TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION

Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................2
Vision.......................................................................................................................................................3
Mission................................................................................................................................................3
Core Values..............................................................................................................................................4
Services.......................................................................................................................................................4
Extended Warranty...................................................................................................................................5
Global hierarchy................................................................................................................................6
Geographic divisions.........................................................................................................................6
Product-based divisions.....................................................................................................................7
Operations Management........................................................................................................................7
Lean Manufacturing................................................................................................................................7
Six Sigma..................................................................................................................................................8
Kaizen......................................................................................................................................................8
Theory of Constraints..............................................................................................................................8
Hoshin Kanri............................................................................................................................................9
Top 11 Toyota Competitors......................................................................................................................9
Marine products.................................................................................................................................12
Rental and leasing..............................................................................................................................13
Strengths..............................................................................................................................................18
Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Toyota....................................................................................18
Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Toyota................................................................................19
Threats in the SWOT analysis of Toyota...........................................................................................19
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS:....................................................................................................21

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Introduction

Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC) was incorporated in 1989 as a result of a joint venture
agreement among some companies of House of Habib of Pakistan, Toyota Motor Corporation
and Toyota Tsusho Corporation of Japan. The Company manufactures and markets Toyota brand
vehicles in Pakistan. The main product offerings include several variants of the flagship
‘Corolla’ in the passenger cars category, ‘Hilux’ in the light commercial vehicles segment and
the ‘Fortuner’ Sports Utility Vehicle. The manufacturing facility and offices are located at a 105
acre site in Port Qasim, Karachi, while the product is delivered to end customers nationwide
through a strong network of 45 independent 3S Dealerships spread across the country.

In its 27 years history since inception, IMC has sold more than 750,000 CBU/CKD vehicles and
has demonstrated impressive growth, in terms of volumetric increase from a modest beginning of

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20 vehicles per day production in 1993 to 240 units daily at present through the development of
human talent embracing the ‘Toyota Way’ of quality and lean manufacturing.

Over the years, IMC has made large scale investments in enhancing its own capacity and in
meeting customer requirements for new products. Today, Corolla is the largest selling
automotive brand model in Pakistan and it also has the distinction of being # 1 in Toyota’s Asian
market.

The Company invests heavily in training its 2,800 plus workforce of team members and
management employees and creating a culture of high performing empowered teams working
seamlessly across processes in search of quality and continuous improvement.

The core values of the Company encourage employees to pursue high standards of business
ethics and safety; communicating candidly by giving bad news first and to respect people. The
bi-annual TMC morale surveys show that employees rate IMC high on work environment and
level of job satisfaction.

The Company has played a major role in the development of the entire value chain of the local
auto industry and is proud to have contributed in poverty alleviation at the grass root level by
nurturing localization that, in turn, has directly created thousands of job opportunities and
transferred technology to over 60 vendors supplying parts. IMC is also a major tax payer and
significant contributor to the GOP exchequer.

Vision

“To be the most respected and successful enterprise, delight customers with a wide range of
products and solutions in the automobile industry with the best people and the best technology.”

Mission

Core Values
 World class production quality
 Achieving the ultimate goal of complete customer satisfaction

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 Being seen as the best employer

 Fostering the spirit of teamwork
 Inculcating ethical and honest practices

Parts

Genuine parts actually save money over the life of your vehicle.

Unfortunately, fake auto parts have become serious problem in recent years. This doesn’t hurt
IMC –it hurts you, the person buying the parts, as well. So if somebody wants to sell you what
appears to be genuine parts that are well below market price, Beware! They could be imitations.
When you get parts from IMC’s authorized dealers you can always be sure you are getting high
quality.
By using the original products we are actually giving a favor to our self, by increasing the life of
our car.
The genuine products actually give an extra life to the car, and you can drive your car without
any hassle.

Services

We, at Toyota, are committed to provide the best-in-town after-sales experience to our valuable
customers. The relationship with our customers extends beyond the sale of vehicle to make them
customer for generations.

