Redefining The Problem Statement

U03a1 Refining the Problem Statement

Fishbone Diagram

The cause and effect diagram below shows the major categories and possible causes to why Toyota's poor Dealer Communication System .

Employees' poor communication and lack of Interaction were the main causes of Toyota's issues with their sales and dealership organizations. As we can see in the Diagram above, Toyota's Systems and Dealer Communication play a larger role in the problem.

Graphical Flowchart

Below is a graphical flowchart created from the information provided in the exhibits from the Accelerator Crisis article and from the Toyota Motor Manufacturing article.

As-is Flow Chart

Dealer

Headquarters'

Invoking the IMS Application

Dial-up and slow wide-area network connections

AS/400s deployed at each dealership

After analyzing this flowchart one can see that once this new system is installed and operating in most Toyota dealerships, the manufacturer expects to use it for the bulk of its dealer communications, which will eliminate reams of paper and, as the system develops, save time and money.

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Honda among TOYOTA

Problem Statement

In order for Toyota to have continuous improvement and excellent customer satisfaction achieved, the Dealer Network System, or the process of the company employed for maintaining communication among different company dealers and its different headquarters, so that customers requests and services could be handle appropriately that would lead to assured sales and post purchase satisfaction. Toyota does not have a good history in dealing with customer complaints and have lost customers due to their unsatisfactory treatment in handling customers' specific problems. If Toyota fails to correct their handling with their sales and dealer organizations, they will continue to lose customer base and lose their high reputable standing within the market.

Contributing Cause and Process Improvement

One of the main causes of Toyota's Lack of employee interaction is due to their standardized handling in dealing with...