Online Seminar: How Should Manufacturing Industries Respond to Geopolitical Risks and Supply Chain Disruptions? — Practical Strategies for Design, Quality, and Cost Optimization Inspired by Toyota's Crisis Management

Stockmark Co., Ltd. will host an online seminar titled 'How Should Manufacturing Industries Respond to Geopolitical Risks and Supply Chain Disruptions? — Practical Strategies for Design, Quality, and Cost Optimization Inspired by Toyota's Crisis Management.'

▼ For seminar details and registration, visit: ▼

https://aconnect.stockmark.co.jp/seminar/20260618/

Seminar Overview

In recent years, the manufacturing industry has faced significant changes in its supply environment due to rising geopolitical risks, soaring raw material prices, and component shortages.

Materials and parts that were once easily available are now difficult to procure, forcing companies to respond to rising costs and extended delivery times. As a result, there is an increasing need to reevaluate fundamental aspects of design, quality, procurement, and production.

Under these circumstances, it is urgent to reassess manufacturing practices from perspectives such as:

- What specifications are truly necessary? - Is there excessive quality or over-engineering? - How can optimization be achieved under constrained supply?

In this seminar, we are honored to welcome Professor Motohiro Kondo from Aichi Institute of Technology, who spent many years at Toyota improving manufacturing processes and leading value engineering (VE) initiatives. He will share insights on the mindset manufacturing companies should adopt in an era of supply constraints.

Rather than focusing solely on cost reduction, the seminar will explore how design, quality, procurement, and production can collaboratively function over the medium to long term to achieve sustainable manufacturing in an uncertain world — all from a practical standpoint.

Who Should Attend

- Professionals facing challenges related to rising material costs and supply instability - Engineers and managers involved in design changes or alternative material evaluations - Those aiming to reduce over-specification and excessive quality - Teams seeking stronger cross-functional collaboration between procurement, design, quality, and production - Executives and strategists interested in manufacturing resilience in uncertain times

Speaker

Motohiro Kondo, Professor

Aichi Institute of Technology, Comprehensive Technological Research Institute

Joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 1987.

Served in key strategic roles including production planning, management planning, business planning, and technology planning.

Held leadership positions such as General Manager of Production Planning, General Manager of General Planning, and General Manager of First Toyota Planning Division.

Served as Vice President of Corporate Planning at Toyota in the United States, overseeing global strategy in North America.

Has extensive experience in corporate and business strategy in both Japan and North America.

Since 2020, Professor at Aichi Institute of Technology, Comprehensive Technological Research Institute.

Engages in R&D, technical support, and policy advice through industry-academia and regional collaboration, focusing on decarbonization, resource circulation, supply chain resilience, and national infrastructure hardening.

Served on numerous government advisory committees, including:

- Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Council for Energy Policy (Subcommittee on Decarbonized Fuels, Carbon Management Subcommittee) - Industrial Structure Council, Green Innovation Project Committee - Headquarters for National Resilience, Cabinet Office

Awards include the Chemical Engineering Society Technical Award, the Ichimura Prize for Environmental Industry, and the Honda Award for Recycling Technology.

Event Details

Date and Time: June 18, 2026 (Thu) 10:00–11:00 JST June 19, 2026 (Fri) 10:00–11:00 JST

Note: The June 19 session will be a recorded replay of the June 18 live session. There will be no Q&A on June 19. Please note this in advance.

Venue: Online

Participation Fee: Free (prior registration required)

Registration: Available via the link above

About Stockmark Co., Ltd.

Stockmark Co., Ltd. operates under the mission of 'Reinventing the mechanisms of value creation to advance humanity.' The company leverages cutting-edge generative AI technology to support corporate transformation.

It operates 'Aconnect,' an AI agent for manufacturing industries, and 'SAT,' a platform that structures diverse data into corporate assets. Additionally, Stockmark supports the development of enterprise-specific generative AI and custom system integration.

Company Name: Stockmark Co., Ltd. Headquarters: LIFORK MINAMI AOYAMA S209, 1-12-3 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo Founded: November 15, 2016 CEO: Tatsuru Hayashi Business: Development and operation of services that support knowledge management and practical application of generative AI in enterprises using advanced AI technologies. URL: https://stockmark.co.jp/