Our dealership network is staffed with highly-skilled technicians who have undergone hours
of training of Global Toyota Standards. Latest and exclusive diagnostic equipment and special
service tools support our technicians in providing best after-sales service to ensure smooth
Toyota drive experience.

Extended Warranty

At Toyota, we are committed to deliver excellent

customer service by offering best after sales products for
our customers. Now you can enjoy added peace of mind

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and satisfaction, under Toyota Extended Warranty for an additional 12 months/ 25,000 KMs
(whichever comes first).

Key benefits of Toyota Extended Warranty:

Peace of mind: Enjoy added peace of mind for an additional period of 12months/ 25,000 KM
(whichever comes first).

Increased Resale Value: In case of vehicle resale, Toyota Extended Warranty is fully
transferable to subsequent vehicle owners which would increase the resale value.

Better Performance: Timely periodic maintenance from Toyota Authorized Dealerships will

keep your car in good running condition.

Toyota Company Hierarchy

The organization structure or hierarchy of Toyota Motor Corporation is based upon the
numerous business operations carried out by the company all across the world.  Being one of the
leading automobile manufacturers in the world, the company employs a hierarchical structure
which supports its business goals and strategic aims.

Global hierarchy

Toyota maintains a global hierarchy with its headquarters in Japan.  The headquarters take the

final decisions on all the matters and is responsible for passing on judgment and decisions on

major issues.  If individual business units do not communicate well with each other, then the

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Japan office can give the final say or verdict. Despite the reorganization in 2013, the company

maintains a global hierarchy system but with the change that now its regional heads business

units too have an increased say. All business units must report to global headquarters in Japan.

Geographic divisions

The company has 8 geographic divisions which are North America, Japan, East Asia, Europe,

Middle east, Africa, Oceania, China, Asia, Caribbean and Latin America. Each of these regional

centers and their heads must report to the headquarters. Through this system, the company can

operate much better and also improve Japanese business functions, products and services in a

flexible way. Each of the divisions has a division head who takes the last decision for that

particular branch.  But the ultimate decision still lies with the company’s headquarters in Japan.

Product-based divisions

Another feature of Toyota’s company hierarchy is the set of product based divisions.  The

company consists of 4 of these divisions and they are Lexus international, Toyota no. 1 for

operations in North America, Japan and Europe, Toyota’s no. 2 for operations in all other regions

and the Unit center. The unit center is responsible for transmission, engine and other related

operations.

 Operations Managers Role

The Role of an operations manager is of utmost importance as any operations manager who can
effectively utilize an organizations resources to efficient effect by producing outputs of a
standard & sustainable quality, contributes to the organizations targets in maximizing profits by
reducing costs.

“Operations management focuses on carefully managing the processes to produce and distribute
products and services. Usually, small businesses don’t talk about “operations management”, but
they carry out the activities that management schools typically associate with the phrase
“operations management.”

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A successful operations manager can contribute to the organizations success, by being smart on
how they utilize the organizations resources, managing the inputs into outputs and thinking
outside the box by focusing on the specifics of the operations and process keeping in line with
the mechanics of the set up provided by the organization.

Operations Management

Lean Manufacturing

Toyota is no stranger to operations management, and is responsible for coming up with the lean
manufacturing strategy, sometimes known as “Toyotaism.” Essentially this strategy deals with
the elimination of superfluous resources, particularly those which do not pertain to the value of
the end product. Lean manufacturing also involves only employing resources towards services,
products or features that the customer wants, thereby giving the customer the largest value with
the lowest amount of resources. It is important when employing this operations management
technique to first identify those areas which waste of resources is occurring, either because of
work that is non-value adding, or simply wasteful and can be eliminated. One such example of
lean manufacturing is the cycle-time variation technique, which saves on the time it takes to
produce output units on a production line.

Six Sigma

Though Toyota is strong in employing the strategy of lean manufacturing to their operations,
there are several other strategies that can be employed in order to benefit the organization. For
instance, the six sigma approach to operations management, which was initially developed by
Motorola, is another approach, though perhaps more controversial. By removing errors and
limiting the variability in manufacturing, the six sigma process ensures that there is a very low
level of defect in the output product, and improves the quality of the outputs. The six sigma
approach also relies on the specialization of different aspects of the six sigma approach, and this
system works on a hierarchy of people. At the top of this hierarchical chain are the executive
leadership who serve to set out the vision for implementation of the six sigma, and then below
them various levels of personnel who are in charge of broad implementation, specific projects,
statistical projects, coordination and mentoring.

