Toyota: Competitors, Suppliers, And Internal & External Matters

Introduction to Technology and Toyota

Technology can be defined as the processes, principles, and nomenclatures of the conspicuous arts, specifically those in which the application of science is involved, and are considered to be useful as it promotes the benefit of the society. With the passage of time, a number of advancements have taken place in the field of technology. Australia is known for the adoption of new technologies at a faster rate as compared to the other countries of the world. This report is based on the company Toyota and provides details on its competitors, suppliers and internal and external matters along with an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Toyota Motor Corporation or Toyota is the multinational automotive manufacturer having its headquarters situated in Aichi, Japan. The company is the world’s market leader in terms of hybrid electric sales and is considered among one of the largest companies to encourage the adoption of hybrid vehicles in different parts of the globe.

Toyota is known for the production and management of motorsport along with effective advertising and handling of business operations in Australia. Over a period of time, it has been observed that Australia has many Toyota cars.  The increased sales of Toyota cars in Australia are the result of the adoption of updated technology by the company (Ruttimann & Stöckli, 2016).

In Australia, Toyota has been able to lead the market by marking its name among the top selling cars of the year 2017. Toyota Hilux was on the top of the list. However, the competitor cars include, Ford Ranger, Mazda 3, Hyundai i30, Mazda CX- 5, Hyundai Tucson, Holden Commodore, and Mitsubishi Triton. The tastes of the Australian customers in cars have changed a lot over the past few decades. Strong competition is faced by Toyota due to exceptional power, performance and technology of these competitors (Chiarini & Vagnoni, 2015).

The competitors are also not behind in terms of development of effective technology. They are also developing intelligent vehicles through semiconductors and control systems by way of expanding their research into electrical technology. With the help of intelligent systems, the cars are becoming smarter and are expected to provide comfort and optimal driving environment to the customers (Hill, 2017).

The suppliers play an important role in the outstanding performance of Toyota cars in Australia. The suppliers selected by Toyota Australia are considered to be amongst the highly advanced and skilled manufacturers of the country. The parts are being obtained by Toyota Australia from the local suppliers instead of importing them from other countries. The company is involved in the Supplier Developmental activities and is also assisted by Automotive Supply Chain Development Program of the Federal Government. However, Toyota has now officially ended the manufacturing of vehicles in Australia. This has created a significant impact on the suppliers in Australia (Aoki & Wilhelm, 2017).

Since the business operations of the company are wider, there are a number of internal and external matters. The closing of the manufacturing operations of Toyota in Australia affected the internal working of the company. The cessation and consolidation led to the reduction of the number of employees in the company from 3,900 to 1,300 (Toyota, 2017). The reduction led to the unemployment of the individuals and caused their suffering. The workers who suffered from the loss of job were the long serving workers which were now compelled to face the job market which has been changed dramatically since they joined Toyota.

Overview of Toyota and Its Competitors in Australia

The external matter of the company includes the fact that Australian- made cars are not being purchased by the people. The decision was taken by the Federal Government for providing a push to the auto industry offshore. The failure of the government subsidies led to the closing of manufacturing operations by various companies. The closing of the operations in Australia was also the result of changing tastes of the customers and their reduced purchase of car made in Australia (ABC News, 2017).

Strengths- Toyota Australia is known for its strong focus on the R & D (research and development) which has assisted it in producing innovative vehicles for fulfilling the needs of Australian customers. The company also makes the use of leading edge and forward looking technology with the help of which it is able to surpass the technologies of the rivals. In Australia, Toyota has the image of most recognizable automotive brand of the world which plays a great role in its sales and profitability.  The supply chain of Toyota Australia enable resilience and acts as a strength by minimizing market based risk (Stellios & Richman, 2016).

Weaknesses- Since Toyota has stopped its manufacturing operations in Australia, the dependence on the suppliers have increased to a great extent. Sometimes, this also creates an impact on the sales by causing unnecessary delays. The large vehicle recalls have resulted in creating a negative publicity for Toyota Australia. The higher recall rates of Toyota are further expected to bring negative publicity. Another weakness of Toyota comprise of the fact that it has successfully developed the green vehicle technology but has not yet found a market for its implementation (Barron, Pereda & Stacey, 2017).

Opportunities- the green vehicle technology appears to be a great opportunity for Toyota. This technology is gaining immense technology across the word. The focus of Toyota in this area will allow it to gain much revenue from this innovation. Furthermore, it will also assist in reducing the pollution levels of Australia. Moreover, the growing concerns for the environmental pollution are also a good opportunity. The environmental degradation has become the concern of people in Australia. Toyota should popularize the company as environmental friendly in Australia. The innovative technologies are required to be used by Toyota in Australia in order to take the advantage of these opportunities. Also, the preference of the customers has also changed over a period of time. Customers now prefer competitive, innovative and fuel efficient cars. In other words, they are showing growing interest in technologically advanced vehicles (Kurdve, Zackrisson, Wiktorsson & Harlin, 2014).

Threats- the competitors create a strong threat for Toyota in Australia. The huge names such as Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi, etc. make it difficult for Toyota to maintain its position in the market. Moreover, the cost of various inputs and raw materials are increasing due to inflation. This, in turn, is resulting in the increase in the cost of the end product. Furthermore, Toyota is continuously suffering from the threat of exchange rates. Japan receives revenues from Australia in Yen, the profits are lowered as compared to other currencies (Imai, 2017).  

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that technology plays a key role in the success of any organization in the marketplace. This report focused on the company Toyota and provided details on its competitors, suppliers and internal and external matters along with an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The report further provided that it is the technology adopted by the company which assisted Toyota in achieving new heights in the Australian market. The company can maintain its position only by way of continuous enhancement of this capability.

References

ABC News. (2017). Toyota workers out of jobs as car manufacturer closes Altona plant. Retrieved September 3, 2018 from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-03/toyota-car-production-ends-altona-after-50-years-manufacturing/9007624

Aoki, K., & Wilhelm, M. (2017). The Role of Ambidexterity in Managing Buyer–Supplier Relationships: The Toyota Case. Organization Science, 28(6), 1080-1097.

Barron, A., Pereda, A., & Stacey, S. (2017). Exploring the performance of government affairs subsidiaries: A study of organisation design and the social capital of European government affairs managers at Toyota Motor Europe and Hyundai Motor Company in Brussels. Journal of World Business, 52(2), 184-196.

Chiarini, A., & Vagnoni, E. (2015). World-class manufacturing by Fiat. Comparison with Toyota production system from a strategic management, management accounting, operations management and performance measurement dimension. International Journal of Production Research, 53(2), 590-606.

Hill, T. (2017). Manufacturing strategy: the strategic management of the manufacturing function. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Imai, N. (2017). Toyota Production System for Business Process Management. Holistic Business Process Management: Theory And Pratice, 14, 57.

Kurdve, M., Zackrisson, M., Wiktorsson, M., & Harlin, U. (2014). Lean and green integration into production system models–experiences from Swedish industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 85, 180-190.

Ruttimann, B. G., & Stöckli, M. T. (2016). Going beyond triviality: The Toyota production system—lean manufacturing beyond Muda and Kaizen. Journal of Service Science and Management, 9(02), 140.

Stellios, K., & Richman, A. (2016). Competition law: Extending the reach of Australia’s cartel laws. Governance Directions, 68(8), 494.

Toyota. (2017). TOYOTA AUSTRALIA CLOSES MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS. Retrieved September 3, 2018 from https://www.toyota.com.au/main/news/toyota-australia-closes-manufacturing-operations

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