Taikoh Transportation – Factory Tour
Taikoh Transportation is a Toyota Group logistics company that delivers products to Toyota as well as other automakers such as Subaru, Suzuki and Yamaha. The company is the first company that established a procurement logistics system based on the Toyota Production System in Japan.
Corporate Information
- Company: Taikoh Transportation Co., Ltd.
- Foundation: 1943
- Location: Headquartered in Aichi Prefecture
- Main Business: Procurement transportation and logistics
Taikoh Transportation – Lean Characteristics
TPS-based Logistics
Taikoh Transportation is a logistics company that delivers products to Toyota, Subaru, Suzuki, Yamaha and many other customers’ final assembly operations. They cover Japan across 20 locations, but 13 of those are concentrated in the area of Aichi Prefecture. Their parent company is Toyota Industries Corporation – the original Toyota company that started in the textiles industry well before the automotive company was born.
In the Toyota Group, Taikoh Transportation and around four other logistics companies act as a staging mid-point between all of Toyota’s first-tier suppliers and their final assembly plants. The concept of the staging base was introduced in an effort to increase the frequency of deliveries to Toyota from their first-tier suppliers and thus decrease the inventory levels within each of the Toyota final assembly plants. This is part of Toyota’s kaizen approach spreading outside of production and into their logistics operations in an evolutionary step that still fully incorporates the Toyota Production System – including their kanban pull system of material and information flow.
A visit to Taikoh Transportation site showcases TPS applications at work in the field of transportation and logistics.
Koolywurtie, South Australia, Australia
The team at Shinka have done a sensational job of providing an in-depth tour with lots to learn about the Toyota Production System and lean manufacturing. The tour was carefully planned, and we got the most out of our time in Japan.
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Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Overall, the programme was a complement for me with regards to continuous improvement initiatives that I can implement for my company. It opens up a variety of actions that I would not have thought of. I will deliberate with my team on a few ideas that I have observed throughout the training programme. All of…
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Phenix City, Alabama, United States
Participating in the Shinka Management lean tour was an absolutely transformative experience. The opportunity to witness lean principles in action across renowned factories and a cutting-edge hospital offered unparalleled insights into operational excellence. The factory visits were a masterclass in efficiency and continuous improvement. Observing Toyota Production System methodologies firsthand—from Gemba walks to 5S practices…
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Taipei, Taiwan
Shinka Management staff were professional from interpretation, to detailed trip arrangements, to leading the factory tour and catalyzing the thinking and discussion.
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Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
Thank you, Shinka Management, for providing me with the opportunity to learn more about Kaizen. As a Quality practitioner, witnessing the evolution of Toyota and its implementation of Kaizen has been amazing. Learning how to adapt Kaizen principles from manufacturing for implementation within a hospital setting has been truly inspiring. Again, thank you Shinka Management!…
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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
I joined the tour with little understanding of lean. This tour opened my eyes to the possibilities of what can be achieved through continued focus on improvement and team work at all levels. The plant tours showcase the Kaizen and 5S principles perfectly. The surprising thing for me is that safety and quality were paramount…
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
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