Kaizen

Another Japanese-born method of operations management is the principle of Kaizen, which

focuses on incremental but continuous improvement. This approach is closely linked to the lean
manufacturing approach in the sense that it also focuses on reducing wasted resources that do not
add value to the end product, but in addition to this it also seeks to continually improve all areas
of operations. This idea of continual improvement is carried out on a day-to-day basis, and
serves to humanize the workplace by eliminating unnecessary hard work and thus encouraging
all employees to participate in the improvement of the organization. Another important feature of
Kaizen is to focus on carrying out small experiments and measuring their results rather than
implementing large sweeping changes, as small changes can be judged and quickly adapted

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accordingly. Kaizen also involves an emphasis on self-discipline, teamwork, improved morale

and suggestions for improvement from all levels of the organization.

Theory of Constraints

The theory of constraints is an operations management technique that suggests that typically
there are small constraints that limit an organizations ability to achieve their desired goal, and as
such the organization ought to identify these constraints and restructure their operations in order
to address these constraints and thereby minimize them. These constraints can be internal to the
company (equipment, policy, employees) as well as external. This strategy relies on the premise
that there are only at most a few constraints limiting productivity and output, and that the most
crucial step is to focus resources into minimizing the constraint, which will produce the
maximum improvement in the overall organization. This strategy is employed by first
recognizing and addressing the largest constraint, and then focusing on other constraints in turn.

Hoshin Kanri

The Hoshin Kanri model of operations management focuses on policy deployment, particularly
by deploying policy at all levels of the organization, each level having its own targets and goals
that are part of the larger goal of the organization. The main effort is centered around a goal, and
then leaders are organized and positioned to each work on a part of achieving that goal, for
which they will be accountable for. In this strategy, the focus is more on the overall goal rather
than specific daily goals or short-term goals. The important emphasis is on every level having its
own specific piece to contribute towards the goal, and each part being held responsible for the
attainment of the goal laid out for them by the initial policy.

Operations Recommendations
There are a number of recommendations that can be made to Toyota to improve their operations
management strategies and techniques. Toyota already uses the lean manufacturing method of
operations management in their production of vehicles and as mentioned above, it can be said
that the method is the Toyota method it was pioneered and developed by this company and the
company evidently still employ the method of continual improvement and efficiency in their
operations dealings and waste management. However, it will be recommended here that to
achieve the best possible operations management strategy, the lean manufacturing technique
must be employed in conjunction with other techniques so as to establish the best possible
operational efficiency and waste management.

The first recommendation is to do with the six sigma technique. This technique is often criticised
but it can offer a suitable improvement to the operations management techniques of Toyota. It
has been remarked that the six sigma technique is based on arbitrary standards of success – this
is because the standard of success is always set at a standard deviation of 6 on the normal
distribution of a production curve – and it is difficult to see how such an arbitrary number can
offer anything of importance to widely different products and services that require greater or
lesser amounts of quality control.

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The next recommendation is in regards with Kaizen. This technique is very general and can be
applied along with any other techniques that a company may already be using such as the lean
manufacturing already being used by the company under scrutiny, Toyota.

Top 11 Toyota Competitors

1. Mercedes
2. Volkswagen
3. Honda
4. BMW
5. hyundai
6. Ford
7. Nissan
8. Audi
9. Tesla
10. Suzuki
11. Porches

Brand and product line of toyota

A popular brand of automobiles, Toyota is an international company in the automotive sector. Its

innovative approaches for the design and production have led way for many vehicles plying on
road daily. Due to their strong focus in the field of research, Toyota comes out with unique
variants of models. Their product portfolio includes SUVs, hybrids, cars, and 4WDs. Their
production of vehicles is estimated at more than 10 million per year.

