Supply chain pressure is high, Toyota may use slightly defective parts

According to foreign media reports, on December 7, Toyota Motor said that the company is happy to use parts with scratches or defects from parts suppliers
.
Toyota is trying to cut costs amid a global shortage of chips and rising raw material costs
.

Driven by favorable exchange rates, Toyota in November raised its operating profit forecast for the current fiscal year (2021.
4.
1-2022.
3.
31) by 12%
.
However, the company warned that semiconductor shortages affecting production, coupled with rising raw material costs, were hurting its underlying profitability
.

As a result, Toyota may lower its selection criteria for parts to "good enough," which means the company may use parts it would rather throw away in the past, which is critical for the company known for its strict quality control and Japanese manufacturing.
Routinely marks a major change, and they usually prioritize building the perfect product over speed to market
.

Takefumi Shiga, chief executive of Toyota's R&D program, said at a news conference, "We will be very careful about the exterior of the car, because the exterior parts are easily visible to customers
.
But there are many places that customers don't notice.
Yes, unless they really look closely
.
"

Shiga and other Toyota engineers are expanding a program launched in 2019 -- meeting with parts suppliers, even tier three suppliers, to assure them that parts with scratches or defects are acceptable as long as These slightly defective parts do not affect the safety and performance of the car and are unlikely to be noticed by car buyers
.
"It actually takes courage to do that," Shiga said
.

He added that after a visit to a company that makes plastic seat belt components, the number of rejected parts was reduced by three-quarters
.