1 Case Study Analysis Toyota Car Company Case Study Analysis - Toyota Car Company History and Development Toyota is a car manufacturer of Japanese origin with a headquarters which is located in Aichi, Japan. It also was founded in 1937 by Toyota Kiichiro. Toyota is one of the best manufacturing automobile companies in the world that also ranked 11th best in the world for its revenue generation in 2012. The methods that Toyota adopts in manufacturing are called the lean manufacturing system. This system ensures that the vehicles that were produced by the company were of high quality and provided continuous improvement. The company's objectives would quickly make the most efficient vehicles to meet the requirements and demands of its customers. This paper will examine the Toyota car company and explain its production, manufacturing, and distribution processes at all levels. Toyota devised an unbeatable supply chain management technique that allows them to work faster to meet the company demands. The first part of the process is locating parts, and then importing them. Goods are received stored and produced in dealerships, and then the customers buy the cars. The raw materials are procured from a third-party company, and then they are assembled in line for manufacturing (Rothaermel, 2013). In the transportation process, it entails that Toyota would deliver the products to its customer base using barges and or trucks. Toyota company strives to be efficient in its system by utilizing what is required when it's needed. They also hold production whenever there is a malfunction in the system. Toyota has had the competitive advantage of efficiency and speedy delivery of the products and the company hardly squanders materials or resources (Monden, 2019). Several factors have contributed to Toyota's long withstanding global success. One of these key drivers is a supply chain management that was developed by Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno. The management technique components consist of compatibility capabilities, joint improvement undertakings, interlocking structures, mutual understanding, and trust. When Toyota expanded its dealings overseas, they encountered a significant setback where the efficiency was weakened. Regardless, they made a comeback by utilizing their joint improvement activities and recovered the process. This move made the customers extremely impressed with their ability and efficiency to make production fast (Rothaermel, 2013). By utilizing parts until they are finished, then ordering some more, Toyota eliminates unnecessary purchases on the inventory. Therefore, the company can plan and improve processes. The External Environment for the Toyota Car Company The 21st-century business is highly competitive. Today, maintaining the status quo is not enough to prevent competitors from achieving a competitive advantage over any company. A successful company is recognized by its ability to coordinate, integr.

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Case Study Analysis Toyota Car Company
Case Study Analysis - Toyota Car Company
History and Development
Toyota is a car manufacturer of Japanese origin with a
headquarters which is located in Aichi, Japan. It also was
founded in 1937 by Toyota Kiichiro. Toyota is one of the best
manufacturing automobile companies in the world that also

2. ranked 11th best in the world for its revenue generation in 2012.
The methods that Toyota adopts in manufacturing are called the
lean manufacturing system. This system ensures that the
vehicles that were produced by the company were of high
quality and provided continuous improvement. The company's
objectives would quickly make the most efficient vehicles to
meet the requirements and demands of its customers. This paper
will examine the Toyota car company and explain its
production, manufacturing, and distribution processes at all
levels.
Toyota devised an unbeatable supply chain management
technique that allows them to work faster to meet the company
demands. The first part of the process is locating parts, and then
importing them. Goods are received stored and produced in
dealerships, and then the customers buy the cars. The raw
materials are procured from a third-party company, and then
they are assembled in line for manufacturing (Rothaermel,
2013).
In the transportation process, it entails that Toyota would
deliver the products to its customer base using barges and or
trucks. Toyota company strives to be efficient in its system by
utilizing what is required when it's needed. They also hold
production whenever there is a malfunction in the system.
Toyota has had the competitive advantage of efficiency and
speedy delivery of the products and the company hardly
squanders materials or resources (Monden, 2019).
Several factors have contributed to Toyota's long withstanding
global success. One of these key drivers is a supply chain
management that was developed by Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi
Ohno. The management technique components consist of
compatibility capabilities, joint improvement undertakings,
interlocking structures, mutual understanding, and trust. When
Toyota expanded its dealings overseas, they encountered a