The company has a strong brand image and also huge human power globally. Their unique style
and designs for their vehicles make people buy their vehicles which also make use of
great technology.

LIST OF TOYOTA CARS:

 Toyota 2000GT
 Toyota Camry
 Toyota Carina
 Toyota Celica
 Toyota’s compact MPV models
 Toyota Corolla
 Toyota Hilux
 Toyota Land Cruiser (Station Wagon models)
 Toyota Land Cruiser (Heavy and Light duty models)
 Toyota MR2
 Toyota Previa

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 Toyota Prius
 Toyota RAV4
 Toyota Sports 800
 Toyota Supra
 Toyota Starlet
 Toyota Yaris

Spare parts
Maintenance Parts Spark plugs, oil filters, wiper blades, disc pads, V belts, etc.
Oils & fluids Engine oil, brake fluid, LLC, etc.
Exterior & functional Bumpers, fender panels, headlights, etc.
parts

Accessories
AVN*products Navigation systems, rearview monitors, rear-seat displays, etc.
Floor mats, side visors, aerodynamic parts, security products, air purifiers,
Other accessories
aluminum wheels, etc.
*
Audio/visual and navigation


Toyota's navigation system 'NHZA-W61G'


Ractis fitted with aero parts

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LED interior lighting


Aluminum wheels

Marine products


Ponam-45


Ponam-35


Ponam-28 III

Rental and leasing

Toyota vehicle rental and leasing

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Five Main Principles of Toyota

 - Always be faithful to your duties, thereby contributing to the Company and to the

overall good.

 - Always be studious and creative, striving to stay ahead of the times.

 - Always be practical and avoid frivolousness.

 - Always strive to build a homelike atmosphere at work that is warm and friendly.

 - Always have respect for spiritual matters, and remember to be grateful at all times.

The "Five Main Principles of Toyoda" are a written statement of the teaching of Sakichi Toyoda
collected and arranged by Risaburo Toyoda and Kiichiro Toyoda.
The Principles were first released on October 30, 1935, the fifth anniversary of Sakichi's death.
Since then, Five Main Principles of Toyoda have been handed down to every Toyota Group
company and serve as conduct guidelines for all employees
Toyota Production Scheduling and Operations
Production scheduling requires close coordination between sales and plant operations. In Toyota
Learning, we will explain how the production schedule is used to provide consistent and
continuous flow of materials and vehicles throughout the supply chain. In Sales and Operations
Planning we described how information is gathered, both top-down and bottom-up, to create a
three-month order and forecast. Once a three-month order and forecast are received from the
sales divisions, the next step is to create a production schedule for the assembly plants. Before a
production schedule can be determined, we need to understand how vehicles flow through the
assembly plant.
Assembly Plant Operations

A typical Toyota assembly plant is highly integrated. Toyota assembly plant process shows how
a vehicle flows through a Toyota plant.

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Under one assembly plant roof you will find all of the following:

Stamping shop. The stamping shop is where the body parts for a vehicle are stamped out of
huge coils of steel. Large stamping presses are arranged in a row connected by conveyors. At the
start of one row of presses, sheets of steel are cut from the coil and fed into the first press. After
the first press stamps the basic shape of the body part (for example, the hood or the door panel),
it is routed to the next press, where the press may create a curved shape. From there, it is passed
to a press that punches holes, until finally the finished part rolls off of the press line. Once a
press line is configured to stamp a specific body part, it will run for a period of time until an
adequate quantity of parts is produced. Typically, the inventory of stamped parts to supply the
body shop will be enough to generate only a few hours of production. The reason that the
stamping line is run in batches is because dies must be changed within the presses to reconfigure
the line to stamp a different part. But because Toyota plants can change dies in a few minutes,
several different parts can be stamped on each press line each day.
Body shop. The body shop is where a vehicle is born where it gets its identity. At body start,
each vehicle gets a unique body number and is assigned a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
The vehicles are started in the planned line-off sequence, which is based on the production
schedule and sequence. From this point on, each vehicle is processed individually throughout the
production process. The body number is used to track the vehicle and look up the vehicle
specifications so that the exact body style is welded together to form the completed body shell.
Paint shop. Color is applied to the vehicle at the paint shop. The shop consists of multiple paint
booths that use robots to spray-paint the body shells coming from the body shop. As the vehicle
body shells enter the paint shop, they are dipped in a solution that covers the body with a
protective coating. Then they are organized by color and sent to one of the paint booths. Because
of environmental considerations, vehicles are painted in small batches of the same color.
Assembly shop . The assembly shop is the most labor-intensive shop. Most of the parts are
installed by hand by team members working in small teams. Each team is responsible for the
work performed during one process cycle at one workstation. There are several objectives that
must be considered in making this decision, among which are the following:
 Keep vehicles in the original planned line-off sequence. Each vehicle has a planned line-
off date and time stamp that can be used to pick the oldest first.
 Avoid starting vehicles back to back that have high workload impact on assembly team
members. For example, sunroofs may require extra work in one or more processes.
 Maintain the ratio of models on the assembly line. For example, if the line is producing
two models and the ratio is 45 percent and 55 percent, then this mix should be maintained.

