Toyota's Business Activities and Value Chain Analysis: A Strategic Overview

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[...] This activity is therefore the main strategic business area of the company. However, this main activity is not the only activity of the company since it also develops various activities that allow it, upstream, to produce its vehicles, but also downstream, to market its automobiles. We can therefore define the notion of business activities as the set of strategic business areas of the company that benefit from its own resources (human, technological, financial, material and intangible) and which allow it to develop its turnover. [...]

[...] In conclusion, we have identified 4 strategic activity domains at Toyota. We have seen that the automotive production was the DAS first of Toyota and that the main function linked to it was quality. The sales function also has a capital importance in the creation of value. In parallel, research and development is an important function of the company that, through the activities "new means of transport" and "biotechnologies", tends to become itself a full-fledged activity DAS?). [...]

[...] These activities are complemented by support activities that are identified as infrastructure, technological development (Research and development), human resources management (recruitment, training, Predictive management of employment and skills, evolution within the company . as well as the entire purchasing department. The company examines all its costs and performances in all these areas and tries to find improvements that should enable it to improve this value creation process. Today, many companies create value by identifying the key skills of all their activities and outsourcing the activities for which they think others are more competent in the field. This is often the case for all the support activities mentioned above (Accounting, recruitment . [...]

[...] The "Research and Development" function This is a supporting activity according to Porter, so it is of capital importance for Toyota. It is necessarily the origin of new vehicle concepts created and will allow their emergence on international markets. Can we not consider that this supporting activity goes hand in hand with the production activity? Is it not it that is ultimately the origin of true value creation since production only puts in place the research carried out by this service? [...]

[...] Since 2014, Toyota has re-invested in the DAS of aeronautics, notably in the field of drones which may be the future, notably for all that is related to deliveries, in connection with the internet and the GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon). The important function here is always Research and Development and engineering. One cannot consider this activity as a basic activity in the sense of Porter, but rather for the moment a supporting activity that allows the company to diversify towards lucrative markets. - Biotechnologies : For several years, Toyota has been acting for the environment. The company works to minimize its impact on the environment: hybrid technology, electric battery, responsible eco-driving, recycling, hydrogen . [...]