The current distribution of Toyota production faculties are 10 in the United States, 3 in Canada and one in Mexico. Toyota began setting up production facilities back in 1984, when it became partners with General Motors Corp believing it was important to have manufacturing and production facilities on site, to better cater to the needs of the customer in that local market. Since that time sales have sky rocketed and they have production facilities in North America, which have shown to be quite profitable.
This philosophy has proven to be successful as production facilities grew from 1 to 13. The first plant in the U. S. was in Fremont, California better known as “Nummi”, built 375,000 automobiles which closed in 2010. Another profitable plant is located in Indiana called “TMMI”, production capacity is about 150,000 vehicles which opened in 1996. Kentucky is another plant worth mentioning, whose production capacity is about 500,000 which opened in 1996. (“Toyota assembly and parts plant, n. d. ) and Canada which opened in 1984 was the 3rd plant to open and now operates three plants in which lets them build “500,0000 cars annually” (History and Milestones, n. d. ).
According to Toyota, “Toyota’s thirteen North American manufacturing plants that make 11 Toyota and Lexus models have earned 11 segment awards out of a possible 19 in the 2008 J. D. power and Associates Vehicle Depandability StudySM (VDS), more than any other manufacturer, for the third consecutive year” (Toyota in North America, n. d. ).
Analysis of Toyota’s Production Facilities
Toyota wanted to expand globally, and believed North America would be an ideal location to increase international sales. To accomplish this policy, Toyota believes that each production facility should be in the location it is selling to, rather than having parts assembled overseas. Toyota believed in building automobiles in that locale because it can ensure the car will met the proper specifications in regards to that geographic location. For example, if it is very cold weather like there is in Ontario, the automobile will be customized to be able to operate in very cold weather.
Each facility then will ensure that each automobile will cater to the needs of the customer in that target market. Toyota required that every production facility follow the Toyota Production System, which seems to have proven prosperous for Toyota as the Internal Automobile Giant as 3 larger automobile producer globally. Each facility embraces Toyota’s TPS (Toyota Production System) philosophy. The philosophy goes to continually improve processes and the belief in Total Quality Management and “Kaizen, “ which means to eliminate any defects and reduce unnecessary inventory.
They also utilize “Jidoka” which means to not let one flaw in one product affect another. TPS also wanted to create products and services quickly and accurately, while marinating ethical and safety standards at all times. TPS philosophy which is also known as “lean manufacturing” is looking at the long-term, rather than the short term This has been effective and efficient for Toyota production facilities. They also embrace the theory of “employee empowerment” letting employees become part of the decision making.”
Toyota is always look for the next big thing and or invention, and that comes through creativity from their employees. Employee make suggestion that go through a detailed process, but this motivates employees which instills loyalty. These ideas will help employees to be highly productive which, in result helps each facility to operate at maximum efficiency. Toyota keeps working to always improve. If something is defective and not working. Toyota stops production and work until the problem is fixed.
Toyota believes in the highest quality for its customers and this strategy has proven to be successful. Toyota does not believe in a top-down management system, but rather a decentralized system letting managers at each facility take control as long as their decisions and strategies remained aligned with the strategies and mission of Toyota. (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2010). Recommendations Toyota has always stressed quality, but in recent years there have been more incidences of quality problems that have results in total recalls.
According to Reuters (2010), “Toyota has recalled more than 8. 5 million vehicles globally in recent months for problems including sticky accelerators, accelerators that can be pinned down by loose floor mats and a braking glitch affecting its hybrid models. This has been disastrous for Toyota’s customer and for the reputation of the company, who is usually known for their quality automobiles. With all the success, it seems that Toyota lost their way. When it came to safety and recall decisions, Japan still would always have the last say so in decision-making.
In this way, Toyota was very centralized, where when it came to these kinds of decisions. Their North American partners were left out in the cold. The Japanese were not able to respond quickly to complaints of defects and or recalls in some makes and models. This actually had a negative impact on the reputation of Toyota which had a negative impact on their international sales.
My recommendation is that Toyota should let U. S production managers and outside consultants assist in the decision making especially when safety is concerned. Toyota should have outside engineer teams come to inspect models to make sure they are up to safety standards. When a customer had problems with her brakes, Toyota did not want to accept blame, but rather blame the customer. (‘Factbox: What has Toyota pledged to change,” 2010). This kind of poor services goes against everything Toyota stands for, “Our mission is to delight those we serve and positively contribute to our communities and company.
We will deliver innovative products of the highest quality complemented by an exceptional customer experience. (North American Vision,) Toyota needs to ensure that every employee at every location and or facility thoroughly understands the organization culture and strategy and offers the highest quality customer service. It is important that every employee be retrained if necessary to be able to handle complaints and turn a negative into the positive. These kinds of incidences will hurt not only the image of Toyota, but in the end they will lose the loyalty of the customer.
