Toyota's Office of the Web to Guide Company's On-Line Efforts; Dealers to be E-Commerce Partners
12 November 1999
Toyota's Office of the Web to Guide Company's On-Line Efforts; Dealers to be E-Commerce Partners
TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 10 -- Culminating nearly a year of
careful preparation, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. today announced
establishment of Toyota's Office of the Web, a group of top marketing and
technology professionals organized to unify the company's electronic commerce
programs.
"As electronic retailing has exploded onto the business scene, on-line
marketers are just now realizing that physical stores are a tremendous asset,
and are essential to achieve true 360 degree marketing," said TMS Executive
Vice President Jim Press. "Our on-line efforts will be customer-driven to
allow people to buy our products the way they want, not the way that's most
convenient for us. And we will treat our dealers as full partners in this
endeavor; we will not compete with them. It is in our mutual best interest to
share the responsibility of satisfying customers."
Toyota's Office of the Web is organized into six teams:
Business-to-Customer, led by National Manager Keith St. Clair;
Business-to-Business, headed by National Manager Jim Pisz; Policy and
Governance, led by National Manager Jon Bucci; Innovations, headed by National
Manager Peter Dames, Customer Relationship Management reporting to Corporate
Manager Michael Rouse and Web Technology, reporting to National Manager Brian
Beard.
The teams will be led by a newly created position of Vice President,
Office of the Web, which is in the process of being filled. The Office of the
Web will report to J. Davis Illingworth, senior vice president, planning and
development.
"Toyota has a tremendous advantage as we combine the best of what the
Internet has to offer with the expertise of Toyota and Lexus dealers, who know
their markets best," noted Illingworth. "Our strength is manufacturing great
vehicles and our dealers know how to sell and service them."
The Business-to-Customer Team will develop standardized web content and
navigation guidelines for all electronic-business activity that contacts
customers, including the award-winning toyota.com and lexus.com web sites. In
the future, http://www.toyota.com will roll out a national system that will permit
customers to select, configure and price vehicles, apply for credit and
communicate on line with their dealer.
The company is currently working with selected Toyota Dealer Associations
to develop a joint Internet retailing pilot, launching early next year.
"Toyota is giving its dealers the opportunity to dramatically affect our
own destiny," commented Bob Bridge, owner of Bob Bridge Toyota in Renton, WA.
Bridge also is president of the Western Washington Toyota Dealers Association.
"We know the consumer wants to use many different methods to shop and
purchase. The Internet will force dealer/manufacturer groups to partner-up
for the mutual goal of 100 percent customer satisfaction."
Although the realm of business-to-consumer electronic commerce has
occupied the spotlight of public and media attention, Toyota executives
believe enormous potential exists in on-line business-to-business
transactions.
Business-to-Business Team initiatives include an extranet for Toyota and
Lexus dealers (known as Dealer Daily) launched in October. Dealer Daily is
believed to be the largest private virtual network yet attempted, with more
than 1400 user dealerships. It provides Toyota and Lexus dealers with
comprehensive on-line services, including sales and financial reporting, parts
ordering, warranty and service claims and management of sales leads.
Third-party dealer-services companies ADP, Reynolds & Reynolds and UCS will
offer compatible interfaces with Toyota's Dealer Daily, eliminating
duplication of data input and formatting.
A supplier extranet will premier in mid-December, linking approximately
500 Toyota Motor Sales suppliers, providing information on everything from
parts quality to logistics to warranty claims and cost recovery.
The Policy and Governance Team will set overall standards for Toyota's
electronic-business activities, including monitoring Internet domain names
that use "Toyota" or "Lexus."
The Innovations Team will explore advanced Internet applications, and
identify potential strategic alliances. It also has responsibility for
"Global Web," a worldwide extranet for Toyota and Lexus distributors launched
in September, and "ToyotaGlobal" (global.toyota.com), launched in October.
Global Web, currently available to 40 Toyota and Lexus distributors, is a
source of marketing data, merchandising tools, product and press information
and other valuable sales resources. By the end of the year it will be
available to distributors in all 170 countries in which Toyota sells vehicles.
"ToyotaGlobal" is a consumer portal designed for Internet users worldwide.
The Customer Relationship Management Team will develop a corporate-wide
customer information system combining all points of customer contact with
Toyota's sales, finance, customer relations, service, and subsidiary
organizations. The information will help dealers build long-lasting
relationships with individual customers, via improved "owners only" web
portals.
Information systems support will be provided by the Web Technology Team,
which will coordinate Office of the Web needs with Toyota's Information
Systems department. This team will be responsible for technology vendor
management, prototype development and technology guidance.
Headquartered in Torrance, CA, Toyota Motor Sales is the marketing, sales,
distribution and advertising arm of Toyota in the United States. TMS will
sell more than 1.4 million cars and trucks in 1999 through 1195 Toyota and
187 Lexus dealerships in 49 states.