When Continuous Improvement Isn’t Enough On Its Own
Having been one of the first wave of Just in Time suppliers to Toyota when they launched vehicle manufacturing in the UK during the early 1990’s I can honestly say I felt very lucky to be exposed to workings of the Toyota Production System and mentored by some outstanding members of the Toyota Motor Corp.
So it really grabbed my attention when I read that Toyota’s outgoing CEO Koji Sato had recently warned 484 of Toyota’s top suppliers that they must urgently increase productivity to survive the global impact of rising tariffs, rapid technological disruption and intensifying global competition (especially from Chinese Automakers), and then apparently went on to tell their suppliers that Toyota is falling behind faster rivals and must overhaul productivity to remain competitive, framing the situation as a “battle for survival”.
Why does this quote matter so much?
This warning appears to signal a major shift in Toyota’s tone and for the company long considered the “gold standard” in manufacturing to be publicly admitting it’s traditional strengths are no longer enough in the current environment and that it’s fast losing ground to competitors surely needs to ring major alarm bells across the whole Automotive industry supply chain.
What does the future look like?
Toyota has clearly understood what the future needs to look like to remain a leading Automotive Manufacturer and is preparing for a more aggressive, cost-disciplined era under in coming CEO Kenta Kon, with suppliers being told that survival is not guaranteed unless they adapt quickly in all areas.
So, while Kaizen (small, incremental improvements) will continue, there is clearly a pressing need for the industry to lean into Kaikaku (radical, step change transformation) and/or Kakushin (disruptive, game-changing innovation).
If this resonates with you, you’re not alone.
Many organisations know Major Change is needed but put this off for another day as they either don’t know how to go about identifying a nd implementing Step Change or they are too busy with their current workload to think about implementing Major Change. Either way without professional subject matter support few succeed in making Change happen on time and budget, and far fewer make Change Stick.
If you’d like to explore how we support leaders and teams to drive real change and deliver results, feel free to contact us at info@jigsawbusinessgroup.com for support and a free diagnostic.
