Foundations for Creating Competitiveness

Creative Branding
We believe that an important objective of management is to further raise the value of the Yamaha brand and make itshine. With that in mind, the Company established the Creative Center in April 2020 to boost the drivers of the brandand is engaging in a range of initiatives aimed at enhancing brand value.

To Create What Only Yamaha Motor
Can Create Akihiro Nagaya
Executive Officer,
Chief General Manager ofCreative Center,
Brand Committee Chairman

Establishment of theCreative Center 
The Creative Center was newly established with the goal of creating synergies by merging the product design and advance designroles of the former Design Center with the Company’s brandmarketing and brand strengthening operations. To that end, wenewly established the Brand Marketing Division, which integrates
certain communication design duties, content creation as well as
website creation and management, and placed it under Creative
Center jurisdiction. Under the banner of “creativity,” we intend topromote these efforts in a comprehensive manner as activities for
proposing value in a new era.

“There Is Greater Joy Yet to Come.” Behind this theme for the2019 Tokyo Motor Show is the belief that we must make more
proposals for bringing people happiness. In order to realize ourLong-Term Vision of “ART for Human Possibilities,” we considered
what specific approaches to take, the kind of value we would
create, and how we could bring joy. Adhering to the unique styleof Yamaha in every facet, from our way of thinking and creating toour development of products and their applications, as well as ourways of communicating, we assembled in the Creative Center toestablish a platform for putting all our efforts into doing not only
more of what we can do but also more of that which only we can.
What can we communicate globally through marketing as
Yamaha from a cross-business perspective instead of that of individual businesses, so that ourbases and business units canengage in all aspects of branding with a sense of ownership?
We look to create real meaning
with these efforts and thenimplement them accordingly.

Kando Cycle• The Kando Cycle describes how we conduct our business from a branding perspective.
• As a Kando Creating Company, we continuously generate new Kando by expanding the linkage of Kando experiences and thereby increase both ourbrand value and our corporate value.

C3

C2

Kando for customers
C1
Build the excitement for
products with the unique styleof Yamaha

B1

Encourage a lastingemotional attachment toYamahaUnderstand andexperience the uniquestyle of Yamaha

Become an
advocate of the unique style of
Yamaha and constantly explain it
to others

B2
Grow potential fans

C4
Y4

Strengthen customer ties
and loyalty to Yamaha
through services

Kando for employees
and partners

Communicate theunique style of Yamaha and its
experiences to customers

B3
Increase new customers /interested employee
candidates

Y1
Foster employees’ pride
Embody the unique styleof Yamaha

Y3

C5

Develop partners’ loyalty to theunique style of Yamaha

Increase profits per unit, sales volume,
profits, and stock priceC6

Y2
Develop technologies,
products, and services with theunique style of Yamaha

Expand investments

Y: Yamaha
C: Customer
B: Business

Promoting the Global Branding PDCA Cycle• In order to relay and reflect the results of brand value analyses in our corporate activities, periodically conduct surveys to assess brand strength using
uniform tools at principal bases around the world.*• Examine issues and formulate an activity plan based on those results.

Autonomous Branding® 
Autonomous Branding®—the autonomization of branding activities—is an approach unique to Yamaha Motor and forms one of its foundations. Autonomous Branding® is an initiative that departs from limiting branding to a single form or optimization on a case-by-case basis forour diverse, expansive product lineup or by each individual region. It instead creates a framework based on the unique style of Yamaha inwhich each involved party takes ownership and implementation of branding with the attitude of “diverse but one at heart.”
The headquarters’ role in Autonomous Branding® is none other than to create and provide a range of tools that are uniquely Yamaha. We
implement branding using the Kando Cycle brand building tool and measure the results as “brand strength” while galvanizing branding
efforts through workshops held in our regions and business areas.
We believe that the unique style of Yamaha is the answer that we pursue as well as our method to conducting branding as a whole.

Evaluation via Common Indicators
Evaluation segment (country, region, product)
ALL
A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

Headquarters
Identify common global issues
and plan and promote
countermeasures

Clarity
Commitment
Global Branding Workshop

Governance
Responsiveness
Authenticity

Headquarters prepares a framework and branding content
Relevance
Differentiation
Consistency

Example 1: BooM display booth design

Presence
Engagement

Base A

Base B

Base C

Each business and base chooses from the framework anduses their choices to carry out branding autonomously

Example 2: Yamaha Day event

Regions
Identify issues and formulate activity plans at
Global Branding Workshops* Uses the Brand Strength factors of Interbrand’s Brand Valuation™ methodology

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Foundations for Creating Competitiveness

Creative Design
Yamaha Motor believes that design contributes to both management and branding. With branding, we communicate
the meaning behind creations and endeavors unique to Yamaha, and here we describe the role of design along withsome of our design-related initiatives and achievements.

Mobility in tune with human sensibilities:
MW-VISION

Designing “Meaning” Traditionally, the primary role of design was to communicate topeople the trends and demands of the market and technologicaladvancements through the lens of colors and forms. Today, themeaning of design has broadened and its role is no longer limited
to simply promoting values.
With this being the case, we are advancing initiatives related
to designing “meaning” in particular. Based on uniquely Yamaha
contexts, such as the Company’s history, perspectives, and future
prospects that are ours alone, we engage in design while asking

Concept Models for the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show with a “Designed Meaning”

ourselves what is meaningful value for people’s happiness andwhat are meaningful solutions for society going forward.
Specifically, we carry out our consultations in a workshop
format that we advance alongside the various business departments. Deciphering the meaning required for a new era, we
comprehensively design everything, from business strategies andend products to our touchpoints with customers and society. We
believe that doing so will allow more people to identify with thevalue and solutions we offer.

The MW-VISION is a next-generation form of mobility that proposes a new
relationship between people and their vehicles. In response to environmental and societal issues such as traffic congestion, accidents, and adverse
weather, we designed the plan and concepts of the MW-VISION based on
the “peace of mind” yielded by the LMW platform’s two front wheels, the“comfort” of a roofed, cocoon-like body, and the “fun” of interactive
communication through sound and light.

