by labor unions, absenteeism of labors, more turnover ratios among
them and etc. All these reasons will create the loss for the manufacturing units as there will be no
required labor to work in the unit (Khan and Turowski, 2016). As in the case with Toyota
Company, their manufacturing unit demand the huge numbers of labors in there any happening
of the above stated reasons for labor shortages can create a huge loss for them for a day because
once the production gets stopped for the company it is very costlier to start it again and to pickup
that speed.
CONCLUSION
From the passages provided above, the features of manufacturing units have been present
which may include physical inventories, manufacturing process, conversion of inputs into
outputs and much more. The trends and current changes in automobile manufacturing industries

may include building up of hybrid cars or vehicles, manufacturing of engines which produces the
minimum carbon into the environment and the advanced technological vehicles. The challenges
faced by the sector may include prediction of demand and supply, rapid change in technology,
lack in labor supply and maintenance required in such units. For reference, The Toyota Company
has taken as an example and all these above topics of heads are presented by taking the same
company into consideration. To maintain the market positions and growth, the company has to
bring the technological change so that they can gain a competitive advantage over any other
companies which are prevailing as their competitors. Some of the competitors may include Fiat,
Hyundai, Honda, Ford, Volkswagens, Nissan, Renault and much more. To get into
manufacturing sector an individual has to acquire the required skills and knowledge mainly in
engineering field because from that he would have the right kind of knowledge about the
machines and their working, they will also get to know about raw materials and their use in
converting the inputs into outputs (Ko, Lee and Ryu, 2018).
PART B Career and self development
Description about the development experience
While working in this particular field or sector (manufacturing sector) I have gained
many experiences which have helped me in developing and polishing my skills and knowledge
for the subject. As worked with this industry in gained the more knowledge about the followings:
Technologies: The manufacturing unit in which I am working uses various kinds of technologies
to convert the inputs into outputs. While working there, I have gained the various types of
technologies which can be used in producing the product. I worked in the manufacturing unit of
Toyota company in which my roles and responsibility was to take care for inventories and
production check. In that job I gained experience about the technology which the company is
using in their manufacturing activities and the other technological advances. After some time for
my job I also gained the knowledge about the past technologies and the present technologies
which the company has used. They has helped me very much in gaining the knowledge about
machines. As an Engineer in the mechanical stream I always loved machines and their related
technologies, in the company when it comes to technological change I was the head
representatives to the company for giving the advices (Lin and Chen, 2018).
Resources and management: From such an experience, I learned about the resources used like
raw materials, tools and equipments, machines, labor and etc and how they contributes in
converting the inputs into outputs. I learned about the raw materials quantities and qualities
which is required in the process. From my job experience I gained the extra knowledge in the
field of management. In that I gained the skills about the ways to manage the resources and
labor, managing the time, production activities, inventories management and so on. Through the
proper management I would be able to manage all the resources and the duties which I am
untitled to (Lu and Weng, 2018). For example, I now can manage the production activities along

with my other role of managing of inventories. With time I have gained more expertise in this
particular field which works as an asset for my career.
Addition to my professional career: The experiences which all I am gaining through these
roles and job is adding to my career and skills which in future if I have to change my job would
help me in getting the high pays and position in that organization. So these experiences will add
on my pays if I planned to change my organization.
Reasons for choosing this experience
Since my childhood I was very much interested into machines and its working. So I
always wanted to choose that field in which I can foster my interest of machines. For that I
decide to take mechanical engineering as my career. I liked to learn about machines and its
making. In the college assignments also I have made I lot of machines which was proved to be
the great use for the manufacturing companies. The reason I wanted to first join an organization
is to gain the external knowledge (Sun and et al., 2020). These external knowledge may include
the skills related with people handling, time management, process and schedule knowledge,
technology knowledge and the like. The major dream of my life is to open up my own business
for machines manufacturing and through the experiences which I am and will gain from such job
would help me in gaining the management skills and the related knowledge about the product
transports, legal formalities, inventory order, management information system used and much
more. It will help in getting my skills polished for my dream of opening up a business. Therefore
to make my dream happen taking this job was very much necessary for me. Another reason for
choosing this career was to contribute to the world by creating the innovative and advanced
technology. My dream is to reduce the emission of carbon in the environment through
developing the great technology. I always was too connected with the earth and nature and hate
when any man made activity causes harm to earth. I believe that if I have that capacity and
potential to contribute something good to earth I would like to do it through my technological
advances. I will try my best to develop the technologies which can replace the technologies or
activities that are causing harm to earth. By opening up my own business I will provide the
countries or the people with the advance technologies or machines which would help them in
performing their work with much ease and greater effectively (Walheer and He, 2020). My focus
would be on sustainability development in which I focus on use of natural resources in such a
way that they do not get use in excess and saves for future generations. I reason I choose to work
in vehicle manufacturing company was to develop more advanced technologies which will use
less or no fuel for its working. Also such technology would not be generating any kind of carbon
mission form its engine.
Impact upon the experience and career development
All the experience which I have gained through my studies, course, job and so on has
helped me in polishing my skills and knowledge. These experiences have worked as an addition
with the career and my developments which I have made in me. Through such experiences I got
to know about the areas where I need to put much effort and the areas where I am good at.

