BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

All of the executives, including Kiichiro, shared a strong consciousness ofthe risks. At the same time, they were also filled with a strong determination torecover.The Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Building, whereGHQ was located in TokyoPhoto: Kingendai PL/Aflo2 The General Trading Company Concept for Toyota SangyoWhat role was to be given to Toyota Sangyo in the Toyota Group’s postwarrecovery? The answer to that can be seen in the second postwar Board of Directorsmeeting, held a month later, on September 28.There is a background to this meeting. Before the Board of Directors meeting,on September 22, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ) decidedthat when a munitions factory was going to convert to meet civilian demand,the Japanese government would submit to GHQ a request for that factory’sconversion. Furthermore, according to the GHQ memorandum of September 25,“Manufacturing Industry Operations,”based on GHQ management munitionsfactories were permitted to convert to meet civilian demands within a limitedrange.The board meeting was held on the receipt of this good news. The membersin attendance were the same as for the first board meeting, and Kiichiro Toyodaexpressed the following opinion:Regarding the future outlook for industry in our country, we must pay attentionto the dismantling of large industrial firms and the rise of small and mediumsizedenterprises. Therefore, in the end, the character and direction of the ToyodaCompaniesandToyotaSangyoareasfollows:1. Each company in the group will proceed with its peacetime industry from thepositionofasmalltomedium-sizedenterprise.2. Toyota Sangyo will promptly set up a commercial department to handle thesalesofeachcompany’sproducts.3. To achieve this, Toyota Sangyo will have each firm devote itself toproduction, which will simplify management, increase production efficiency,and improve quality. To proceed with this goal, it will supervise the sales ofeach firm (proceeding to export) and will be in charge of conducting researchinto overseas demand and materials supply (proceeding to purchase andimport sales). I would like to proceed with this. For this reason, I want theinternal organization of Toyota Sangyo to work hard to start operations assoon as possible.What became clear in this meeting was that the dismantling of large industrialfirms couldn’t be avoided, each company in the Toyota Group would establishsubsidiaries and grow them, and Toyota Sangyo would supervise all sales for thegroup except for the spinning and loom machines of Toyoda Automatic LoomWorks and the automobiles of Toyota Motor Company. This latter was so thateach company could devote itself to manufacturing. This meant converting ToyotaSangyo from a holding company to a company whose main business was sales;that is to say, converting it to a general trading company. The third item containsthe functions one would demand of a general trading company: supervision ofsales, including exports; researching of overseas demand; and supplying materials.3 Development of the Trading DepartmentAfter receiving the decisions of the second Board of Directors meeting, the42