The Land Link Concept is a landdrone capable of a variety of tasks
via autonomization. Together with
our advanced research departments,
we designed this model according to the Advancing Robotics focus area of
our Long-Term Vision. Focusing on the relationship between the drone andthose working alongside it, we visualized the development concept of an“Inter-Responsive Link” by producing a layout that allows the drone tomove in every direction, coordinated movement with several other drone
units, greater utility by fitting attachments, and more.

Designing interactive
communication via
movement, sound,and light

A Yamaha Mentality—Value-Driven Thinking We have developed our own mentality for deriving uniquely
Yamaha meaning, which begins by stimulating human creativity.
Even if confronted by situations in which an answer seems
unimaginable, this instead spurs our motivation to resolve thesituation rather than shy away in fear.

AI-equipped autonomousvehicular solution:
Land Link Concept

700mm

Narrow
spacesToday, we have begun using this mentality with a variety ofbusiness departments. Eventually, we hope that it will enrich thecreativity of everyone involved with Yamaha and lead to a plethora of new ideas and solutions that will bring happiness to future
generations.

1690mmTransport

Sensing

159

0mm

Design focusing on interactions with workers alongside it

Product Design Visualizing the Intent of the Business and Users

Establishment of Innovation Tokyo 
We established Innovation Tokyo in the Tokyo metropolitan area
to serve as a hub for innovation, a place to create new meaning
through collaboration with outside companies, academic institutions, and creators who share our attitude. Looking ahead,through its functions as a hub for new value creation, we hope
to deliver the next era of Kando to more people and society as
a whole together with the new partners we meet.

Surface mounter with an all-new platform: YRM20

Satisfying adventurous minds: Ténéré 700

Designers took part in the formulation of the concept for the Company’s
surface mount technology (SMT) business—Unique & Proven!—andadopted a new product design echoing this concept. Things began with thedesign of a single surface mounter, but we also created a product design
manual aimed at making the unique style of Yamaha obvious at a glance
when surface mounters are
lined up alongside our industrial machinery for otherprocesses. We wish to develop
trust in our surface mountersin the same way that factory
managers ensure trust andefficiency through tidy, orderly
operations.

We designed the latest entry for our Ténéré brand, which pioneered theadventure motorcycle category, at our design base in Milan, Italy, the closest
location to the target market among our five overseas design centers.
Approaches to motorcycle design often consist of creating a beautiful
design based on a certain motif, but the Ténéré 700’s design envisioned
actual use scenarios and thus sought to include a variety of functions. By
incorporating an approach for the above heavily emphasizing simplicity, the
Ténéré 700 emerged as a tool embodying
the key essences of a rally-bred machine.

Italian design team

Design depiction of the SMT product lineup

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Foundations for Creating CompetitivenessResearch and Development
Since launching the PAS as the world’s first electrically power-assisted bicycle in 1993, Yamaha Motor has worked toaddress energy diversification by promoting electrification of its wide-ranging product lineup, from scooters and golfcars to electric wheelchairs and industrial-use unmanned helicopters. By further advancing research and development
centered on our traditional specialty of compact, high-performance forms of mobility with little environmental impact,
the Company aims to contribute to the resolution of numerous societal issues.

Continuing Our Challenge with LMW Technology 
Under the concept “To someday create bikes that lean but do not
fall,” we have developed a variety of production models using our
proprietary LMW technology, which allows vehicles with three ormore wheels to lean like a motorcycle through turns. At the 46th
Tokyo Motor Show in 2019, we exhibited the MW-VISION concept
model utilizing this technology. The cocoon-like vehicle body is easy
to handle and maneuver while the vehicle itself is equipped withattitude control technology, reverse drive, and a self-standing assist
mechanism for peace of mind and easy control when stopped. The
Company is continuing its challenge of creating new demand for
personal mobility through Monozukuri that is close to people andby pursuing mobility that delivers peace of mind, comfort, and fun
to users.

Self-Driving Technology Addressing the Declining Labor Force Growing demand for high-mix, low-volume production combinedwith chronic labor shortages is making it difficult for logistics
operators to maintain an efficient production structure for meeting demand with conventional equipment and operations premised on the deployment of workers. Yamaha Motor and Tier IV,
Inc. have established eve autonomy, Inc. as a joint-venture company for operating an automated transporter solutions business totackle this issue. Both companies are engaged in the joint development of automated transport pilot products at our Hamakita
Factory (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture). The units commenced
operations on the logistics line of the plant on March 2020 as we

aim to create smart factories taking advantage of Internet ofThings (IoT) technologies.
Our autonomous vehicle initiatives are not limited to the logistics of factory floors. The Company concluded a Partnership
Agreement for Low-Speed Autonomous Driving Technology
Evaluation Trials within Iwata City (Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture) andhas been conducting field tests on public roads with low-speed
autonomous vehicles since July 2019. The purpose of the trials is
to evaluate and ascertain any issues with the autonomous driving
system and to study the driving environment toward real-world
rollouts of low-speed autonomous vehicles.

Developing EV Technology for Lower Environmental Impact 
As a pioneer of electric motorcycles, Yamaha Motor has continuously brought electric mobility to the market for approximately 25
years. While we anticipate that it will still be some time before
electric motorcycles become a mainstay of commuting, theCompany is working from all angles to prepare for the arrival ofthat era. At the 46th Tokyo Motor Show in 2019, we exhibited
the E01 and E02 urban commuter concept models, the former
comparable to a 125cc gasoline engine and the latter on par witha 50cc engine. They represented proposals taking the use environment on the horizon into account, such as easily detachable
batteries and fast-charge infrastructure.
Our proposals for electrification are not limited to motorcycles;
we have begun accepting orders for prototype electric motor units
that boast industry-leading output density for use in automobiles
and other mobility. Through the technologies and sensibilities wehave garnered through our engine development work to date, wesought to develop uniquely Yamaha “Emotional EV Motors,” andthanks to our casting and machining technologies—also honed
by developing engines—and the use of high-efficiency segment
conductors, these units generate high output despite their­compact size.

