Jan 11 2008
IBM announced it will help create, operate and maintain Toyota Tsusho Corporation's new "Waste Disposal and Resource Recycling System." Toyota Tsusho is the trading unit for the Toyota Group, which includes Toyota Motor and auto parts maker DENSO.
In recent years, the enforcement of Japan's Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law has been strengthened as corporate social responsibility becomes more important. From the perspective of environmental conservation and optimal utilization of resources, businesses are increasingly required to recycle the waste left as a result of their business activities.
The use of a Waste Disposal and Resource Recycling System makes it possible to centrally control the waste generation status throughout a company, which is currently known only on the spot, and to extend the control range to the consolidated entities. The systemization of waste management can also contribute to improving process efficiency. The process for reporting waste disposal status to the government will be efficiently streamlined by realizing a paperless control manifest of industrial waste. The new system will work in cooperation with the Japan Industrial Waste Technology Center's JWNET electronic reporting system,
Toyota Tsusho will provide this system as an application service provider (ASP), and it will be managed by a Toyota Tsusho subsidiary, which will be newly founded in line with the launch. Additionally, Toyota Tsusho will provide its clients with in-house management capabilities of secondary products by building the "Waste Disposal and Resource Recycling System," which manages the disposing status consistently through the entire disposing process of industrial wastes. Toyota Tsusho will also provide business consulting and training services related to waste control by exploiting the production business know-how owned by the company.
IBM will handle the development, operations and maintenance for the launch and operations of the Waste Disposal and Resource Recycling System. IBM will leverage its information technology infrastructure and skills to maintain stable and continuous system operation as the system is provided on the internet and on the Japanese Automotive Network eXchange (JNX). IBM will also help Toyota Tsusho shorten the development period and lower the development and operational cost of the system.
The agreement was signed in December of 2007 and is planned to launch in April 2008.