LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE TOYOTA KAIZEN METHOD
Yusen Logistics UK were established in 1991 as UCI LOGISTICS (UK) LTD, two years after the Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK plant commenced operations at Burnaston, Derbyshire. Our group parent company, NYK Line, transports Toyota cars produced by manufacturers, for distribution to domestic and overseas sales networks using roro vessels, rail and land car carriers. The Group's logistics domain is not limited merely to transporting vehicles, but has evolved into a total supply chain solution. This includes the procurement of production parts and components required at our customer’s automotive production plants as well as the parts needed for after-sales service. Previously, production parts and components were transported from suppliers in the EU and UK to the Toyota plants on a 'milk run' basis, consolidated at a warehouse in Derby just minutes from the plant and delivered to the plant on a 'just-in-time' basis. Since then, further improvements have been made and the consolidation function has been re-established at the plant By backcasting from the core of the site, the production line, and by walking through all the points of the operation, we were able to identify areas of defects and inefficiencies in the entire Toyota supply chain, including the logistics we provided, that needed to be thoroughly Kaizened. By streamlining the operation in this way, it provided direct benefits to the customer in the form of financial savings, whilst also ensuring the safety of colleagues on site. This aspect of our DNA, the Gemba and Kaizen principles, inspired by Toyota, is still firmly embedded in our culture as the basis for quality management, and forms part of our ESG story.
CHALLENGES FOR THE NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT The UK has experienced various hardships, including leaving the EU in 2020, the Covid- 19 pandemic lockdowns, shortages due to stock piling, and fuel supply issues. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in January 2022, has also impacted the business environment. Our Management Conference is held annually in May, except in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, our Director Roadshow saw Directors visiting our sites to brief colleagues in the field. Yusen Logistics Group released its “ ESG Story” in April 2022, which outlines the basic pillars of the Group ‘ s ESG management. Yusen Logistics UK have incorporated sustainability as a basis for evaluating our business and corporate strategies and launched our new medium-term business strategy at the 2023 Management Conference, which was attended by almost 160 colleagues. The new strategy covers six strategic business goals and four cornerstone pillars, the fundamental foundation of the business. Traditional management mindsets will not survive; the time may soon come when only companies that draw their business strategy from an ESG mindset will thrive. In a tremendously changing business environment, we needed to grow into a company that society, customers, colleagues & other stakeholders want to see.
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September 2023
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