By design, "accessibility" is the one word that best
characterizes our corporate philosophy toward supplier diversity. Everyone
involved in our program sits on the other side of an open door: from our Program
Coordinator, who often introduces MBEs into our system, to the buyers who
actually purchase goods and services from suppliers, to our President & CEO, who
regularly visits many of our suppliers' facilities. Making ourselves readily
available to MBEs and taking care to do the small things right such as returning
phone calls promptly and answering questions thoroughly sends the message to
MBEs that our ears and our minds, like our doors, are always open.
We are pleased that during the brief period of our program's existence, our
planning process has given us the direction and focus to produce both the hard
numbers that translate directly into new business for MBEs and the less
quantifiable, but no less important, goodwill (public recognition, awards, etc.)
that sets the stage for even greater future accomplishments.
It also bears saying that although we are pleased, we are not satisfied with our
progress. Therefore, we have set for ourselves some very aggressive goals. The
establishment of our North American manufacturing support office enables us to
better coordinate the Supplier Diversity activities of our individual facilities
and, we expect, to realize some potential synergies that simply went unnoticed
before. Partnership, commitment, national scope, new initiatives and growth:
these are the keys to the success of the Supplier Diversity Program at Toyota.
Honestly, however, we prefer to think of them as mile markers along a highway
called "continuous improvement". Perhaps it's because of the business we're in,
but we've always believed that real success is a journey, not a destination.
Toyota is seeking potential Minority Suppliers to register for various opportunities within the Mississippi Region, as well as, suppliers willing to relocate (Preferably within a 150 mile radius from the plant). In order to effectively determine Minority Suppliers, Toyota will accept current state and local certifications with the potential to become certified by NMSDC and WBENC (Certification for Women Owned Business) by award date.
We are glad that you have taken an interest in our program. The procedure for becoming a potential supplier to Toyota involves three simple steps.