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Toyota's Global Marketing Strategy Toyota’s Global Marketing Strategy Innovation through Breakthrough Thinking and Kaizen http://taylorandfrancis.com Toyota’s Global Marketing Strategy Innovation through Breakthrough Thinking and Kaizen Shozo Hibino Koichiro Noguchi Gerhard Plenert CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2018 by Shozo Hibino, Koichiro Noguchi, Gerhard Plenert CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-05941-2 (Hardback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, trans- mitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright .com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hibino, Shozo, 1940- author. | Noguchi, Koichiro, author. | Plenert, Gerhard Johannes, author. Title: Toyota’s global marketing strategy : innovation through breakthrough thinking and kaizen / Shozo Hibino, Koichiro Noguchi, Gerhard Plenert. Description: Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2017010294 | ISBN 9781138059412 (hardback : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Marketing--Planning. | Strategic planning. | Toyota Jidōsha Kabushiki Kaisha--Management. Classification: LCC HF5415.13 .H48 2017 | DDC 658.8/02--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017010294 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com Contents Preface ....................................................................................................xi Acknowledgments .............................................................................. xiii Prologue ................................................................................................xv Chapter 1 Introduction: What Does Toyota’s “Thinking Habits” Mean? What Is the Toyota Way of Thinking? .... 1 Thinking Needs to Become a Habit ...........................................1 The Six Thinking Habits of the Mikawa Samurai ....................3 Who Established Toyota’s Thinking Habits? ............................9 Enacting “The Toyota Way” in 2001 ........................................11 Chapter 2 Secret Ingredient #1: Don’t Chase Tradition—The Uniqueness Principle ....................................................... 15 Start from the “Nothing-Nothing Syndrome” .......................15 What Does It Mean to Pursue Uniqueness? ...........................16 The Thinking Habits Toyota Rejected .....................................18 Opening the American Market ................................................19 When in Rome, Do as the Romans ......................................... 20 Global Strategy and Antitrust Laws .........................................21 While Holding on to Patriotism, Become a Dyed-in- the-Wool Citizen of the Country .................... 22 Offering a New Dream to the Citizens of the Country .........23 Creating a Spirit That Gives Back to Society...........................23 Mindfulness in Procurement ....................................................24 Toyota’s Global Marketing Strategy: Secret Ingredient #1 ....24 Chapter 3 Secret Ingredient #2: Just-in-Time Information Collection—The Purposeful Information Principle ...... 27 The Negative Effect of the Internet ...........................................27 The Expanding Virtual World ................................................. 28 Running in Futility: Gemba-ism ..............................................29 v vi • Contents Toyota’s Headquarters Are in the Gemba (on the Factory Floor) ................................................................31 The Genchi/Gembutsu/Gemba-ism Principle ........................32 Imagination Is Greater than Knowledge and Information .... 34 Applying Gemba-ism When Pioneering a New Market .......36 What Creates a Sheep-Like Phenomenon?..............................37 Toyota’s Global Marketing Strategy: Secret Ingredient #2 ...38 Chapter 4 Secret Ingredient #3: A Professional Systems Architecture—The Systems Principle ............................. 41 The Secret of the Tokugawa Thinking Habits .........................41 A “Building Structures” Genius Supports Toyota’s Architecture ................................................................................ 42 The Wisdom of Using Building Structures in the Allied Forces of Tokugawa and Nobunaga ........................................ 43 The Secret of Just-in-Time .........................................................45 Systems Structure and Systems .................................................47 The Meaning of Toyota’s Kaizen System .................................49 Toyota Emphasis on Connections/Links ................................50 The Importance of a Process-Focused Management .............51 Thinking Broadly Started from a Source Downstream ........53 Building Systems Structures Overseas ....................................55 Building the Structure for the NUMMI Launch ...................57 Building Systems Architecture for Local Procurement ........58 Effective Outcomes of the Effort of Toyota’s System Architecture ................................................................................ 60 Establishing a Base in Europe .................................................. 60 Identifying Opportunities: The Launch to the Rest of the World .................................................................................61 Significance of NUMMI ............................................................62 Overseas Marketing with Emphasis on Quality, Cost, and Delivery, and Changes in Vehicle Sales ...........................63 Toyota’s Global Marketing Strategy: Secret Ingredient #3... 64 Chapter 5 The Hybrid Thinking Engine Drives Toyota: Breakthrough Thinking’s Four Principles ..................... 65 Breakthrough Thinking’s Four Principles or Thinking Circuits .........................................................................................67 Contents • vii Step 1: The People Involvement Principle—People Are at the Center ............................................................................... 68 Step 2: The Purpose Principle—Exploring the Reason for Existence ................................................................................69 Step 3: The Future Solution Principle—Ultimate Thinking ... 70 Step 4: The Living Solutions Principle—Solutions That Keep Continuously Changing ..................................................72 Launching the “Breakthrough Thinking Engine” Globally ... 72 Chapter 6 Secret Ingredient #4: A Company That Nurtures People—The People Involvement Principle .................... 75 You Should Resign If You Have to Lay Off People .................75 The Secret to Toyota’s Personnel Evaluations .........................76 Thinking Habits for People Development ...............................78 Thinking Habits of Assembled Associates ..............................79 Toyota’s Labor–Management Relationship .............................81 Strong Solidarity .........................................................................82 Unity in Companies .................................................................. 84 The Power Struggle in Nominating a Compensation Committee ...................................................................................85 The Start of Production in the United States ......................... 86 How They Overcame Cultural Conflicts ................................ 88 Faced with Strong Resistance ................................................... 90 Toyota’s Global Marketing Strategy: Secret Ingredient #4 ...91 Chapter 7 Secret Ingredient #5: Explore the Reason for Existence—The Purpose Principle ............................ 93 Explore the Reason for Existence: A Back to Basics Approach ......................................................................................93 Sakichi Toyoda Dialogues with the Toyota Central
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