Toyota has been suffering from the ill-effects of its limitations on controlling the supply chain for its Prius model.
The Toyota Prius, a car that can be driven on battery power, reducing the need for petrol, has had a strong following and a waiting list for some time, although now with a bottleneck in battery production Toyota is having to sweat over the production.
Sales in the US for June 2008 were just 11,765; one third lower than sales in the same month during the year previous.
The problems with Toyota highlight a shared problem faced by many manufacturers as, despite Toyota typically being a beacon of good supply chain management, the company has discovered the hard way that it simply cannot cope with certain demands.
There are several options for UK companies looking to outsource supply chains, or employ consultants to help improve a company’s options.
Sales of Priuses are more closely linked to the cost of oil than any other model, the Financial Times has found, and with rising fuel prices looking likely for the near to long term future it is understandable that Toyota's headache is set to last quite some time, unless perhaps an outsider is brought in to consult the Japanese firm.
Should You Outsource?:
Are you thinking about outsourcing? Download a case study - FREE.