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Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

Yamaha Motor’s Intellectual Property Activities
Portfolio in Growth Areas

Intellectual Property Activities Strategy

Based on current and future market, technological, and socio-environmental
trends, Yamaha Motor has designated growth areas in its Long-Term
Vision of “ART for Human Possibilities” as well as its medium- to longterm growth strategies to foster sustainable growth, and is promoting
the creation of new value. To that end, we are working to transform theintellectual properties that support these efforts into advanced “assets”
in line with each respective growth area.

Based on the approach outlined in the Portfolio in Growth Areas, theCompany has laid out its Four Policy Pillars of Intellectual Property
Activities with an eye on growth areas and on potential growth areas forthe future, all under the banner of “IP for Business.” Today, the departments of each business segment and the relevant intellectual property
departments communicate closely and coordinate to drive various initiatives based on these four pillars.

Through the above, we will examine new technologies that further the Company’s strengths, the exploration of new markets and business fields, businesscollaborations, M&As, and technical tie-ups from the perspective of intellectual property. In these ways, we will buttress further improvements in the competitiveness of the Yamaha Motor Group and sustainable growth while linking our efforts to new intellectual properties.

Four Policy Pillars of Intellectual Property Activities
1

2

3

4

Move one step ahead of conventional intellectual property activities
that consist primarily of intellectual
property creation linked to productand technology development inexisting businesses.

Pursue intellectual property activities
that preempt technological developments and the expansion of businessareas by looking beyond our existing
technologies and markets.

Indicate advanced fields that target
further preemption and businessarea expansion through analysis of
the intellectual property landscape.

Contribute to management decisions
and strategy formulation from theperspective of intellectual property
analysis in addition to market andtechnological growth analysis.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 202037

Foundations for Creating Competitiveness

Digital Transformation
To make greater strategic use of state-of-the-art digital technologies and data toward realizing our Long-Term Vision,
the Company has dubbed its digital transformation (DX) as “Yamaha Motor to the Next Stage” and we are driving threelinked initiatives simultaneously to carry out this transformation.

Y-DX2: Strengthen the Present 
We will offer new Kando to customers through initiatives in four core digital domains.

Y-DX1: Reform Management Platforms 
Based on Yamaha Motor’s Ten Principles of Management,* we are revamping our management platforms to achieve thefollowing three objectives:(1) Accelerate decision-making via thorough efforts to make information visible and uniform(2) Enhance the efficiency of back-office operations and shift resources to growth areas(3) Use new information to better visualize our customers and achieve predictive management
At the same time, by standardizing core business processes and systems, we will promote the use of shared services and aim to enhance theproductivity and quality of corporate operations.
* The ten principles defining our system of management established by top management toward next-generation growth

Digital Marketing
Across the customer journey spanning
Awareness to Purchase and Sharing, we will
provide experiences that exceed expectations
with a fully cohesive approach in the digitaland real worlds. We will also respond quickly
to online needs once the COVID-19 pandemic
has subsided. The Company will move forwardwith this initiative based on the key phrase of“Personalizing Kando at Scale.”

Purchase /Re-purchase

Awareness
Experience
Sharing

Smart Operations
We will address market-centric operational issues across the value chain—spanning sales, distribution,
manufacturing, procurement, andmore—by applying the Theory ofConstraints (TOC) methodology, conducting data analysis, and using various
other digital technologies. Teams mainlycomprised of younger employees willtake the lead in tackling various issues.

DAP

Accelerate decisionmaking throughpredictive management

Management dashboard

Interest / Search /Visit

YAMAHA MOTOR

Digital Analytics Platform

Unified Accounting System / Predictive Management

Global layer

Consolidated global database

Management
simulation

Global production,
sales, and inventry(PSI)

Connected
Thorough visibility anduniformity
One Fact, One Place

Consolidated model
profitability

Base / distributor layer

Shared services

Linked Platforms / Global Master

Procurement

Production

Distribution

Sales

ServicesStandardization of business processes and code systems
Accounting and corporate operations

Differentiation
processes

Standardized
processes(ERP)

Shared services through a corporate subsidiary*

Shifting resources
to growth fields

Data Analysis
As a center of excellence for data analysis,
teams of professional data scientists are applying
various data analysis methods as well as AI andmachine learning to resolve various problems,
make improvements, and create predictivemodels. At the same time, we are training ourown data scientists in order to democratize data
analysis internally.

More efficient backoffice operations

Enhanced productivity
and quality in corporate
operations throughshared services* Yamaha Motor Biz Partner (YMBP)The Yamaha Motor Connected Vision
2030 states that “By 2030, we aim toconnect all Yamaha Motor products tolearn more about our customers, form
connections with them, and continue
creating new value.” We have alreadybegun by connecting motorcycles aswell as marine engines, taking a major
step toward offering new value.

Y-DX3: Create the Future 
We will create the future by connecting with our 200 million customers.

Medium- to Long-Term Plans
Action Themes
Y-DX3.

2019–2021

2022–2024

2025–2027

Search and trial

Building and implementation

Expansion

Create the
FutureY-DX2.

Yamaha Motor customers

Four core domains and DAP

Strengthen the
Present

Y-DX1.
Reform Management
Platforms

Global consolidated database andJapanese accounting ERPApplication in four core domains andglobal rollout

Advance and update

Principal base / distributor ERP

ERP at all bases / distributors

Customers who know
Yamaha Motor

Customers
who do not know
Yamaha Motor

We will form ties with new customers
through channels beyond conventionalorganic growth and via collaborations.
By gaining new perceptions and synergies,
we will create new value and a new future.
Furthermore, we will create a continuous
cycle of innovation internally and take up
challenges with uniquely Yamaha ideas.
Collaborations with different fields
Co-creation programs
Construction of a continuous
cycle of innovation

Y-DX2. Strengthen the Present
Y-DX3. Create the Future38

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Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 202039

Foundations for Creating CompetitivenessProcurement
To deliver our unique, high-performance, high-quality products throughout the world, procuring a diverse variety ofquality parts and materials with a global perspective becomes crucial. By proactively communicating with our suppliers
and business partners, we develop trusting relationships and the strong teamwork we build in this way leads to the
Yamaha Monozukuri that creates Kando.

