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[Reuters]――Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. overhauled its procurement system for key components called semiconductors 10 years ago when it was forced to adjust production due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake. We recognized that it is necessary to ensure sufficient inventory for semiconductors, which have a long lead time from order to delivery, in case of emergency. Together with the knowledge of semiconductors that we have accumulated internally over the years, Toyota has built resistance to “emergency” situations in which production can stop.
Reuters interviewed several people familiar with the situation. As the global shortage of semiconductors spreads and production by car companies declines, the background has emerged that Toyota production, which is known as a pioneer of the just-in-time system with the least possible inventory, has not been seen hampered. was.
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Harman International, which handles high-end audio and vehicle information systems, has been feeling a shortage of central processing units (CPUs) and power semiconductors used in its products since about November last year. However, more than four months of inventory has already been acquired for the semiconductors required for the products to be delivered to Toyota, said a person familiar with the Harman-Toyota transaction. It was because of the contract with Toyota.
From last year to this year, global demand for semiconductors increased by a stretch. When the development of the 5G high-speed communication standard began in earnest, remote work spread due to the new coronavirus disease and shipments of digital devices such as personal computers increased.
On the other hand, car sales came to a sudden stop in Corona and the production of semiconductor for vehicles declined once. Although demand quickly recovered around the summer, automotive semiconductor production still cannot keep up.
According to four interested people, what is particularly missing is the MCU (microcontroller unit) called a microcomputer, which controls a wide range of functions such as brakes, accelerators, steering, engine ignition and combustion, tire pressure and rain detection. .
Auto companies like Volkswagen (VW), General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Co., Honda and Stellantis were forced to adjust production one after another because they were unable to acquire semiconductors on time. Toyota surprised industry insiders and investors by announcing its financial results in February, revealing that the semiconductor shortage would not have a significant impact on production. Toyota has increased its sales plan for the fiscal year ending March 2021 by 310,000 units and raised its operating profit forecast by 54%.
“To our knowledge, Toyota is the only automaker that has successfully responded to the current semiconductor shortage,” the person said.
The strong earthquake that shook a wide area from Tohoku to Kanto on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent tsunami disrupted Toyota’s supply chain. The supplier was damaged and there was an urgent need for some 500 parts and materials. The victims also included the Renesas Electronics automotive semiconductor factory.
The situation was more serious than that of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in 1995, and it took four months in Japan and half a year abroad to normalize production.
It was a huge shock to the just-in-time production system, which is synonymous with Toyota. Toyota has become an industry leader in terms of efficiency and quality through production control methods that produce what is needed, when it is needed, in the quantity needed, and have the least inventory possible.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, Toyota changed the method of acquiring semiconductors as MCUs. As part of a business continuity plan (BCP), four people said they asked suppliers to have enough semiconductor inventories to deliver their products for some time in the event of a disaster. The period varies by type, but most are 3.5 to 4 months. The longest is 6 months, and in some cases, you can exceed it. This is the lead time from ordering a semiconductor to delivery.
When it comes to semiconductors, Toyota has rewritten the “textbook” of the conventional production control method. Now that there is a global semiconductor shortage and supply chain risks are drawing attention, Toyota is showing its results in earnest.
One of the goals of the inventory reduction strategy, according to Toyota officials, is to identify inefficiencies and risks in the supply chain. Pop out the part that appears to be clogged and avoid it.
“The business continuity plan is Toyota’s way of clarifying and solving problems,” the company spokesman said.
According to people familiar with the matter, Toyota is returning some of the costs reduced by its annual cost-cutting activities to suppliers that have increased their semiconductor inventories. In Toyota’s case, MCU inventories are held by parts manufacturers such as Denso, semiconductor trading companies, and semiconductor manufacturers such as Renesas and TSMC in Taiwan.
Of the various types of MCUs, those currently in short supply are not the most advanced, but the most common semiconductors with a line width of 28-40 nanometers, according to people familiar with the matter.
There’s another reason Toyota is better than its competitors at surviving this semiconductor shortage, officials said. Rather than incorporating supplier-supplied parts into the finished vehicle as-is, the company is trying to fully understand the technology used in the vehicle.
“This basic stance has led to differentiation from other companies,” said a Toyota engineer. “We know everything about semiconductor technology, from the factors that cause defects in semiconductors to the gases and chemicals used in the manufacturing process. It is a different level of knowledge that cannot be obtained simply by buying technology,” said the person. .
The number of semiconductor and digital technologies used by automakers has exploded in the 21st century. The bottom line is that not only have hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles become mainstream, but autonomous driving technology and networking functions have also been installed, and more powerful computing power has been required. In response, so-called system-on-chip (SOC) semiconductors, in which a plurality of integrated circuits are mounted on a substrate, have begun to be used.
Because these technologies are new and special, many automakers are reluctant to leave risk management to the semiconductor manufacturers.
However, Toyota, who does not like black box technology, has accumulated internal knowledge about semiconductors for more than 30 years. With the acceptance of engineers from an electronics manufacturer, the semiconductor factory was completed in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture in 1989, leading to the “Prius” hybrid vehicle being marketed in 1997.
In 2019, Toyota handed over this factory to the Denso group company and consolidated its electronic components business in Denso.
In addition to establishing BCP in the Great East Japan Earthquake, Reuters interviewed that the fact that it embarked on in-house development and production of semiconductors from an early stage and accumulated in-depth knowledge is an important factor in avoiding the current crisis of semiconductor shortage. The people involved are all online.
On the other hand, two of them are concerned that Toyota has integrated semiconductor development into Denso. I’m afraid I may lose my reluctance to black box technology in order to increase efficiency and experience.
“We may have survived this semiconductor shortage, but no one knows what to expect,” one of the people said. “In the name of streamlining development, we may lose our knowledge of technology.”
Norihiko Shiramizu Japanese Item Creation: Nobuhiro Kubo Editing: Hiroshi Hashimoto