Communication skills were very necessary for any individual working in any sector or industry.
The job in which I work has also taught me the communication skills (Wang, He and Xu, 2017).
I development a nice oral as well as written skills which I believe is very important to inculcate
in any person. Developing the written communication is quite harder than developing the oral
communication because in writing the sender of the message should be very clear, short and
precise about the reason for drafting the other person a message. The other important skills
which I have gained from my experiences is management, presentation skills, research and
logical reasoning, group or team behavior and management and much more.
Using the learning in moving forward
All these learning will contribute into my future planning which I have made for myself.
The machine learning would help me in gaining the knowledge regarding the making of
machines. Through such skill I will gain the experience and confidence in making my own
machines. Also I learned about the management which would help me in managing my business
which I have planned to open after a while. I also gained knowledge about presentation skill
which can help me in presenting my innovative technologies before my clients and to the world.
I also gained some knowledge about managerial decision making which will help me in making
the correct management decision about my business which will get open. Apart from this the
communication skills will help me in communicating better with the people and also unable me
to transfer the clear and transparent message which I want to deliver to the other party (Yuan,
Ren and Chen, 2017). All these learning has helped me in becoming what I am today and
through these learning I will gain the dream which I have thought for this world and as well as
for me.
CONCLUSION
From the report presented above, my experiences with manufacturing sector have been
presented. Manufacturing sector or industry is that industry which engages its business activities
in converting the inputs into outputs. The manufacturing industry has also gone through various
changes and trends and the company has to undertake such changes if they want to be in that
industry. Through mu experiences I have gained has helped me in getting various skills and
knowledge about my career, all these experiences are contributing in getting closer to my dream
of opening up my own business.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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indicators for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry using the Delphi
method. Journal of Cleaner Production. 229. pp.1167-1182.
Chirumalla, K., Oghazi, P. and Parida, V., 2018. Social media engagement strategy:
Investigation of marketing and R&D interfaces in manufacturing industry. Industrial
Marketing Management. 74. pp.138-149.
Engström, G., and et al., 2018. Drivers and barriers of reshoring in the Swedish manufacturing
industry. World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research. 7(3). pp.195-220.
Esfahbodi, A., and et al., 2017. Governance pressures and performance outcomes of sustainable
supply chain management–An empirical analysis of UK manufacturing
industry. Journal of cleaner production. 155. pp.66-78.
Fu, B., Shu, Z. and Liu, X., 2018. Blockchain enhanced emission trading framework in fashion
apparel manufacturing industry. Sustainability. 10(4). p.1105.
Khan, A. and Turowski, K., 2016. A survey of current challenges in manufacturing industry and
preparation for industry 4.0. In Proceedings of the First International Scientific
Conference “Intelligent Information Technologies for Industry”(IITI’16) (pp. 15-26).
Springer, Cham.
Ko, T., Lee, J. and Ryu, D., 2018. Blockchain technology and manufacturing industry: Real-time
transparency and cost savings. Sustainability. 10(11). p.4274.
Lin, B. and Chen, G., 2018. Energy efficiency and conservation in China's manufacturing
industry. Journal of Cleaner Production. 174. pp.492-501.
Lu, H. P. and Weng, C. I., 2018. Smart manufacturing technology, market maturity analysis and
technology roadmap in the computer and electronic product manufacturing
industry.Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 133. pp.85-94.
Sun, Y., and et al., 2020. The transformation and upgrade of China's manufacturing industry in
Industry 4.0 era. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. 37(4). pp.734-740.
Walheer, B. and He, M., 2020. Technical efficiency and technology gap of the manufacturing
industry in China: Does firm ownership matter?. World Development. 127. p.104769.
Wang, L., He, J. and Xu, S., 2017. The application of Industry 4.0 in customized furniture
manufacturing industry. In Matec web of conferences (Vol. 100, p. 03022). EDP
Sciences.
Yuan, B., Ren, S. and Chen, X., 2017. Can environmental regulation promote the coordinated
development of economy and environment in China’s manufacturing industry?–A panel
data analysis of 28 sub-sectors. Journal of cleaner production.149. pp.11-24.