“Theoretical-Value-Based Procurement” and the Supply Chain 
Monozukuri Procurement That Incorporates
Our Partners“Theoretical-value-based procurement” is an initiative unique tothe Company underway in collaboration with its business partners.
This approach—implemented with our partners—extends toprocurement the theoretical-value-based production approach
applied to our manufacturing and production processes, i.e., firstdrawing up an ideal vision and then conducting improvement
activities striving to achieve high-quality output. With theoreticalvalue-based procurement, we share issues we are facing with the
top management of our partners and emphasize putting dialogue
and goal consensus at the forefront in order to uncover the key
points for contributing to improved procurement management.
To promote these activities, we train “theoretical-value instructors” and dispatch them to suppliers. In addition to improving
production processes, the target area for theoretical-value-based
procurement extends to reducing energy use, trimming inventory,

Global Implementation of Theoretical-Value-Based Production(No. of companies)

416

Overseas
Japan

338

251
185
146

13

30

44

54

67

86

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019enhancing quality, and more. Going beyond simply procuring theparts and components required per product blueprints, we workwith our partners to create the best possible products in terms ofmaterials and manufacturing as well.
As of 2019, 416 suppliers have adopted our theoretical-valuebased production approach, and we are creating a robust procurement network.

Cultivating Teamwork through Horizontal Deployment
The Company holds an annual Global Suppliers Conference gathering together our major business partners and suppliers fromaround the world, and some 600 people attended the seventh
event in 2019, with attendees hailing from 135 companies
in Japan, 92 companies in 13 other countries in addition toCompany executives, employees, and subsidiaries. In addition
to sharing our vision and introducing initiatives at this event, we
present awards to outstanding partners in each business, shareexamples of successful deployments of theoretical-value-based
procurement, and display new products. The conference not only
helps participants get to know Yamaha but also helps grow thenumber of Yamaha fans and enhance the brand.

Promoting Sustainability Across the Entire Supply Chain 
We ask our partners to support the Yamaha Motor Group’s Basic
Policies of CSR and expect them to act on the basis of these policies. Our current Medium-Term Management Plan (2019–2021)
calls for the rollout of these policies to cover approximately 90%
of our total worldwide procurement value, translating into morethan 1,000 companies across the supply chain. So far, we havereceived declarations of conformity from around 600 companies.
As part of our environmental response initiatives, we issued ourGreen Procurement Guidelines and are accordingly working with
suppliers to manage and curtail use of environmentally hazardous
substances and to use resources and energy more efficiently,
among other undertakings. And in 2018, we incorporated into
the guidelines information from the Yamaha Motor TechnicalStandards on chemical substances uniformly defined throughout

the automotive industry, and have made a thorough effort toensure supplier awareness of and conformity with these changes.
To ensure legal compliance, the standard purchasing contracts
we sign with individual suppliers call for compliance with relatedlaws, ordinances, official notices, and guidelines.

CSR Guidelines
for Suppliers• Safety and quality• Human rights and working environment• Concern for the environment• Implementation of risk management(crisis management and response)• Thorough compliance• Appropriate information disclosure

Conducting Assessments of Working Environments in Indonesia 
On a monetary basis, Southeast Asia accounts for 47% of theparts we procure for our major products, but it is also a region inwhich human rights risks are generally considered to be high.
In 2019, we commissioned a third party to conduct trial assessments of working environments, including aspects of humanrights violations. Specifically, we selected three suppliers inIndonesia—our largest motorcycle production base—in categories

where work environment risks tend to be high. The assessments
included judging the degree to which policies were being maintained and followed; interviewing members of management;
evaluating labor practices, actual working conditions, and remedial measures; and conducting site inspections. We provided those
suppliers with feedback and proposals, and are working on
making improvements.

Building Information Networks to Support the Company
Building strong teamwork with our business partners facilitates amore attuned response to risks. To be able to quickly collect information on damage affecting our supply chain stemming fromnatural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and typhoons, we haveestablished a framework with our partners for checking the supply
chain not only with our primary suppliers in Japan, but also one
that extends to secondary and tertiary business partners as well as
those further upstream. Even amid the chaos seen with global
supply chains due to COVID-19, the ability to quickly gauge thestatus of operations of our suppliers together with individual
reports greatly aided in making swift management decisions.

Message from Management
Contributing to strengthening procurement strategy and g­ overnanceover the next 10 years through a unique perspective
I have been working for the Yamaha Motor Group for 26 years, and especially mythree years of management experience at the Procurement Center in Japan wasvery insightful, and helped me to better recognize the importance of the global
procurement governance.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put ongoing pressure on both supply and demand
and affected our operations as a whole. We have a responsibility as management
to reflect on this and consider how our procurement strategy, activity management,
governance, and human resources should evolve over the next 10 years within a
rapidly changing business environment. This subject must be discussed on a global
level and common decisions must be implemented.
As joint leader of the Global Execution Transformation (GET) strategy for the
procurement field, I will lead our team to take our global procurement capabilities
to the next level.

Olivier Prevost
Director,
PTW Manufacturing & Engineering,
Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. (YMENV)We asked Indian automotive parts manufacturer Fiem Industries Ltd. (FIEM) to produce our ultra-compact LED headlight created with an emphasis on cost and quality, and basedon our theoretical-value-based production approach. Adopted on the 2019 MT-03 model, it greatly raised its product appeal, and for their work FIEM received the Excellence inTechnology and Development award at the 2019 Global Suppliers Conference.

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Foundations for Creating Competitiveness

Manufacturing and Production (Monozukuri )We create high-quality products interweaving our technologies and sensibilities through a combination of our­craftsmanship that brings added value to our products and our production processes that eliminate waste. Moreover, we
will further strengthen our production schemes through the application of production and manufacturing technologies.

