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| As relationships among customers and suppliers have become long term, sharing of knowledge and expertise has become common place. tt benefits the entire supply chain if productivity can be enhanced anywhere. Flex-n-Gate's Bumper Works plant supplies Toyota with pickup truck bumpers and was involved in Toyota's Supplier Development Outreach Program. The program was initiated to improve quality, productivity, and profitability of U.S. suppliers. The program involved Toyota Motor of Japan, Toyota Motor Sales, and U.S. suppliers. Flex-n-Gates operations were inspected and reviewed as a first step in the process. | VIDEOsu1 |
| The recomendations for Flex-n-Gate included a complete re-design of processes to convert them to a JIT system. | VIDEOsu2 |
| Changes were made throughout the production process. A predominate focus was on makingsetup times shorter. As discussed in Chapter 10, shorter setups make smaller production batches possible. | VIDEOsu3 |
| Die transfer, as well as adjustments, makes changeovers faster. | VIDEOsu4 |
| A kanban system provides a mechanism for controlling the amount of inventory produced. | VIDEOsu5 |
| Toyota's experts studied the plant and recommended improvements that resulted in smoother flow and a closer match between production rate and consumption rate. | VIDEOsu6 |
| The warehouse operations were also re-designed. Increased visibility of inventory and better organization of materials improved the ability to find needed parts. Improved organization also resulted in lower levels of inventory. | VIDEOsu7 |
| Like most improvement efforts, a project team was responsible for implementation. Toyota consultants made frequent visits and kept in contact throughout the transition. | VIDEOsu8 |