Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Saudi Arabia Hosts Toyota Distributors from across the Middle East and Central Asia for annual ‘Best-in-Town’ Forum for the first time.

Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Saudi Arabia – Toyota hosted the annual Toyota distributor’s ‘Best-in-Town’[1] forum for the Middle East and Central Asia region for the first time.

This event brought together over 80 delegates from more than 12 distributors across the Middle East and Central Asia region for full two days, sharing knowledge, experience, and Toyota best practice in the automotive industry.

Hosting the event was an honor as the official Saudi distributor, as the host market selection process by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is comprehensive and thorough.

The forum also featured a visit to the Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Toyota Center at Madinah Road Jeddah, considered to be one of the largest and most successful ‘Best-in-Town’ (BIT) Toyota Centers in the region, having won many awards from Toyota Motor Corporation for ongoing improvement in operations and outstanding guest experience delivery.

During this visit, the Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Toyota Center Team had the opportunity to showcase ongoing Kaizen[2] (continuous improvement) projects and the philosophy used to improve guest experience.

Host Peter Aberle, Chief Executive Officer, Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Saudi Arabia, said:

Hosting the ‘Best in Town’ forum for the first time in Jeddah and bringing together TMC distributors from the Middle East and Central Asia for a valuable exchange of knowledge and expertise was indeed an honor.  The event underscored our commitment to Kaizen, reinforcing our dedication to improvement through ongoing projects that aim to enhance the guest experience. This workshop provided a unique platform for attendees to glean insights into industry trends and delve into our strategic activities for 2024, affirming our belief in collective growth and innovation in the automotive sector.”

In addition, the event also highlighted Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Saudi Arabia’s deployment of the renowned Toyota Production System (TPS) – an essential part of its collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation.  This activity provided a clear vision of how Abdul Latif Jameel Motors improves operations and guest experience through the ‘Goods and Information Flow’ format.

The first Saudi hosted forum was heralded as a truly valuable experience for all delegates, offering unique workshops and opportunities to learn about the latest automotive trends from Toyota and gain in-depth insight into how Abdul Latif Jameel Motors Saudi Arabia successfully uses Kaizen in all operations, as well as discussing strategic planning (or Hoshin Kanri[3]) activities for the coming year, 2024.

[1] “Best-in-town” is a key philosophy that Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman has repeatedly used to remind the company and its partners of what Toyota should value and stand for.  It is based on trust and localizing service delivery.

[2] Kaizen – a compound of two Japanese words that together translate as “good change” or “improvement” – has come to mean “continuous improvement” through its association with lean methodology and principles.  It is an approach to rooted in the idea that small, ongoing positive changes yield materially significant improvements. It is based on cooperation and commitment contrasting to approaches of radical or top-down change to achieve transformation.  Kaizen is core to the Toyota Way.

[3] Hoshin Kanri is a strategic planning methodology that originated in Japan and aims to align an organization’s strategy, goals, and objectives throughout all levels of the company.