3. significant setback where the efficiency was weakened.
Regardless, they made a comeback by utilizing their joint
improvement activities and recovered the process. This move
made the customers extremely impressed with their ability and
efficiency to make production fast (Rothaermel, 2013). By
utilizing parts until they are finished, then ordering some more,
Toyota eliminates unnecessary purchases on the inventory.
Therefore, the company can plan and improve processes.
The External Environment for the Toyota Car Company
The 21st-century business is highly competitive. Today,
maintaining the status quo is not enough to prevent competitors
from achieving a competitive advantage over any company. A
successful company is recognized by its ability to coordinate,
integrate, and manage its resources appropriately. Businesses
today expand to international levels to maximize their sales
revenue. Toyota's growth over time has resulted in it developing
its business in other countries as well. Companies that operate
both locally and internationally counter diverse factors that may
affect their operation processes (Monden, 2019). These factors
mainly consist of external and internal. Internal factors are
those that can be controlled by the business; and the external
factors are those that the company has no control over. Multiple
successful international organizations decide on the strategies to
use once they encounter different environmental factors in their
business. Toyota is a Japanese motor manufacturing company in
which operations are both local and International. Some of the
factors that affect the decisions made by the Toyota company
are economic, legal, political, cultural, and technological
(Rothaermel, 2013).
These factors become challenging for the business and then
strategic decisions are required to make the transitions easier.
Toyota sells its products following the current internal market;
this is because of global market interdependence. Whenever
there is a high demand from the domestic market, Toyota

4. adjusts its market strategies to meet the needs of the
requirement or vice versa. Toyota has entered into various trade
agreements to be an agent in specific markets. It is
demographics, infrastructure, and culture diversity and other
social factors that affect the consumers' decisions and
perceptions. Toyota has mastered its consumers and knows they
have a variety of viewpoints. Therefore, they create a choice of
vehicle that suits every consumer. Toyota also participates in
corporate social responsibility by building colleges and schools.
They donate relief food to families that are affected by natural
disasters such as earthquakes or drought (Monden, 2019).
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Toyota
Toyota is one of the best automobile makers worldwide that
have been labeled as a highly reliable company that boasts a
vast employee base and has broken numerous world records on
car manufacturing. It is Toyota that has also invested in human
resources in which in return has gained significant results.
While Toyota emphasized quite a bit on innovation in its
operations it has created a lean supply chain management for its
manufacturing process (Dyer& Nobeoka, 2000).
Toyota has produced a wide variation of cars, from hybrid to
electric vehicles and family to compact oriented in which fulfill
the right availability and options for consumers. Since
innovation has become a new push in today’s automobile market
world, Toyota also utilizes advanced technology with
introduction of its hybrid vehicles into the market that creates a
new segment for demand of consumers with high manufacturing
capability; they produce up to 10 million cars each year. Some
of Toyota's weaknesses include negative publicity as it recalls a
large number of vehicles due to faults found in the cars. Just
like any other car manufacturing company, Toyota takes no
exception to mistakes but has also suffered from poor brand
recognition (Rothaermel, 2013).
The company has four different flagship product. That is,
Daihatsu, Lexus, Hino, and Toyota. And only two of the four

5. products Toyota and Lexus, are more recognized worldwide.
Additionally, Toyota overly depends on suppliers worldwide to
make its products; this sometimes slows down the
manufacturing process (Dyer& Nobeoka, 2000).
The Toyota SWOT analysis
The business strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats are areas that contribute to whether or not a product or
service is successful in the market. Toyota has multiple strong
points that have propelled the business to its current successful
position. Toyota has an innovative organization culture that
advances its functional strategies and technical operating
systems. From the onset, Toyota's management created a lean
supply chain management system that has been fruitful and has
been recognized and set by example from many companies
worldwide. Moreover, Toyota is a sharp brand image that
attracts more consumers to its products. Whenever people see
cars, they search for brand names such as Toyota; this
advantage has kept them ahead of many competitors as well as
the word spreading of reliability and pricing factors.
Toyota has a growing human power capital of over 369,124
skilled workers as of 2018. Another advantageous factor that
contributes to the strength of Toyota includes its advanced
technology in car production. Their hi-tech technology has
introduced the first hybrid cars in the market and with this
green technology it has attracted more customers. The
introduction of this technology indicates that Toyota aims to
have a sustainable competitive advantage. Lastly, Toyota has a
high production capability that keeps them on top of their
competitors and in result has lead them to producing large
numbers of up to 10 million vehicles every year.
Like any other company, Toyota has its weaknesses. Toyota has
not been grabbing all the market successfully. Toyota created a
green vehicle technology that has failed to grasp markets,

