Suppliers
Basic stance
Using fair and equitable procedures, the Toyota Boshoku group purchases raw materials, parts and equipment from a large number of suppliers throughout the world based on our basic purchasing policy. We will grow with our suppliers by putting into practice the spirit of a win-win relationship while fulfilling our social responsibilities in the supply chain with the aim of enhancing corporate value.
Open, Fair and Transparent Trade and Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain
In addition to conducting purchasing activities based on a basic purchasing policy, we are working to fulfil our social responsibility throughout the supply chain.
Basic purchasing policy
- Open and Fair Business
- Mutual Development through Mutual Trust
- Promotion of “Green Purchasing”
- Promotion of Local Purchasing as a Good Corporate Citizen
- Law-abidingness and maintaining Confidentiality
Promoting sustainability activities
Toyota Boshoku and its suppliers adhere to the following items in basic supplier agreements: (1) Respect of human rights; (2) Prohibiting bribery; (3) Ensuring fair transactions; (4) Removing antisocial forces; and (5) Efforts to conserve the environment. Furthermore, we comply with the Antimonopoly Act, subcontracting laws, labor laws, environmental laws, and other related laws in each country and region, and are working to strengthen sustainability activities throughout the entire supply chain.
Every year during Corporate Ethics Month in September, we carry out initiatives aimed towards maintaining and pushing forward with fair and transparent trade. To do this we investigate supplier satisfaction and ask our suppliers to conduct self-assessments in line with our Supplier Sustainability Guidelines, with the overall aim of deepening understanding and spreading the principles of fair and transparent trade throughout our entire supply chain. Additionally, when we start working with new suppliers they are asked to conduct self-assessments.
In fiscal 2023, in line with the revision of the "Toyota Boshoku Group Supplier Sustainability Guidelines" undertaken in May 2022, we also significantly revised the content of the self-assessments, and in October 2022, after holding a briefing session for suppliers, self-assessments were conducted. Additionally, where the results of a self-assessment show it to be necessary, we visit suppliers to discuss issues that require attention, as well as ideas for how to address said issues.
Self-assessment based on Supplier Sustainability Guidelines
Question items
❶ Compliance
❷ Respect for human rights and maintaining appropriate working conditions
❸ Efforts to conserve the environment
❹ Contribution to society through business activities
❺ Risk management
❻ Developing and deploying guidelines for your suppliers
A survey regarding supplier satisfaction
Question items
❶ Best cost
❷ Verification of required quality
❸ Establishment of deadline for submitted materials
❹ Demand for money, goods, and services
❺ Purchasing staff’s behavior for suppliers
❻ Requests for rationalization without reasonable grounds
❼ Requests for urgent response
❽ Requests for free-of-charge provision of intellectual property rights and know-how
❾ Increase in request items due to streamlined operations and reduced overtime
Building a global purchasing system
As the Toyota Boshoku group expands our business globally, we will proceed with local purchasing while considering various items such as safety, quality, and cost. At the same time, our entire group will work together with our suppliers to pursue optimal global procurement.
Every year, we hold a Global Annual Supplier Meeting to convey the President’s message and our procurement policy, and to communicate with our suppliers. We also present awards to suppliers who have made significant contributions in terms of R&D, quality, cost, and delivery.
Representatives of commended companies and Sunshine, a supplier group member of Toyota Boshoku, were invited to the 2023 Global Annual Supplier Meeting where we resumed face-to-face meetings to strengthen relationships, which had previously been difficult to implement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
We also live-streamed the meeting to strengthen relationships with suppliers who were unable to attend, just as we would have done in person.
The President’s message, purchasing policy, and other information provided during the Global Annual Supplier Meeting was streamed in Japanese, English, and Chinese.
Training and information sharing
To pursue fair and equitable procurement activities, we hold training sessions not only for members of the Purchasing Division but also for all Toyota Boshoku company members and the Toyota Boshoku group company members in Japan, in an effort to ensure appropriate business transactions.
We also share information on social conditions surrounding the company (human rights, carbon neutrality, risk management) by holding regular meetings within the Purchasing Segment based on the Supplier Sustainability Guidelines and Toyota Boshoku Group Guiding Principles, and also by storing the materials in a folder that can be viewed globally.
Expansion of global Supplier Parts Tracking Team (SPTT) activities*
The Toyota Boshoku group is promoting global SPTT activities to assure the quality of its products by helping suppliers in other regions enhance their production processes, from beginning with the production preparation stage to getting their businesses on track after the launch of new products. Such actions help create face-to-face ties between suppliers and various divisions, including purchasing, design engineering and quality control, as well as enable problem solving and mutual benefits from different perspectives, notably for such issues as quality, amount, cost, distribution and timely delivery. Additionally, we maintain an SPTT manual for practical global use, and are continuing to standardize our SPTT activities.
We will continue improving SPTT activities and rolling them out globally in order to provide customers with best quality products.
- Supplier Parts Tracking Team activities: Follow-up activities by the team for subcontracted parts production and manufacturing preparation
Toyota Boshoku Group’s Purchasing Information by Each Region
Global
The Americas
Asia & Oceania
China
Japan
Promotion of green purchasing
Toyota Boshoku is strengthening our response to legal compliance related to various environmental regulations in respective countries and regions based on our Green Purchasing Guidelines, and working actively to reduce environmental burden. As part of these efforts, we periodically request certain relevant information from our suppliers, such as CO2 emission levels and the results of tests done to confirm that substances with harmful environmental effects are not being used. We also require our suppliers to establish environmental management systems (EMS) based on the acquisition of ISO certification aimed at creating a sustainable society.
Studying with our suppliers
Initiatives taken together with our suppliers
Toyota Boshoku works diligently to support the training and development of our major suppliers.
In response to suppliers’ needs, and with an aim toward strengthening functionality, a supplier’s personnel may be seconded to work within the Toyota Boshoku Group. In addition, we support the activities of Sunshine—a supplier group member of Toyota Boshoku with the aim of enabling mutual study and the sharing of exemplary examples between organizations. More specifically, we hold study groups on safety, health, and improving product quality, and we promote both the sharing of good, learnable examples and the resolution of problems faced by suppliers.
Finally, as part of our measures to deal with new and emerging social issues, we run a study meeting concerning carbon neutrality and other social issues.
Held a management seminar run by Sunshine
At a management seminar run by Sunshine (a supplier group member of Toyota Boshoku), we explained our efforts to achieve the Toyota Boshoku group’s Sustainability Policy and Environmental Vision as part of Toyota Boshoku’s ESG initiatives, and discussed this with suppliers.
Hosting of Decarbonization School by Sunshine
We are committed to supporting our suppliers' carbon neutrality initiatives and in the Japan region hold the "Sunshine Decarbonization School," which is organized by Sunshine, a supplier group member of Toyota Boshoku. Outside consultants and representatives from the Carbon Neutral Environmental Center act as lecturers at the School, teaching energy-saving techniques and how to develop CO2 reduction plans. In addition to assisting member companies in setting goals and creating plans, this also supports the development of human resources who can work toward carbon neutrality over the long term.
We will continue to work closely with our suppliers to promote carbon neutral initiatives that are integrated with the supply chain.
