Choose 1 Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choose 1 Topic - Essay Example Here we are going to discuss about the globalization strategies implemented by Toyota in its production line. Company Overview Toyota, a Japanese automobile manufacturer having headquarters at Toyota, Japan was founded in the year 1937. It started its production operations in America in the year 1957. For more than fifty years, the Toyota automobiles have continuously expanded their operations in 170 countries and regions throughout the world. Today, it has its presence in the major markets of North America, Europe and Asia. With the development of their exports the firm has started to localize their production bases, keeping pace with the policy of "producing vehicles where the demand exists". Presently they have 51 production bases in around 26 different regions globally (toyota-global.com). Moreover, there are R&D and design bases in almost nine locations in the foreign market, exhibiting that "from development and design to production, as well as sales and service, Toyota has now achieved consistent globalization and localization." Production System The company has gone through several hurdles while globalizing their production units. One of the most important factors of this process is quality assurance, which emphasizes on the statement, â€Å"no matter where Toyota vehicles are made, they must have the same high level of quality." The company doesn’t follow the policy of putting a "Made in The USA" or "Made in Japan" tag on their products. Instead they prefer to put the label of "Made by TOYOTA† on all its vehicles. This clearly defines the company’s manufacturing philosophy which is the "Toyota Way" and they like to advertise themselves in this manner throughout the world. The firm believes that through educating people they will be able to achieve quality assurance. Therefore they established the Global Production Center (GPC) in 2003 inside the Motomachi Plant in Toyota City. In addition to this, Toyota commenced regional Global P roduction Centers in 2006, in the United Kingdom, Thailand and United States to perform its respective activities in the Asia-Pacific, North American and European regions. The illustration below shows its design and production houses in several regions of the world- The production process of the company is based on two main principles which are continuous improvement and respecting the employees. Toyota's production system is a means of "making things" which is often known as "lean manufacturing system" or a "Just-in-Time (JIT) system.† The production system has been set up on the basis of constant improvements, with the aim of "making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as quickly as possible."   The company’s production process is based on two models- "Jidoka" that refers to mechanization along with some human touch. It implies whenever an issue arises, the apparatus stops instantly that prevents defective production. "Just-in-Time† concept where every process makes the particular part that will be required by the next process and in this way the production flows. Based on these two concepts, Toyota globally produces exactly whatever is in demand within time and in a cost effective manner. Objectives The main objective of Toyota is to offer world class quality and to meet the customer’