6. especially in India and China, which has the numbers to convert
the sales to profits. In past experiences some of its vehicles
have been recalled due to defects. Also, even though Toyota and
Lexus are well-known cars, Toyota has some cars from its
flagship lines that are unpopular such as the Hino and Daihatsu.
There are multiple opportunities for Toyota to achieve more
revenues, and these factors are vital for the brand's growth.
Since Toyota has gone into Green technology it has been a slow
process in gaining popularity around the world. If Toyota
focuses more on creation of innovative and sustainable brands,
they have a high chance of hitting a massive market sooner than
expected. In regards to the expansion of developing countries;
with people's perspectives changing, more people are inclined to
buying more cars, and demand will be higher. The world is
changing drastically, and so is the environment. The growing
concern for environmental degradation will propel many people
to buy environmentally-friendly vehicles. Therefore, this will
lead into opportunity for Toyota to maximize sales on their
hybrid cars.
At times Businesses encounter downturns or threats due to many
factors. Toyota faces potential threats, such as the number of
competitors in the market. The Toyota Company faces rivalry
from other gigantic names in the market place, such as Honda,
Ford, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, and Volkswagen to name a few. The
threat of lower profits is always looming on Toyota due to
different exchange rates worldwide. When the sales revenues
are sent back to Japan, the benefits become quite small in
comparison to other currencies in the world.
The Corporate Level Strategy
Toyota's corporate-level strategy aims to accommodate all its
business aspects. A corporate strategy also encompasses the
scope of the business, the marketplace, market position, and the
nature of its business. Planning is critical to implement any
strategies put in place to achieve business goals. Toyota's

7. business strategy and management are said to be one of the
world's best business strategies.
Following the long-lasting Toyota success, the management
culture quickly transitioned to world leadership. This success is
attributed to Toyota's strategically techniques that are the "just-
in-time production" and their “Jidoka” lean method widely-
adopted in manufacturing and product development in which
they also try to prevent defects. The other method ensures that
car parts are always available when needed. The managers at
Toyota use the “A3” tool. This method means that the managers
will always mentor the rest of the team. “A3” will always
establish the root cause analysis and support the interests of
departments and individuals. It is in this method that
encourages productive dialogue between workers and team
members assisting each other (James, 2019).
The Nature of the Company's Business Level Strategy
The Toyota Company has a variety of products. Some of its
flagship products are Hino, Daihatsu, and Lexus. Toyota's
management believes in making quality cars. They strive to
improve quality and employee empowerment. Toyota also
strongly believes in taking responsibility and developing self in
whatever situation. Toyota's competitiveness is self-critical and
internal. The company does continuous training on the staff to
improve the quality of products they produce. The Toyota
vehicles have been designed in such a way that they are long-
lasting and seem to meet the demands of many markets.
The Company Structures and Control Systems
The strategic manage structures put in place by Toyota are
effective. They have the production process that strives to meet
the demands just in time, and 'Jidoka' which acts as a check and
balance on the quality of cars produced. Jidoka ensures that
defects are prevented entirely. This A3 management style also
enables the workers to be on the lookout for each other and help

8. where necessary to improve the process. The structures and
systems put in place by Toyota have ensured continuous
improvement and quality production (Dillon, 2019).
Recommendations
The emerging markets are a real threat to Toyota. That being
said, Toyota must realign its structures with the ever-changing
world. Toyota has to be proactive and champion with the
introduction of green vehicle technology appropriately into the
market. This product has the potential to generate massive sales
revenue today due to the rising concern of environmental issues.
Toyota must also increase its production of sustainable brands,
as the marketplace demands are more aligned with
environmental friendlier cars (Debnath, 2015).
The Toyota business strategy has ensured that the company
remains a leader in the market. Toyota's lean manufacturing
process has proven to be a successful business model that has
been emulated by numerous businesses worldwide and continues
to push the market share upward or forward.
References
Debnath, S. C. (2015). Environmental regulations become
restriction or a cause for innovation–a case study of Toyota
Prius and Nissan Leaf. Procedia-Social and Behavioral

9. Sciences, 195, 324-333.
Dillon, A. P. (2019). A study of the Toyota production system:
From an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint. Routledge.
Dyer, J. H., & Nobeoka, K. (2000). Creating and managing a
high‐performance knowledge‐sharing network: The Toyota
case. Strategic management journal, 21(3), 345-367.
James, R. (2019). The Toyota Way or the unions’ way?
Examining the nexus between lean and unions in Toyota
Australia. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 1-39.
Monden, Y. (2019). Toyota management system: Linking the
seven key functional areas. Routledge.
Rothaermel, F. T. (2013). Strategic management: concepts. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.