Message from Mr. Saito, President of TSSC

The Toyota Supplier Support Center was originally formed in 1992 by Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America as a way to primarily support Non-Toyota suppliers with their understanding of the Toyota Production System (TPS.) After ten years of experience in the North American market, Toyota decided to form TSSC, Inc. (no longer referred to as the Toyota Supplier Support Center) in response to increased interest in TPS.  In January 2009, we changed the company name to Toyota Production System Support Center, Inc. (its abbreviation remains as TSSC) to better reflect our mission: contribute to society by sharing TPS know-how and improving the general level of public institutions and North American manufacturing industry.

We are a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America (TEMA), and our members are all current employees of Toyota.

 TPS was conceptualized by and is still evolving today in Toyota. TPS was created out of the necessity to meet the needs of Japanese consumers (Low volume, High variety), with limited resources and capital in the post war period. Toyota learned a great deal from the U.S. in the process of establishing TPS. Not only did Toyota learn about mass production system using conveyers from American Automotive industry, but we also learned about how products were replenished in American supermarket, which gave ideas for the Pull System.

 TSSC was established as a way to express Toyota’s gratitude to American Society for opening the door. Today, as global competition intensifies, there is a greater need for producing products with low cost, high quality and short lead time for survival. Nothing would make us happier if our sharing of TPS know-how could benefit organizations in some way.

 As for myself, I have been practicing TPS for over 25 years, and I hope I can be of help to the best of my ability. Although it is often misunderstood, TPS is not a technique or aggregation of tools. Increasing efficiency by consistent and thorough elimination of waste, and respect for people are the important objectives of TPS. It is a system consisting of technical elements, managerial elements, and the way of thinking which is centered on human development.

 It takes time and it is easier said than done, but I believe it certainly is worth the effort in the end.  Please let me know if you are interested in learning about TPS together.

Best Regards,

Akinori Saito

President