Striking a Balance between Theoretical-Value-Based Production andYamaha Motor Craftsmanship: The Yamaha Touch 
The Company implements its unique theoretical-value-based
production approach at its Group companies and business partners. Conducting improvement activities after first drawing up an
ideal vision leads to ideas different from a conventional, incremental approach and this has generated higher production output. In
addition, we seek to contribute to management goals by linking
these activities with the Company’s profit and loss statement andbalance sheet.
Theoretical-value-based production is a Yamaha improvement
method through which fully productive time—a common metricfor productivity—is further categorized into work with value,quasi-value, and no value, and any elements of no value arethoroughly analyzed and minimized. Moreover, it focuses on not
only the productivity of people and facilities but also the leadtimes for items. By moving forward with synchronized production
processes based on a comprehensive optimization approach, weseek to realize shorter lead times and thus improve our adaptability to the market. This work first began in Japan in 2004 and was
subsequently rolled out to Group companies and business partners across the world, continuously achieving noteworthy results.
However, the key to maintaining the Company’s competitiveedge is the delicate balance we strike between our efforts to create
value and what seems to be the stark opposite of that—the illogical
yet invaluable extra steps we take in the process. This is what wecall the Yamaha Touch of Yamaha Motor Craftsmanship, and wewill bolster our production branding efforts going forward.
Examples of the extra steps we make to enhance the appeal anddraw of our products are aiming for bullseye precision rather thansimply within acceptable parameters, or the careful eye and handsthat buff a rough surface to its final finish since the machine
cannot. The Yamaha Touch has evolved and been passed on as partof our workplace culture. Yamaha motorcycles receive particularlyhigh acclaim from customers for their handling, design, color
schemes, and other features, but it is only through the Yamaha
Touch that they can be brought to life as products. In addition to
producing exactly what the blueprints sent by the designers andengineers contain, it is in the DNA of the factory frontlines to produce work that surpasses specifications, and cross-departmental
exchanges of opinions and feedback are part of our ever-present
efforts to improve. The Yamaha Touch has been cultivated andrefined through Yamaha’s keen sense for quality and detail, ourfactory and workplace traditions, and the professionalism of eachindividual, and it creates immense added value in the varied andvital processes of creating lighter chassis, more efficient engines,
and more beautiful designs for Yamaha motorcycles.

Quasi-value work

The fuel tank of the
YZF-R1M flagship model
is buffed to its final
finish by a mastercraftsman.

Schedule loss

No value work

Factory theoretical value
Ideal cycle time

Speed loss

with the establishment of smart factories as this system provides
greater clarity to issues while efficiently reforming management
methods, thereby contributing to enhanced corporate activities asa whole. This initiative is planned for ASEAN markets as well, andby becoming better able to gauge the manufacturing situationsof our domestic as well as international bases, we are working
to globally augment management efficiency.

Case Study

Big data analysis improves casting process
Cast parts are created using molds, so the individual points andshapes being formed cannot be seen from the outside. Accordingly,
it is a process that relies heavily on simulations and the experienceof longtime engineers in order to improve quality. As a smart factory initiative, we acquired casting process-related data spanningover 200 items and conducted big data analysis of their correlation
with quality. Through this, we successfully cut defect-induced lossesof ¥100 million over the course of 2019. In addition to qualityrelated loss reductions through data analysis, we have begun developing automation technologies such as AI imaging inspection, andwill implement them at factory sites as we move forward. By leveraging these technologies, we will realize high-quality, cost-­

Employees are able to check a variety of manufacturing site data on location in atimely manner, leading to prompt improvements.

Message from Management
Bolstering our competitiveness by instilling the Monozukuri Way globally

Planned production time

Value work

The incorporation of technology trends and practices such as
Industry 4.0, IoT, and AI at production sites is drawing greaterattention. The Company defines a “smart factory” as a systemthat links and unifies data on people, equipment, products, andinformation in manufacturing, markets, and engineering; andvisualizes disparities and fluctuations between theoretical value
and effective value in real time. The Company is moving forward

competitive Monozukuri on a global scale.
Our long-selling SR400model is assembled
through “cell manufacturing” in which the entire
motorcycle is put together
by a two-person team.

Theoretical-Value-Based Production Chart

Fully productive time

Yamaha Motor Smart Factory Initiatives 

Identify the essential functions, eliminate items and objects (losses) otherthan these essential functions, and continue to aim for new heights

The Global Execution Transformation (GET) initiative was established in January 2020
as a global activity organization pertaining to management and business functions.
My role in the GET initiative involves jointly overseeing our global efforts in the manufacturing industry as well as promoting global activities therein.
Specifically, we will instill Yamaha Motor’s vision for Monozukuri (Monozukuri Way)globally by promoting Monozukuri global management through the annual
Monozukuri Conference. At the conference, I would like to not only share our
Monozukuri Way but also focus on transforming the manufacturing industry andimproving our brand value. Furthermore, I would like to create a global manufacturing
team as part of efforts to more actively promote the Monozukuri Way at our overseas
bases, in addition to domestic bases. By mutually sharing information and successful
examples and developing best practices, we will raise the expectations of employees
from overseas bases participating in the team and promote our Monozukuri Way while
being able to pinpoint areas of improvement going forward. Moreover, a global manufacturing team would also greatly enhance our ability to identify talented global manufacturing personnel and develop such personnel over a short period.
My goal is to lead our manufacturing bases around the world to improve ourbusiness performance while increasing the value we provide to customers, thereby
raising the value of the Yamaha brand.

Michael Chrzanowski
Deputy Executive Officer,
President,
Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation ofAmerica (YMMC)

Essential functions
Technological theoretical value

42

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 202043

Foundations for Creating Competitiveness

Sales (Marketing)Marketing positions customer needs as the starting point of all corporate endeavors and our endless pursuit of greater
customer satisfaction is how we seek to achieve sustainable growth.

Marketing That Showcases and Augments Yamaha Motor’s Strengths 
The Company established “The Global Yamaha Way in Marketingin Sales” to clarify our shared values for conducting marketing in
the realm of sales. The overarching vision of this manifesto is“Continuing to Create Lifetime Yamaha Customers,” and theprogram itself brings Yamaha sales bases around the world
together to globally share, teach, and learn from one another theknowledge they have cultivated individually while spurring eachother to greater heights.
Yamaha Motor divides the customer journey into its own sevensteps and conducts customer-centric activities for each. This provides a common framework for deliberation among our basesaround the world in order to define the objectives, identify thetarget customer, and thoroughly determine aims and actionsaligned with said customer. In sharing successful marketing cases,
we employ a “teach and learn” approach that examines why thecase was successful, what difficulties were faced, and what isneeded for continued success. This leads to in-depth study anddiscerning of the key factors of the case, and the knowledge bornfrom the discussions is then formulated, accumulated, and sharedglobally, leading to new successes. Having members from aroundthe world that share the same values gather in the same location
for meaningful, customer-centric discussion not only enhances
teamwork but also enables the application of knowledge
from other countries and will propel us to the front of
global competition.

