How far has Toyota Kirloskar been able to follow its famed Just-in-Time system here in India?
Swamy: We follow TPS (Toyota Production System) the way we do in Japan. JIT or inventory management is only one part of TPS. Of course, we have built local factors into the system. Our vendors, located between 1 km and 1000 km from Bangalore, follow TPS practices like Kanban, Milkrun and Jumbiki (synchronised supply). Effectively, the inventory build-up at our plant is worth only one day’s production. What is Toyota’s second model for India and when can we expect it to be launched? Yamazaki: Right now, the feasibility and market surveys are on and progressively we will introduce new models. According to your estimates, what will be the total passenger car sales for calendar year 2000? What is your estimate for passenger car sales for calendar 2001? Yamazaki: Though we see that the market is very volatile with steady ups followed by steep lows, our estimates say passenger car sales for calendar year 2000 will be 700,000 cars. The coming year should see sales of 750,000-800,000 cars. How