As the vehicles move down the assembly line, the team members receive their instructions (on
manifests) about which parts to install on each vehicle. These manifests are generated by the
assembly line control system via a scanner that reads the radio frequency tag. The approximate
number of steps in assembling a car is 353. Out of these steps, fewer than 10 use parts from
sequence suppliers. In addition, sequence parts suppliers receive an electronic transmission that
advises them of the exact lineoff sequence. The information enables them to build the parts (e.g.,
seats) based on the exact specifications of each vehicle and ship them in the exact sequence to be
installed on the line. Although, most sequenced parts are provided by external suppliers, some
sequenced parts, such as plastic shop parts, are produced in-house.

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Plastic shop. Although the plastic shop is not part of the in-line process of the assembly plant, it
provides key components that must be synchronized with the assembly process, and it functions
as an internal sequenced supplier. An injection molding process is used to create plastic parts
such as instrument panels and bumpers. Because these parts are colored, they need to be
sequenced to match the vehicle colors. As happens with sequenced suppliers, these plastic parts
arrive at the assembly line on dollies in the exact sequence of the vehicles in which they are to be
installed.

Now to return to the production line direct flow and examine the inspection process:

Inspection. After the vehicle is completed and comes off the main assembly line, it is driven to
the inspection line. The primary purpose of this inspection is to conduct functionality tests on
such components as the engine, transmission, brakes, and air bags. Next, cars are subject to
waterpressure testing to ensure that the vehicle is leak proof. All teams involved in the assembly
process are instructed to stop the line in the event a defect is detected or a problem identified.
Sales line. The point at which a vehicle’s ownership is transferred from the manufacturing
division to the sales division is the sales line. As the vehicle passes an imaginary point on the
line, the manufacturing team member scans the vehicle into the plant computer system to change
the status to “sold,” and the sales team member scans the vehicle into the sales computer to
change the status to “bought.”

Another way to grasp an understanding of the production process is to take a tour of one of the
Toyota plants. During the writing of this book, Ananth Iyer and Roy Vasher went on a guided
tour of the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) plant in Georgetown, Kentucky.
Ananth Iyer captured the following notes during the tour:

The Toyota factory at Georgetown, Kentucky, covers over 1,300 acres of land and employs
about 7,000 team members. There are another 1,500 to 2,000 people employed by vendors
working onsite, such as food service, day-care workers, etc.

The starting point at the plant is coils of steel delivered about every 30 minutes, each coil weighs
up to 24 tons. Toyota has 19 press lines and 33 presses. Eight-hundred-ton presses operating at
80 strokes per minute create blanks. An example of how Toyota is continuing to kaizen its
operations is that a new stamping line is being installed that is expected to save over 32 percent
in energy costs and replace two existing lines.

The blanks are transferred by robots to a press that converts parts to requisite shapes. There are
over 1,300 dies on site. These components are transferred to a flow rack and conveyed to body
weld. The body weld operation takes 274 sheet metal parts and welds them to form a shell.
There are over 700 robots that perform more than 4,400 welds to create a shell. Team members
rotate tasks every two hours so that they use a different muscle group for their work and reduce
monotony.