Experience

Psychological
Share

Digital Marketing Initiative in Brazil Sharedat Our Global Marketing Meeting 
Since 2015, we have held the Global Marketing in Sales Meeting(GMSM) as a forum for sharing the marketing knowledge we haveaccumulated at a global level. In addition to existing marketing
methods, the meeting serves as a venue for reporting case studies of
initiatives that take advantage of new technologies and viewpoints.
One success story was the Digital Marketing and Leads
Management case from our sales base in Brazil. They establisheda single, unified system for managing the entire flow of acquiring
information about customers that had shown an interest to­purchase online (leads), encouraging those customers to visit theirlocal dealership, and ensuring a successful sales meeting. The sales
base visually tracked customer actions and quantified dealer
response time and close ratio. As the result of thorough improvements based on customer data, this approach netted the subsidiarya steady rise in its market share despite the challenging businessenvironment. Several sales bases took the lessons of this case home
and are implementing them in their own marketing activities.

Awareness

Experience

Interest

Message from Management

Customer
SearchPurchase

Decision

Engaging in 5S Value Package activities in Mexico as One TeamVisit
ActionSeven Steps of the Customer Journey as defined by Yamaha Motor

Initiatives in Indonesia to Instill the Yamaha Way Among Dealership Staff To further promote the Marketing in Sales (MiS) activities thatleverage the Company’s strengths, each country is working to
introduce the MiS approach into their operations. In Indonesia, weare conducting MiS activities for our internal sales and marketing
personnel as well as the staff at our Yamaha dealership partners.
We engage in sales work aligned with The Global Yamaha Way
in Marketing in Sales together with dealerships to spark interest in
our products, encourage customers to visit, make a purchase, andthen continue to make purchases. With after-sales service inparticular, the Company introduced its Time Commitment Service(TCS) in which a dealership makes a commitment to the customer
for performing regular maintenance or an oil change within a
specified amount of time. For the customer, this removes the44

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

stress of not knowing when the work will be complete and theirmachine ready for pick up. Raising customer satisfaction at eachtouchpoint leads to creating lifelong Yamaha customers.

In addition to our traditional Marketing in Sales activities premised on Sales,
Services, and Spare parts (3S), we have included financial services and safety as two
new forms of value (5S), in order to acquire new fans as well as existing customers,
as we seek to realize our company mission of creating loyal customers. Based onthese five types of value, we are formulating events and activities for customers
integrally with our sales channels.
Among these events and activities, we are implementing the safety educationand training of the Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA) with the goal of keeping customers riding their motorcycles safely and with peace of mind. We are proactively
operating riding courses tailored to our customers, such as implementing safety
training in conjunction with test-riding sessions for acquiring new customers.
Today, there are many traffic accidents in Mexico and nowhere to properly learn
traffic rules. At YMMEX, we will continue to endeavor to improve customer safety
by providing YRA training to a greater number of customers while focusing ourefforts on training the instructors in our sales channels.

Yuki Doi
President,
Yamaha Motor de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
(YMMEX)

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 202045

Foundations for Creating Competitiveness

Human Resources
Taking on a global perspective, we aim to create an organizational structure based on the Company and its employees
having mutually high goals and ambitions; learning, growing, and working together; and sharing in the joys of ourwork. To that end, we are creating workplaces that respect and encourage diversity.

management development programs around the world, and haveintroduced global human resource systems to train and promotetalented staff as we work to build an organization that utilizes
global experience and knowledge.

As an aspect of its diversity efforts, from 2016 the Company
began appointing individuals employed at overseas subsidiaries
to general manager or higher posts at the headquarters as well.
Currently, we are working to promote the placement of the rightpeople in the right jobs at the right time by going beyond the“headquarters and overseas base” relationship and have begun
expanding the scope of international transfers among Group
companies to include non-executive employees. We have also set
targets of doubling the number of women hired for managerial
positions in 2014 by 2020 and tripling it by 2025. In 2019, we
achieved our target for 2020 ahead of time.

Development of Global Talent

Supporting Work-Life Balance

Our Fundamental Perspective 
Based on our fundamental belief that all corporate activities­originate from people, we believe it is crucial that our workforce
incorporates diverse viewpoints and values, reflecting differingexperiences, skills, and characteristics to create new Kando.
To achieve this, we have developed and run standardized

Human Resource Development While conducting its business on a global scale, the Company has
designated Independence and Improvement, Teamwork, and Global
as the prime vectors of its human resource development and isconducting human resource training programs targeted toward each.
These include not only training tailored to each employee levelbut also training to hone specialist skills and systems for employees seeking to work globally, such as having employees experience
working overseas in their fourth year or overseas postings as
trainees. We also conduct coaching to create more cohesive teamwork and thus boost performance as an organization overall. In
2019, each Yamaha Motor employee spent on average 11.3*
hours toward developing their own skills.

Promoting Diversity We run a Global Executive Program (GEP) for particularly talented
employees to provide them with greater experience on the global
stage and knowledge for the future. The Yamaha Business School
Global (YBS-G) is also in place as a training program for future
executives that we conduct in a highly diverse environment. These
programs are to encourage the promotion of outstanding humanresources to management positions regardless of nationality orplace of birth, and to increase the percentage of local talent inmanagement positions at our overseas subsidiaries to 60%.

* Excludes time spent on training for laws and regulations such as compliance, healthand safety, as well as training for new hires

care leave, and family illness leave, as well as systems for flexible
or shortened working hours, and the rehiring of employees who
resigned to accompany their spouse on overseas postings.

Employee Health
In February 2020, the Company was recognized for the third
consecutive year under the Certified Health & Productivity
Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program
conducted jointly by METI and Nippon Kenko Kaigi. We consider
employee health to be a key management issue for theCompany’s development, and are working with all employees
to maintain and promote their health.

