Activities of JAPIA
No. 15 Voluntary Action Plan for Logistics
Report: Organizational Affairs Committee, Transaction
Optimization TF, Production Management Logistics TeamA Specialized team has formulated JAPIA's own voluntary action plan forlogistics to address the "2024 Logistics Problem," aiming to maintain andstrengthen the supply chain
The "2024 Logistics Problem" will have a major impact on various industries
and people's lives, including Japan's manufacturing industry. As part of thereform of work styles to address the long working hours of truck drivers and theshortage of workers, a cap on truck driver overtime hours (960 hours per year)
will be applied from April this year, which is expected to lead to a serious
situation in Japan's trucking capacity.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase transportation efficiency andimprove driver compensation, and the government, relevant ministries andindustries, and the logistics industry are working together in the public andprivate sectors to implement measures to address this issue. JAPIA has
established a new "Production Management Logistics Team" and compiled its
own "Voluntary Action Plan for Logistics" as a response to the "Guidelines"
formulated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. This section
describes the team that developed this plan and its future activities.

The three parties involved are the originating shipper, the logistics
provider, and the destination shipper
Already, anomalies have begun to appear in Japan's logistics. Gradually, latedeliveries occurred and transportation costs are rising. This year, it is estimatedthat truck driver overtime caps will cause a shortage of transportation capacityof up to 14.2% (400 million metric tons) compared to 2019 (before COVID-19).
This is the so-called "2024 logistics problem. In 2030, there is concern that
there will be a 34.1% (140 million metric tons) shortfall in transportation capacity
compared to 2019. This situation is forcing all industries to review their logistics
systems, and this review is not limited to logistics companies. In the automobileindustry, it is essential for the three parties involved to work together:"originating shippers" (automobile component manufacturers), "logistics
providers" (transportation companies), and "receiving shippers" (automobilemanufacturers). In addition, as a result, if the burden on drivers is not reduced,
it will be difficult to maintain and sustain a robust supply chain.
Formed a specialized team of 11 people from 6 member companies
JAPIA's movement to address the "2024 Logistics Problem" is as follows.
In June last year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), theMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) jointly formulated "Guidelines forEfforts by Shippers and Logistics Companies to Optimize Logistics and Improve
Productivity," and various industries have begun to develop their own measures.
Last August, JAPIA launched a new specialized team, the "Production
Management Logistics Team," under the Trading Optimization Task Force. Theteam consists of 11 people from six member companies (DENSOCORPORATION, Hitachi Astemo, Ltd., AISIN CORPORATION, Toyoda Gosei
Co., Ltd., Yazaki Corporation, and Marelli Corporation), and is JAPIA's firstattempt to establish a specialized team for logistics. The team consisted oflogistics personnel from each company and was professionally in-depth fromthe beginning.
To develop its measures, the team conducted a survey of the actual logistics
systems of our member companies. Based on this result of survey, the teamconducted a series of interviews with the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry (METI), read the guidelines carefully, and exchanged opinions with theLogistics Subcommittee of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association

(JAMA), the recipient of the shipments. Finally, they developed JAPIA's own"Voluntary Action Plan for Logistics. The plan was officially approved by theJAPIA Board of Directors last December, and full-scale activities will begin infiscal 2024.
Reduce the burden on drivers and allow them to concentrate on driving
dutiesThis section describes the contents of the "Voluntary Action Plan for
Logistics."
Based on the guidelines and the current status of member companies, areas
for improvement have emerged. The four immediate areas for improvement are"waiting and loading/unloading time of 2 hours or less," "suspension orinterruption of operations during abnormal weather conditions," "loading
efficiency," and "optimization of transportation contracts. Basically, theautomobile production system is built on the "just-in-time" principle of supplying"what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed. This businesspractice of "never stopping automobile production at any cost" has led to theestablishment of logistics for automobile components in pursuit of higher
productivity. This is one of the strengths of the Japanese automobile industry.
However, recent troubles with uncertainties such as the spread of COVID-19,
the shortage of semiconductors, and the increase in international conflicts havedisrupted logistics. Just-in-time," which is based on the premise of stableproduction, is frequently faced with unstable and difficult situations where it isimpossible to see through production trends, preventing it from being aseffective as it should be. Add to this the shortage of drivers, and the automobile
industry is facing the "2024 logistics problem," and JAPIA has embarked on
measures to deal with it.
The preamble of the "Voluntary Action Plan for Logistics" states, "In light ofthe shortage of the logistics workforce as represented by the 2024 logistics
problem, we believe it is time to review the state of sustainable logistics in linewith the current era, and JAPIA and members of JAPIA will take the initiative inensuring the implementation of this voluntary action plan and regular follow-ups
on the status of compliance, and will promote to optimize logistics and improveproductivity ".
The initiatives include "shippers listening to and appreciating the voices oflogistics providers" and "both originating and destination shippers viewing

logistics as a "cooperative area"". Until now, we have not had the attitude of"listening" to the voices of logistics providers. By listening to their voices, if bothparties come to a compromise, logistics can be optimized and productivity canbe improved.
By "cooperative area," we mean that automobile component manufacturers,carriers, and automobile manufacturers should be aware that they must work
together to improve and enhance their logistics operations. For example, drivers
had a variety of ancillary tasks (unloading, hauling, etc.). We would like to takethis opportunity to make improvements at individual receiving plants and have
drivers concentrate on driving.
Promoted to a permanent team in FY2024 to address various issues
The following is a description of priority activities for FY2024, the first year ofthe project.
(1) "Suspension or interruption of operations during abnormal weather, etc."
encourages inventory standards that do not force drivers to make decisions on
operations during abnormal weather. (2) "Within 2 hours of waiting andloading/unloading time" is to switch to pallet-based ordering and transportation
to improve loading efficiency. (3) "Loading efficiency" is to pick up cargoes aspredetermined, even if the receiving shipper stops the line. (4) "Appropriatenessof transportation contracts" is to work on standardization of cargo handling
operations, as there are many cases where rules and compensation areambiguous.
It includes items that will cause the automobile industry to rethink its businesspractices, but we believe that these improvements are essential to overcomethe "2024 problem" and to build the supply chain once again. In addition, theautomobile industry considers truck drivers more important than anyone else.
This is because we are in the position of providing trucks to drivers. For thisreason, the members of the "Production Management Logistics Team" aresincerely working to optimize logistics and improve productivity.
Starting in FY2024, this team will be promoted to a permanent position in theSupply Chain Subcommittee of Organizational Affairs Committee. We believethat logistics improvements will not be temporary, but will require continuous
improvement and review in response to the times and circumstances. Inaddition, automobile components take a variety of logistics methods in terms ofshape, material, and other factors. Therefore, seeking efficiency andrationalization requires daily interaction and relationship building with eachcompany and each industry. In the future, exchanges beyond industry
boundaries may occur.
Thus, challenges and possibilities are mixed in the future of logistics. We believethat the activities of the “Production Management Logistics Team” will expand inthe future.