Of the 20 hours it takes to make a car, around 9 hours are spent in the paint shop. Every 55
seconds of takt time a car is completed. The plants at Georgetown produce nearly 2,000 vehicles
every day. Production in the line is in a mixed sequence and varies by color, across Camry,

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Solara, and Avalon. The paint shop has 20 different colors of paint, but the most popular colors
in September 2008 were silver for the Camry and bright red for the Solara. In addition, one in
every four Camry

Production Scheduling

The production schedule is created once a month from the sales order and forecast. As discussed
in Sales and Operations Planning, sales divisions submit a rolling three-month order and forecast
each month. The Production Control division must create a daily production plan to execute the
agreed-upon schedule.

Scheduling Inputs

For the purpose of this discussion, assume that the next production month “N” is being
scheduled. The “N” month is considered a firm order commitment, and “N 1” and “N 2” are
considered preliminary forecasts. The difference between the firm orders versus the forecast is
that once the firm order is submitted from sales to manufacturing, the volume of vehicles by
model by plant is frozen. In other words, sales divisions have committed to buying these units,
and manufacturing has agreed to produce them. Nevertheless, the content of the vehicle
specifications can be changed up to about a week prior to line-off.

The forecast for months N 1 and N 2 do not prevent changes in volume or content. However,
because of the 80/20 rule of mix planning described in Toyota Mix Planning, the actual variation
in individual options from month to month will be somewhat muted when calculated on a daily
rate basis.
Another input necessary to create the production schedule is the production calendar and the
operations plan for each plant. As discussed in Sales and Operations Planning, the production
calendar consists of four or five weeks for each month; however, the holiday schedule will vary
by plant. For example, Thanksgiving is celebrated in Canada during October and during
November in the United States. Each plant also uses a different operating plan that quantifies the
number of vehicles to be built on each production day. The quantity per day may even vary by
day of the week. For example, planned overtime may be two hours per day from Monday to
Thursday and zero hours on Friday. Such flexibility demonstrates that Toyota makes extra effort
to accommodate the quality of life of team members.

The final input that is required is the constraints. Those constraints could be a limit on the type of
engine that can be built on one of the assembly lines or that certain colors can be built only on
one line. Another constraint could be a ramp-up or ramp-down of a specific option. That occurs
when a new option or color is introduced as a running change in midmonth. The constraints are
established by each plant each month and reviewed by the production planners to ascertain that
they are necessary and reasonable. Feasible production schedules have to satisfy these
constraints.

Scheduling Process

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The first step in creating the production schedule is to use the sales order and forecast data to
create individual records for each vehicle and assign a unique reference number. That step is
necessary because each vehicle has to be assigned to a production slot. Though eventually the
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) can be used to identify a unique vehicle, the VIN is not
assigned until the vehicle is started in the body shop. Therefore, a Unique Reference Number
(URN) is assigned to identify vehicles prior to production line-off.

Next, the remaining orders are grouped by build combinations and spread throughout the month
so that the number of identical orders will be evenly distributed across the month. Then the sum
of each option for each day is checked against the constraints.

Sample Production Plan

The first step is to group the vehicles by unique build combinations. As you can see from
Grouplike Build Combinations, there are two vehicles that are in group A. They both are LE,
four cylinders, and blue. In this example there are seven groups. It is important to identify how
many vehicles have the same build combination, because if you spread the groups across the
production days, you will automatically smooth several options.

The next step is to sort the vehicles from the most important priority to the least important
priority. Priority is assigned to the specifications that are most important to the plant production
flow. Doing so will enable the scheduling process to start with the first vehicle and schedule the
vehicles in sequence day by day. In our example, the highest priority is “grade,” followed by
“engine.” Vehicles Sorted by Highest Priority Specification shows the result of this sorting
process.

The next step is to attempt to rebalance the vehicles based on making a smoother engine
distribution without breaking the smoothness of the grade. In our example, that could be
accomplished by swapping vehicles E10 and G2. The results of the second pass are shown in
Results of Second Scheduling Pass.

