Toyota is comprehensively realigning its production and service parts organisation in North America with an integrated supply chain division as part of its overall One Toyota initiative, designed to improve customer service and cost efficiency.
The carmaker is merging its Logistics Control function with Service Parts and Accessories in a new division called Parts Distribution and Accessory Development (PDAD), led by Alok Vaish (pictured), who becomes general vice-president of the division.
PDAD will have three main units. Steve Brown, vice-president ofToyota Engineering and Manufacturing North America (TEMNA), will oversee Parts Supply Chain Planning (PSCP), which will handle original equipment and service parts planning. That unit will be subdivided into Advanced Planning and Cyclic Planning departments. The first, led by general manager Doug Adams, will manage systems, logistics projects and packaging; while the second will be led by group manager Jeff Estes, who will be responsible for logistics, supply, export and new model planning.
The second main unit of the new PDAD division will be Parts Supply Chain Operations (PSCO), led by Neil Swartz, vice-president of parts supply chain management at the company. That unit will manage daily supply chain operations for production and service parts and will also be subdivided into two parts: Daily Operations and Fulfillment Operations. Daily Operations will be led by general manager Ed Huante, who will look after logistics operations, supply operations, supplier development and customer support; while Mike Schober will look after Fulfillment Operations and manage parts centres, PDCs and field operations support.
The third main unit is called Service Parts and Accessory Development (SPAD), which will organise accessory development and planning under the leadership of Greg Bernas, vice-president and chief engineer. That unit will again be subdivided into a Product, Pricing and Strategy department and an Engineering department. The first will be led by general manager Carla Neff, who will oversee product planning, business operations and strategy; while Engineering will be led by group manager, Raul Perez and handle development and quality engineering.
The transition to the new organisational structure will be overseen by Mary Rose, general manager of supply chain management.
The extent of the reorganisation of inbound and service parts logistics at Toyota is significant as not many of Toyota’s rivals in North America have integrated logistics and supply chain to this degree. The latest move continues a shift to greater collaboration between units that began back in 2014.
As reported previously, Toyota’s Service Parts and Accessories Operations (SPAO) division, which was formerly responsible for service parts, was almost entirely separate to the company’s manufacturing and inbound logistics. There was no sharing of facilities and the departments were based on opposite sides of the US, with service parts in California and production logistics in Kentucky. Consolidation and collaboration started when Toyota moved its departments together into a single location in Plano, outside Dallas, Texas.
