Supply Chain Toyota

1.What are Toyota's Core Competencies?
According to Fawcett, Ellram, and Ogden (2007), core competency is something that the company does so well that it provides the company a competitive advantage. Core competency give the company hard-to-imitate advantage. One of the Toyota's core competencies is their production system which is known as Toyota Production System (TPS). This is consists of Lean Manufacturing   and Just-In-Time (JIT) Production. Lean Manufacturing is the production practice in which it is focusing on the elimination of waste and continuous improvement over long-term. Lean Manufacturing has been proven to be successful in improving productivity and reducing cycle times. On the other hand, Just-In-Time production is the production practice in which it is focusing on synchronising the material flow so that when one item move out from a work station, another item is ready to move in. It allows Toyota to keep their inventory to the minimal levels and this can help the company to reduce the cost significantly. Toyota Production System has enable Toyota to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. Liker and Hoseus (2008) argued that many companies have studied Toyota Production System for decades and try to imitate their production system but not many companies has been proven to be successful in imitating their production system. It requires long-term commitment, determination and discipline to make all the process work. Furthermore, another Toyota's core competency is their brand management. Toyota has been successful in their marketing strategy in which their brand has been recognised in all over the world. Toyota has outsourced 70% of its vehicle content. It means Toyota did not manufacture many of their auto parts.   They just focus on assembling those parts to build cars. In fact, those suppliers also provide their auto parts to the other companies, not only to Toyota.   Therefore, it is obvious that Toyota is actually selling their “brand”...