The final step is to create the production schedule for each vehicle by assigning the production
day and production slot sequence to each vehicle. Final Scheduling Sequence shows the final
schedule of each vehicle. The output is then used by the sales division to allocate vehicles to
dealers. In addition, the output is used by the assembly plants to create the parts order.

SWOT analysis of Toyota

Strengths

The strength of a business refers to the area which keeps it far ahead than its competitors. The
strong points of Toyota in the automotive market are as follows-

 Strong Human Resource– A Company needs skilled and professional human resource

to grow bigger. Toyota is blessed with huge human power throughout the world..

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 Innovative Organizational Culture– While it comes to advanced operating system and

functional strategies, Toyota will always be on the top. From widely practiced
management system to lean manufacturing details, Toyota has set examples for the fellow
companies.
 Strong Brand Image– This is obviously one of the most important strong points of
Toyota. Whenever people look for cars, they search for the brand name ‘Toyota,’ and that
has kept them far ahead of their competitors.
 Strong Diversified Portfolio– Cars means Toyota. They have a large number of varieties
of their product. From electric cars to hybrid cars, Toyota has spread its wings to all types
of cars in this market.
 Advanced Technology– Toyota is not only a car manufacturing company, but they are
also considered as an innovator. Their hi-fi technology has introduced hybrid cars in the
market. The green vehicle technology of Toyota has been adorned by customers in large
scale when they consider the environmental concern and price of petrol.
 Global Supply Chain– They has outlets, branch companies, manufacturing factories
around the world. The strong and global supply chain of Toyota is really one of the
greatest strength of this company.
 High Production Capability– Toyota is giving serious competition to its contemporaries
on this point as they have a high production capacity of producing cars, almost 10 million
per year.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Toyota

Talking about the weaknesses of a business means the areas where it can improve a lot. These
are the areas where the business has much to do with further improvement. The weak pointers of
Toyota are as follows-

 Dependence on Suppliers– as Toyota has suppliers around the world; they have to
depend on them. It makes the production a bit sloth.
 Not Grabbing Markets– Toyota has developed green vehicle technology, but it has been
failed in grabbing the actual market where it would be implemented accurately. The
market of China and India can be the best for launching these vehicles, but there is still
time.
 Negative Publicity– This happens due to large vehicle recalls. Any type of vehicle
recalls affecting the automaker, and Toyota is no exception. Also, the recall rates are
higher in Toyota, and that can cause more negative publicity.
 Poor Brand Recognition– There are 4 different flagships of Toyota- Hino, Lexus,
Daihatsu, and Among these, Lexus and Toyota have been successful in making the brand
recognition.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Toyota

Opportunities for a business refer to the areas which can be used to gain more revenues. The vital
opportunities of Toyota are as follows-

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 The growth of Developing Nations– Perspectives is changing, and now, people are
more inclined to buy cars. In the developing nations, the demand for cars is exuberating.
 Green Vehicle Technology– Maybe slower, but the green vehicle technology is gaining
popularity around the world. If Toyota focuses on this area, they will get much revenue
from this innovation.
 Growing Concern for Environmental Pollution– People, around the world, is getting
more concerned about the environmental degradation and are also willing to do their bit.
This is the high time to popularize Toyota’s environment-friendly.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Toyota

These are the factors that can make a business face downturn if not taken care early. So, the
potential threats of Toyota are as follows-

 Number of Competitors– Toyota is competing with huge names in the market,

like Volkswagen, Ford, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai. It makes quite hard to make strong feet
in the market.
 High-priced Raw Materials– As the cost of raw materials is increasing, that is also
increasing the cost of the end product.
 Lower Profits– The continuous threat of exchange rates is always there. When the
revenues are sent back to Japan in the Yen that becomes quite lower profit in comparison
to other currencies.

