Sustainability ESG Management: Social Issues / Product Quality and Supply Chain
Basic Approach
The pursuit of quality, one of the strengths of the Group, originates from our strong belief, deeply rooted in all employees throughout our long history, that we, as the whole Group, want to “continue to produce products that our customers trust and are satisfactory to them.” The Group has set the policy for quality on the right path and will maintain and improve high quality standards by repeatedly making optimal overall improvements without being content with just the status quo, and provide products that customers can use safely and comfortably.
Quality Policy
We are committed to quality first, and every one of us will
use our creativity and ingenuity to create products that
satisfy our customers. We will make improvements to
ensure that these actions remain effective.
Quality Control System and Initiatives
Quality Control System
We believe that the high quality and precision of our products is a major reason why customers choose the IKO brand. The Group has developed a quality system for our departments in Japan and is expanding this to overseas production plants to maintain and improve the high quality of the entire Group. To provide attentive support under our unified quality policy, we have established and are operating a quality assurance system and quality improvement system at all sites.
Quality Control Initiatives
For efficient quality assurance and to improve customer satisfaction, the Group has obtained ISO 9001 certification, an international management system standard, at the Gifu and Kamakura areas, as well as at IKO Thompson Vietnam Co., Ltd. and UBC (Suzhou) Bearing Co., Ltd.
As part of our quality control for production, we have introduced an inspector system. The person in charge of each department assigns inspection assistants, who are certified as inspectors, from among experienced employees and who have knowledge and skills related to inspections in that certification category. We are also working to maintain and improve the level of quality for inhouse processes by conducting regular internal audits once a year as well as ad hoc internal audits.
In addition, once a year, we evaluate our suppliers in terms of quality, delivery, and cost. We provide feedback to our suppliers on the results of these periodic evaluations, and are working to strengthen our quality control system throughout the entire supply chain.
Creating Quality to Improve Customer Satisfaction
Quality is an extremely important element of our products, which is the core of the IKO brand. We will continue to maintain and improve quality within the Group and further strengthen our supply chain management to build an optimal overall quality control system.
In addition to product quality, our quality of service, such as our ability to respond to and make proposals to customers, is also one of our strengths. We value every type of quality through our products and will further strengthen our customer-oriented quality so that the superiority of the IKO brand can be communicated more widely and effectively.
Supply Chain Management
Basic Approach
As our business grows globally, we believe that in order to earn the trust of the international community, not only the Group but also our entire supply chain must take responsible actions to meet the demands of society.
Basic Procurement Policy
- We will procure fairly and optimally from suppliers with competitive prices, focusing on quality, cost, and on-time delivery.
- We will comply with all laws and regulations and conduct fair transactions.
- We will promote green procurement as we conduct procurement that considers the global environment.
- We will build a supply chain that will develop sustainably and fulfill our social responsibilities through our corporate activities.
CSR Procurement Initiatives
It is essential for a company to grow sustainably not only to fulfill its legal responsibilities, but also to fulfill its social responsibilities as a member of society through corporate activities, in other words, CSR initiatives. Since FY1999, our basic philosophy has been “to accomplish environment-friendly corporate activities as a corporate social responsibility, to reduce our environmental loads, and contribute to creating a rich global environment.” In 2003, we established the Green Procurement Implementation Standards to promote green procurement.
In July 2022, we formulated the IKO Group Supplier CSR Procurement Guidelines to achieve our social responsibility more broadly, including the consideration of human rights and labor issues as well as environmental issues.
Going forward, to improve the effectiveness of the guidelines, we will work closely with our suppliers to promote the use of the guidelines and strengthen our initiatives.
Respect for Human Rights throughout the Entire Supply Chain
Since the Company conducts business globally, we believe that respecting human rights based on international standards is the foundation for sustainability management, and we have been promoting awareness of the respect for human rights, as we state in our Code of Conduct.
In recent years, the importance of corporate initiatives to respect human rights has been increasing sharply, and we recognize that we are required to take the initiative to respect human rights not only in our own company but also in our supply chain. With this perspective in mind, in February 2023 the Company formulated the IKO Group Human Rights Policy , clarifying our approach to respecting basic human rights, including the prohibition of forced labor and child labor. Moreover, we are asking our suppliers to agree to the IKO Group Supplier CSR Procurement Policy Guidelines, which complies with our Human Rights Policy, and we are ramping up respect for human rights throughout the entire supply chain. Through these activities, we aim to promote respect for human rights for all stakeholders related to our business activities in cooperation with various stakeholders including business partners.
