Procurement

Two subcommittees were established in 1955, which were the Cutting Subcommittee and the Press Subcommittee. These two subcommittees held monthly study sessions and also conducted study tours of other plants for the purpose of mutual research on specific engineering technology. In 1959, the two subcommittees were dissolved and the "DENSO Cooperative Association" was established in order to operate in a more planned manner. The association initially had 46 companies as members.

The "Denso Kikokai" was established with the participation of 16 companies. It was based on the belief that in order to deliver competitive products to the market, it was also essential to strengthen the structure of the companies supplying the molds and equipment used in the production. The Kikokai produced steady results, including through activities such as QC (Quality Control) study groups.

In 1989, Nippondenso was selected by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry as one of 313 companies that were requested to expand imports. In addition to actively working to expand imports, in 1991, the company widely announced the "NIPPONDENSO WORLDWIDE PURCHASING" policy in Japan and overseas. This was a procurement guideline that set forth the basic way of thinking about procurement, such as to be open and fair.

In 2000, the name of the "DENSO Cooperative Association" was changed to the "DENSO HISHOKAI." This was to express the desire to make leaps forward and take on the challenges of the new era, based on the slogan that DENSO must take a strong first step into the 21st century. Fifteen new companies joined the first subcommittee (parts), bringing the total to 85 companies (63 in the first subcommittee and 22 in the second).

In September 2000, DENSO formulated its "Green Procurement Guidelines." In addition to deploying these Guidelines at suppliers, DENSO has also worked on environmental activities throughout the supply chain. This includes efforts each year to collect data on the substances contained in materials and parts, and efforts regarding the amount of energy used, the volume of emissions to the atmosphere of substances such as CO2 and NOx, and the amount of waste material generated.

A company-wide earthquake risk response working group (WG) was formed as part of the company-wide activities to improve resilience. The WG divided its roles into four fields, which were the area of product technology, the area of production, delivery and procurement, the area of facilities, and the area of personnel and general administration. The roles of the Procurement Department included to clarify the supply chain and to promote measures appropriate for the degree of risk per level of supplier risk. It was also responsible for the strengthening of procurement, including with procurement from multiple companies, and for the creation of a scheme for disaster mitigation activities (strengthening the resilience of supplier plants). Activities also went as far as the securing of risk inventory. Furthermore, the efforts included the preparation of a system for cooperation with other departments and divisions to enable alternative activities and recovery support activities in the event of an emergency. This included the establishment of a system for prompt reporting to customers (OEMs). In addition, after the major flooding in Thailand, the company also began to develop global risk management.