Analysis of Supply Chain Management at Toyota Corporation

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Toyota Corporation's supply chain management. It highlights the company's focus on cost reduction, customer satisfaction, and efficient delivery times. The report examines the integration of supply chain activities and the development of strong supplier relationships. It addresses challenges such as disruptions caused by natural disasters and product recalls, and recommends improvements based on lean principles, data management, and sustainable practices. The report also explores the implementation of strategies like Kanban, Just-in-Time, and Kaizen, and the impact of globalization and changing consumer behavior. The analysis emphasizes the importance of addressing quality issues, managing data effectively, and adapting to market trends to maintain a competitive edge.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF TOYOTA CORPORATION
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF TOYOTA CORPORATION
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Recommendations
The supply chain of Toyota was developed on a low cost basis. The entire supply
chain of the organization is based on the reduction of the costs and the to get the minimal
values. The company has however provided high levels customer satisfaction, delivery time
and quality. The supply chain related activities of the company was integrated. The
organization has developed the suppliers into various functional areas. The high degrees of
cooperation and exchange of information exists between suppliers of the company. The lead
time related to the development of products is reduced in this case ("TOYOTA MOTOR
CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE". 2018). Toyota has been facing some major issues
in the operations in areas like, in the United States and Canada. The disruptions in the supply
chain of Toyota had been caused due to the natural disasters. The levels of production had
also slowed down due to these issues. Another major issue that was faced by the supply chain
of Toyota was based on the faulty installation of brakes and the issues related to the fuel
components. The faulty brake installation related issues faced by the company has been a
major disruption in the supply chain.
The recommendations that can be provided to Toyota related to the improvement of
the supply chain management related activities are based on issues like, waiting,
overproduction, conveyance, incorrect processing, excess inventory, unnecessary transport
and defects. The lean concept has been applied by the company in various parts of the supply
chain so that the activities are organised in an effective manner (Jacobs, Richard and
Lummus 2014). The highly competitive business environment further claims efficient levels
of supply chain management. The business organizations need to develop sustainable types of
supply chains which is suitable for the operations in the modern business environment. The
various supply chain related practices and theories that have been implemented by Toyota
include, Kanban, Just in time, lean manufacturing, Kaizen and many more. These methods

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have provided benefits to the organization in the supply chain related activities and the other
areas of business as well.
The cost related issue that is faced by the global organization can be resolved with the
help of shifting the operations in the low cost labour production based areas. Although
Toyota is known in the industry for its low cost operations, the costs of the organization can
further be reduced with the help of the implementation of low cost labour. Outsourcing of the
labour related activities can lead to huge reduction of costs (Monczka et al. 2015)
The fast changing markets and the changes that can occur in the behaviour of the
consumers can also affect the supply chain related activities of the companies. Globalization
has increased the use of social media which forces the companies to use the information in an
effective manner. Toyota thereby needs to implement various processes so that the
information can be used in an effective manner. The short life cycle of the products that are
designed by organizations like Toyota thereby requires the company to keep track of the
trends in the market. This will help Toyota in operating in the market in an effective manner.
The quality of the products that are manufactured by an organization like Toyota can be a
major issue that is related to the supply chain (Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani 2016). The
company thereby needs to address the issues that are related to the quality of the products at
every step of the manufacturing process. This will ensure that the company is able to operate
in the various areas in an effective manner. Toyota can manage the supply chain activities
with the help of successful data management. The data related to various parts of the
operations need to be managed in such a manner which will be able to provide the highest
levels of efficiency to the organization. Data plays an important role in the management of
the organizations in the modern business environment (Wisner, Joel and Leong 2014). The
organizations are able to maintain their positions in the market with the help of successful
implementation of data in the different levels of the supply chain management. Toyota

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thereby needs to implement these strategies which can be helpful for the company to improve
its supply chain related activities in the market. The supply chain of Toyota can therefore be
improved with the help of the proper management of the various aspects that are related to
the successful operations of the modern day organizations (Pagell and Shevchenko 2014).

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References
"TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE". 2018. TOYOTA MOTOR
CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE. http://www.toyota-global.com/.
Jacobs, F. Robert, Richard B. Chase, and Rhonda R. Lummus. Operations and supply chain
management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2014.
Mangan, John, Chandra Lalwani, and Chandra L. Lalwani. Global logistics and supply chain
management. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Monczka, Robert M., Robert B. Handfield, Larry C. Giunipero, and James L.
Patterson. Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning, 2015.
Pagell, Mark, and Anton Shevchenko. "Why research in sustainable supply chain
management should have no future." Journal of supply chain management 50, no. 1 (2014):
44-55.
Wisner, Joel D., Keah-Choon Tan, and G. Keong Leong. Principles of supply chain
management: A balanced approach. Cengage Learning, 2014.