DX at the Toyota Boshoku group
In April 2021, we established the Chief Officer and a DX (digital transformation) promotion system has been built under the Chief Digital Officer and the DX & IT Promotion Segment to further accelerate digitization and business process transformation.
As part of this process, we are working to streamline our operations by 2030 and double our business speed through DX in order to strengthen our MONOZUKURI competitiveness, which is the foundation of our 2030 Mid-Term Business Plan. Achieving this goal will require the maximum use of digital technology in all areas, including administration, engineering, and manufacturing. By thoroughly improving operational efficiency and accuracy, we aim to promote breathing room in work processes and solidify the foundation to support our growth strategy.
Initiatives Toward Achieving Double Business Speed
Promoting DX based on four pillars to provide comfortable mobility interior spaces as the Interior Space Creator and contribute to solving social issues
1. Strengthen our R&D capabilities
Engineering & Development
Become faster and more flexible. With connected development
We aim to improve our efficiency and speed of development by utilizing digital technology to support design while reforming the design and development processes. In addition, while making full use of DX technology, we will strengthen the competitiveness of R&D by rapidly responding to diversifying needs.
Design process standardization and efficiency improvement
Our Design Navigation and Guidance System is a database of component standards and accumulated design expertise that enhances knowledge sharing, improves drawing completeness, and significantly reduces engineering man-hours, which makes our development process more efficient and improves our product quality. To this end, we are integrating generative AI and the latest technologies, improving our simulation technologies, and autonomating design processes to create an environment where engineers can focus entirely on developing new technologies and products.
Cost standards to improve project estimate accuracy
We are building a system that accumulates “basic product information” at development through to production, and are promoting the construction of a system that can calculate and visualize different types of information including CO2 emissions, cost, and mass, which is needed for prompt and highly accurate management decisions.
2. Strengthen MONOZUKURI competitiveness
Manufacturing.
Provide better, environmentally sound products, in a timely manner.
With connected factories
We aim to use DX, including AI, to solve issues facing the manufacturing industry, such as labor shortages and carbon neutrality.
We will promote MONOZUKURI reform to achieve high efficiency and high quality, bolstering our competitiveness.
Autonomating manufacturing and optimizing production and logistics management
We are leveraging the latest digital technologies to accelerate autonomation in our MONOZUKURI (manufacturing) processes and introducing collaborative robots and AI to enhance production efficiency and quality.
We are also integrating our production and logistics planning to improve logistics efficiency. Load leveling and delivery route optimization not only reduce CO2 emissions but also improve working conditions for truck drivers.
These initiatives aim to enhance efficiency and quality across the entire value chain, from production to logistics, while helping address social issues and strengthening our competitive advantage in the market.
3. Strengthen the management information infrastructure
Business Platform
Visualize, realize, and take rapid action. With connected management
As well as consolidating and visualizing management information, we aim to accelerate management decision-making by quickly identifying and managing predictive indications in the business.
Improving and accelerating management information operations
We have built a system that collects, consolidates, and visualizes all financial and non-financial information relevant to management. The systems are supporting quicker, more accurate management decisions as well as shortened the monthly closing period and improved information processing speed, and allowed for quicker, more accurate management decisions.
Derived from “basic product information” at development through to production, and “production performance information” at the sites of manufacturing, financial information such as sales and profits, and non-financial information such as GHG emissions, is collected, accumulated, and visualized in a timely and accurate manner, leading to prompt and highly accurate management decisions.
4. Strengthen the mindset of all company members creating products together
Corporate Culture & Mind
Create products together, happily and enjoyably. With a connected corporate culture and mindset
Toyota Boshoku’s DX places value on the awareness that each company member’s work is connected to MONOZUKURI, and on having a mindset of all company members creating products together. We are engaged in activities to promote reform from the three perspectives of people, systems, and work.
Using digital tools to free up resources to build a stronger foundation
We are utilizing generative AI and other digital tools to boost productivity in daily tasks and expand our work capacity. Our DX team partners with departments that are proactive in adopting digital technologies, and we accumulate and share digital know-how through study sessions, information exchanges, and presentations. These efforts are promoting the adoption of digital technologies and maximizing their benefits across the company.
Our internal DX & AI Expo in December 2024 featured 46 presentations showcasing how company members are leveraging digital tools. Some 1,600 members experienced and shared real-world examples of generative AI and latest digital technologies along with the business improvements they delivered. The event fostered a digital culture and created opportunities for like-minded colleagues to connect across departments.
We plan to further expand these initiatives and build a foundation that enables all company members to immediately apply and benefit from digital technologies.
Creating an agile environment where all company members can work safely and securely
We aim to create a workplace where all company members can work safely and securely. In addition to building a robust infrastructure and framework to withstand increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity risks, we are leveraging generative AI and the latest digital technologies to ensure the agility needed to swiftly respond to changes in the external environment.
Digital human resource development
To ensure our future competitive advantage, the Toyota Boshoku group is committed to promoting DX for operational reform. In particular, “digital human resource development” is an indispensable initiative for company members to work together to promote DX with a sense of urgency.
We believe the following are necessary for the group’s DX promotion:
- Promoting use of the optimal digital tools to support business process reform
- Developing human resources capable of making effective use in business of the growing volumes of data
- Acquiring knowledge for the safe use of digital tools/data
We will focus on education and other initiatives to develop human resources equipped with these capabilities.
We are also working to build a foundation for all company members to engage in digital use by creating a system that transcends organizational boundaries through in-house side jobs and personnel exchange programs, and by creating opportunities for exchange through in-house DX exhibitions, presentations, seminars, and other events.
DX certification
In May 2022, we obtained DX certified company status under the DX Certification System* established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.
We will continue to contribute to solving various social issues by fusing our group’s strengths with digital technology.
- A government system for certifying companies that comply with the basic items of the Digital Governance Code and are DX strategy- and system-ready, based on the Act Concerning the Promotion of Information Processing