The Company supports the creation of workplaces that promote a
healthy work-life balance for its employees. We are enhancing oursystems so that employees can work in ways that suit their individual circumstances, such as providing childcare leave, nursing

New Work Styles Arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic 
In the first half of fiscal 2020, we actively implemented new work
styles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, namely remote working for
office-based employees. Although remote working has benefits
that include the changing of commuting time and spare time into
time of greater value, improved productivity, and the promotion ofgood work-life balance, we have learned that it also creates adilution of communication and other issues. Going forward, weplan to establish new work styles premised on co-existing with
COVID-19 as permanent systems that will lead to improved corporate value while taking into account the safety, health, and worklife balance of our employees to the fullest extent.

Yamaha Motor’s Human Resource Development Program

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

Yamaha Business
School Global(YBS-G)

Yamaha Business School

Overseas experience forfourth-year employees

Study abroad

Overseas trainees

Training prior to overseas assignment

Technology

Manufacturing
Domestic OJTSkill enhancementfor office workers

Selection

Coaching

For newly promoted
foremenTeam leadershipfor supervisors

GlobalGlobal Executive
Program (GEP)For newly promoted
managers

Team management andstudy abroad forsenior supervisors

Teamwork

Specific specialist skills

For newly promoted
general managers

For new employees

46

Independence and Improvement

Administration

Self-Value Challenge (SVC open call in-house)

Self-Value Design (SVD) training

Finance, accounting, and computer training

Language classes (voluntary)

Career survey

Yamaha Flex School (correspondence education)

For newly assigned
executives at
subsidiaries

Management
GeneralTraining by Level

MarketingSelf-Value Design (SVD)

Message from Management
By stepping up hiring of non-Japanese personnel, we areprompting internal changes and promoting further growth
for the Company.
We consider the hiring of non-Japanese personnel to be one aspect of our diversity
and inclusion efforts, which include the promotion of active participation by
women and the employment of people with disabilities. The Company is highly
global, deriving 90% of its net sales outside Japan. Taking this characteristic into
account, we recognize that embracing a broad and diverse range of values is essential to our sustainable growth.
Without a doubt, non-Japanese personnel stimulate their Japanese colleagues.
The Company is adopting a more global feel, allowing us to gradually promote“inner globalization,“ and this is beginning to influence the Company’s systems. For
example, being “global” is being taken into account for promotions. I will continue
doing my utmost to help build a truly global company by working alongside our
non-Japanese employees, which represent excellent talent from around the world.

Tamami Kawai
General Manager of
Human Resources Division,
Human Resources & General Affairs Center

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 202047

Foundations for Creating CompetitivenessInitiatives for Improving Employee Engagement
Yamaha Motor views spurring internal communication and improving engagement, not only among employees­themselves but also between management and employees and between employees and the organization, as a crucial
element for achieving continuous growth in our corporate value. To that end, we are enhancing our internal­communication tools centered on the publication of the company newsletter.

Yamaha Motor’s Internal Communication Tools
Our internal communication tools are comprised of the monthly
company newsletter, which we have been publishing since 1964,
an online version of the newsletter, videos produced for employee
audiences, and digital signage. We are energizing internal communication by tailoring content to suit each medium and its

characteristics. All the tools share a common editorial policy andthe two main goals of 1) sharing and facilitating understanding ofupper management visions and policies, and 2) improving internalbrand awareness.

A Company Newsletter
Commended by Employees
We distribute 20,000 printed copies of our company newsletter inJapan every month. In addition to management-related informationsuch as messages from management figures, the newsletter features
running columns like A Life with Yamaha and Yamaha from theOutside. These are intended to encourage employees to adopt
customer and stakeholder perspectives, and both have garnered afavorable reception from employees. Amid a growing lack of interestin reading among young people, over 90% of employees read thecompany newsletter and have indicated their satisfaction, with thismetric standing at over 70% for employees in their 20s. By introducing series featuring younger employees—such as Yamaha from theInside and Power of the Factory Floor—and adopting a more creative
design and modern layout, we grew the previously low readership of
employees in their 20s and those in manufacturing divisions.
The Power of the Factory Floor series focuses on employees on
the factory floor who endeavor to maintain and improve quality,and presents a faithful picture of the wisdom and ingenuity handed
down from generation to generation, the growth process as theyacquire know-how and technical skills in production technology,
their attitudes toward their work, and more. Communicating what
it is like on the Monozukuri frontlines helps to maintain as well as
raise the motivation of factory employees while also serving toremind those not involved in manufacturing of the Company’s
identity. These articles have been selected by factory employees as
their favorite newsletter content and are also highly regarded byadministrative departments and among employees of all ages.

Company Newsletter
Employee
Questionnaire

91.1

%

of employees responded that theyeither read the entire newsletter orread only the articles of interest

Enhancing Our Internal Communication Tools
As employees in manufacturing typically do not use the internet
as part of their main duties, they do not usually see information
posted on the company intranet. Furthermore, space is limitedwith the printed company newsletter and the amount of information we can communicate must be narrowed down.
To address this, we installed digital signage in the factories andemployee dining areas to transmit information on Group companies around the world and new products, videos related to management policies, and other content. This created an environmentthat allows manufacturing floor employees to naturally comeacross company information in the course of their daily work. Thismeasure received a strong reception from over 90% of factory
floor employees, and in response to requests from other workplaces, we are currently moving forward with digital signage
installations Companywide.
We are also working to bolster internal communication for
employees overseas. Headed by topics contributed by correspondents
at our major bases abroad, we regularly update the president’s blog
and upload a variety of videos to an intranet site in English. In 2019,we held a global meeting gathering together these correspondents
and exchanged information on the state of internal communicationin their respective countries and shared model examples.