The 7 step Problem Solving Process at Toyota

 Toyota become one of the most successful automakers in the world. Toyota can confidently
distribute a tremendous amount of responsibility to the people who actually do the work, from
the most senior, experienced member of the organization to the most junior. This is
accomplished because of the tremendous emphasis on teaching everyone how to be a
skillful problem solver.
Problem Solving Strategies: 
The process of becoming a learning organization involves criticizing  
every aspect of what one does. The general problem solving technique
to determine the root cause of a problem includes:
①  Initial problem 
②  Clarify the problem
③  Locate area/point of cause
④  Investigate root cause
⑤  Countermeasure
⑥ Evaluate
⑦  Standardize
The Four Rules of Problem Solving at Toyota

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This scientific method serves as one of the four rules that

underlie Toyota's manufacturing process.
The rules are:
Rule 1. All work must be highly specified.
Rule 2. Each customer-supplier relationship is direct. This applies to
both  internal and external customers and suppliers.
Rule 3. The pathway for each product and service should be simple,
transparent, and direct.
Rule 4. Every employee uses what the company calls the
"pragmatic" scientific method to solve problems. The method entails
defining specifications, establishing hypotheses, continually testing
them and measuring the outcomes.
Using the scientific process as a foundation, Toyota developed what the company calls "A3"
thinking and problem solving methodology. It allows problem solvers to get to the key points
very quickly. The "do" phase of A3 entails piloting and testing the hypothesis. The "check"
phase studies what actually happened. It's an iterative process that never stops.

THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS:

Task 1 is about develop strategic mission and vision of the company, this can be explain as
Toyota need to inject sense of purpose into firms activity, provide long-terms direction, give firm
strong identity’s and decide who they are, what they do and where they were head. A strategic
vision widely shared among the employees function similar to how a magnet aligns iron fillings.

Task 2 is about setting objectives. The purpose of setting objectives is to:

 Convert mission into performance targets.

 Create yardstick to track performance.

 Establish performance goals requiring stretch.

 Push firm to be inventive, intentional, focused.

 Setting CHALLENGING but ACHIEVABLE objectives guard against:

 Complacency.

 Drift.

 Internal confusion.

 Status quo performance.

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They should focus on two types of objectives which is financial objectives and strategic
objectives. Financial strategic is about outcomes that relate to improving firms’ financial
performance; examples increase earnings growth from 10 to 15% per year. Strategic objectives
are mention on outcomes that will result in greater competitiveness and stronger long-term
market positions; examples attain lower overall costs than rivals and achieve technological
superiority.

Task 3 is concern on crafting a strategy. Strategy-making concern on how to:

 Achieve desired strategic & financial objectives.

 Out-compete rivals & win competitive advantages.

 Respond to changing industry & competitive conditions.

 Defend against threats to firm’s well-being.

 Grow the business.

A strategic plan maps out where Toyota is headed, short and long range performance targets, and
actions of management to achieve outcomes. A strategic plan consists of a strategic vision &
business mission, strategic & financial performance objectives, comprehensive strategy for
achieving the objectives.

Task 4 describes the implementing strategy. Implementing strategy involves creating fits
between way things are done & what it takes for effective strategy execution, executing strategy
proficiently & efficiently and producing excellent results in timely manner. Most important FITS
are between strategy AND organizational capabilities, reward structure, internal support systems
and organizational culture.

Task 5 is concerning on evaluating performance. None of the tasks of strategic management are a
one-time only exercise when times & conditions change and new managers with different ideas
take over. Manager must constantly evaluate performance, monitor situation & decide how well
things are going and make necessary adjustments. Corrective adjustments can entail altering
firm’s long-term direction, redefining the business. Modifying the strategy and improving
strategy execution.

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  CONCLUSIONS:

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The conclusion is Toyota need a strategic planning when run the business. The
strategic planning must start with realistic objectives and know the functions of
each member. The process can help Toyota to perform well and to regains the trust
of consumer.
As the conclusion, strategic positioning and SWOT matrix are related and useful for
Toyota to achieve their organizational objectives. Toyota must appreciate their
success with giving some extra services to the environment and government.
As a conclusion, Toyota need to understand the concept of audit in order to improve
their performance then benefits the company and others parties. Because of the
auditing, Toyota have achieved the success as nowadays, having the branch in
worldwide and produce the high-standard quality products .

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