BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

same time, Toyota Tsusho established an insurance support structure in China,Southeast Asia, and Brazil to prepare for the overseas expansion activities of itscustomers.Responding to the Financial Big BangFollowing the start of large-scale financial reforms in 1996, the so-calledJapanese Financial Big Bang, the Insurance Division worked to inform itscustomers about various financial products. Toyota Tsusho also conductedworkplace safety and health training and occupational safety services known asZero Accident Campaign Support Services for members of Toyotsu Rousaikai (aworker’s compensation association for Toyota Tsusho Group business partners).Toyota Tsusho also implemented a commuter vehicle and parking managementservice to expand sales of automobile insurance.The company also enhanced its systems. In 1989, Toyota Tsusho introduced aninsurance strategy computer system (ASSIST) to centrally manage customers andinsurance contracts and improve services.During this period, the business environment was harsh, but business volume inthe Insurance Division remained steady, supported by the favorable performanceof the automobile industry. In June 1999, the Insurance Division was merged withthe Textile and General Merchandise Division and became the Consumer Productsand Services Division.Section 2 Cultivating New BusinessesPHS personal handy-phonesystem1 Support for New Business DevelopmentIn the 1990s, Toyota Tsusho took on the challenge of developing various newbusinesses with the aim of shedding the old and moving from being a generaltrading company to being a value-generating corporation. In July 1995, thecompany established the Development Functions Conference to further strengthenits development and marketing capabilities and the planning and developmentfunctions essential for commercialization.To further improve its conventional new business development system, ToyotaTsusho set up a Business Development Promotion Section in the DevelopmentDepartment and the project teams were appointed for each new business tomanage the development process. As a result, finance and human support couldbe obtained at the commercialization stage, making it easy to commercializeambitious proposals not only at the department and group levels but also at theindividual level.In July 1997, the Development Functions Conference was integrated into theSales Functions Conference.2 Entering Internet-Related BusinessesIn the 1990s, with the widespread use of mobile phones and the Internet,Toyota Tsusho cultivated new businesses centering on the information andcommunications sectors. Toyotsu Telecom Corp. (currently Toyotsu SyscomCorp.) was established in March 1994 and was a vehicle for this business. ToyotsuTelecom Corp. consisted of a Media Communications Department that developed104