Revs+TV video portal

Online version of Revs, Revs+

External Evaluation​Revs company
newsletter

Power of the Factory Floor series
bringing real imagery and content
from manufacturing workplaces

Received the Gold Award in theSpecial Category of the2019 Company Newsletter Awards
A special edition of our company newsletter compiling every Power of
the Factory Floor article to date received the Gold Award in the Special
Category of the 2019 Company Newsletter Awards, a national competition for company newsletters held by wis works, Inc. The award was
granted in recognition of the approach to the project, its themes as wellas the high quality of the writing and page design.
We also use this edition in recruitment, and it has received praise from
job-hunting students, commenting that it sparked their interest in the
Company, that they instinctively picked it up and read it, and that it gavethem a picture of working at Yamaha Motor.

Message from Management
For this project, we wanted to raise the motivation of employees working on the frontlines of manufacturing. So
we decided to focus on the feelings and pride these employees hold toward their respective jobs as well as depicting them in their daily endeavors, thereby expressing what makes us unique as a company. This approach was not
only well received by the employees themselves but also resonated with their families, people seeking employment,
and others. The high marks this special edition received in an objective review is very encouraging, and I would liketo continue to play a role in connecting employees, departments, and others with little cross-division interaction
due to their work through communication.

Yuko Kurabe

Internal Communication Group Manager,
Corporate Communication Division,
Corporate Planning & Finance Center48

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

49

Foundations for Creating CompetitivenessYamaha Motor’s Sporting Activities
Our wide-ranging participation in and promotion of sports, from the racing and sailing efforts that have continued
uninterrupted since our earliest days to the work of the Yamaha Motor Foundation for Sports, are prime examples of
the corporate activities that we are engaged in over the long term as we seek to share Kando with people around theworld. Among these activities, rugby is the sport we participate in with a company team as it strongly expresses thepassion for sports in our corporate culture. Our rugby effort not only contributes to local communities but also helps
foster internal unity and greatly adds to our corporate value.

Embodying the Spirit ofChallenge—Yamaha Motor Jubilo
Our corporate culture includes a passion for sports and we view
rugby as bringing benefits to corporate management and raising
the motivation of our employees.
Formed in 1982 as the Yamaha Motor Rugby Club, Yamaha
Motor Jubilo won the Kansai A League in 2002 while overcoming
many adversities before moving to competition in the Japan
Rugby Top League in 2003. The team finished as the leaguer­ unner-up in the 2014–2015 season and won the 52nd All-Japan
Rugby Football Championship. Since then, the team has continued
to feature in the standings as a title contender.

Unlocking the Full Potential ofPlayers through the Yamaha Style
The Yamaha Style employed by Yamaha Motor Jubilo aims toembody Yamaha through rugby and designates as its mission thecreation of new Kando through innovation and passion. We areworking to unlock the individual capabilities of players to thefullest by instructing them using the Japanese shuhari (learn,reflect, and transcend) method as our coaching philosophy.
This is because we are convinced that every team member
continuously giving their maximum of their own volition—regardless of the circumstances—will ultimately lead to the maximizationof our team’s strength overall, as indicated in this season’s teamslogan of Maximize.
The evolution of our Yamaha Style is about creating a lasting
cycle of the shuhari philosophy, and we will endeavor to carry on
Yamaha’s legacy and aim for further growth.

Yamaha Motor Jubilo’s Team Vision• A strong team that is No.1 in Japan and can take on the world’s best

Despite a smaller corporate size compared to other teams in
the Top League, Yamaha Motor Jubilo takes strength from rugby
tactics that combine players of outstanding ability and leverage
their respective strengths by identifying their latent capabilities;
and from its strong connection with Group employees, people
from the local community, and its fans; as well as from their loudcheers of support. This strong connection was built through close
community-oriented activities using the advantages of Yamaha
Motor Jubilo’s more regional location, and the team will continue
to take on challenges going forward.

• A team that is loved and supported by employees and the community• A team that can share exhilarating moments

Rugby Classes at Local Schools
Yamaha Motor Jubilo operates a program for schools in Yamaha
headquarters’ hometown of Iwata and neighboring communities
with the aim of communicating to children and students the funof sports and the importance of having dreams and goals throughrugby and tag rugby. In cooperation with Shizuoka Prefecture’s
Rugby World Cup legacy initiative, Yamaha Motor Jubilo players
visited 72 elementary schools around the prefecture in 2019 tofoster interest in rugby. The interactions with the children alsoenergize the players and lead to their own growth as well.
Operating a Rugby School
Yamaha Motor Jubilo is the only Japan Rugby Top League team todirectly manage and operate school activities, and the outreachprogram marked its 19th year in 2020. With current and former
rugby club members as well as members of local club teams serving as instructors, approximately 300 participants—from children
to adults—play rugby on the same pitch used by top teams.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2020

General Manager and CoachYamaha Style
The integration of science, non-science, and art
Never be trapped by rigid preconceptions about what is normal
Be innovative and passionate
Envision something new and bring it to life
The courage to not fear failure
The ingenuity and determination to turn failure into successThink and cooperate as a team, as you cannot succeed alone
Take on challenges only Yamaha can

Workplace Colleagues
Supporting the Players
Yamaha Motor Jubilo rugby players carry out their strenuous daily
training as well as their duties as Yamaha Motor employees. “Theyobtain the knowledge and certifications needed for their work justlike everyone else.” “They are popular at work and supported bymany fellow employees. They also look out for and are looked
up to by younger employees.” These are some of the comments
received, showing how the players are held in high regard andsupported by many of their workplace colleagues.
The Company currently has 80 employees who are former
members of its rugby club, and 37 of them—over 40%—havepreviously been stationed overseas. There are currently 19 such
employees active in markets and production sites overseas, while
36 former members are demonstrating leadership in management
positions and seven serve as general managers.

Popularizing Rugby andContributing to the Community

50

Takanobu Horikawa

The Challenge of a Second Career
After retiring from professional play in 2016, I was given the opportunity for
onsite training overseas and I am currently handling sales for the southern areasof India at YMIS, our subsidiary in the world’s largest motorcycle market of India.
I feel that my rugby experiences are proving useful in terms of adapting to­changing environments, communication skills, stamina, teamwork, and otherareas. Under our goal of creating more Yamaha fans, I’m conducting a variety ofmarketing activities as a team with YMIS employees, and I’m glad the first challenge of my second career is here in India.

Yoshinori Sogabe
Yamaha Motor
India Sales Pvt. Ltd. (YMIS)Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 202051