Citing hard lesson from earthquake, Toyota vows resilient supply chain by autumn

Toyota announced this week that it's global supply chain will soon be resilient enough to withstand and recover from another earthquake or natural disaster within two weeks. In response to last year's devastating tsunami, the Japanese auto manufacturer has been working diligently to protect its supply networks from disruptions of such magnitude.

“We'll know by the end of March what contingency measures will be taken by all the supply sources and have those in place by around autumn,” executive vice president Shinichi Sasaki, told Reuters. “Our plan is to manage risk while at the same time reducing costs.”

Sasaki acknowledged, however, that Toyota had wrongfully assumed to have a firm grip on its supply chain. Now the company is asking suppliers in “at-risk” locations to either spread production to new regions or to hold extra stock. Officials reported that they are also considering procurement from new suppliers.

Toyota is a pioneer in the implementation of Lean manufacturing systems. While the company suffered tremendously as a result of last year's earthquake and tsunami – in some cases being forced to stall production for up to six months – its cultural adherence to efficient practice and operational excellence is expected to grow stronger.