Company history Our history of working with kanbans
1979
| June | Tokai Systems Sales Corporation founded with 5 million yen in capital | |
|---|---|---|
| August | Systems No.1 and No.2 began operating at the Haruhi Plant of Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. and the Takahama Plant of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. |  ▲System K System No.1 |
1981
| May | TSS Inc. founded with 5 million yen in capital | |
|---|---|---|
| July | Shipment commenced of Green TOPICS Type II with sorter specifications System No.1 Hosei Brake Industry Co., Ltd. |
1982
| June | TOPICS AV version delivered to all six plants of Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. |  ▲No.50 Green TOPICS system |
|---|
1983
| June | Capital increased to 10 million yen |
|---|
1984
| February | Anjo Office and company building completed | |
|---|---|---|
| June | Capital increased to 15 million yen | |
| September | TOYOTA TYPE-II began full-scale operation Kamigo Center of Toyota Motor Corporation |
1985
| June | Capital increased to 17.5 million yen | |
|---|---|---|
| December | Began developing a new UNIX-based system |
1986
| March | Head office relocated to Toyoshima Building in Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya City | |
|---|---|---|
| May | TOPICS TURBO-BASIC released | |
| June | Capital increased to 20 million yen | |
| October | TSS Inc. renamed TOPIX Field Service Inc. |
1987
| April | TOPICS Volunteer Research Council established (chaired by Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd.) | |
|---|---|---|
| June | Capital increased to 25 million yen | |
| October | Shipment of the 32-bit TPX Series began |
1988
| June | Capital increased to 30 million yen |
|---|
1989
| February | No.50 TPX Series system delivered |  ▲TPX Series System No.50 |
|---|---|---|
| June | Tokai Systems Sales Corporation renamed TOPIX corporation Capital increased to 40 million yen |
|
| December | No.100 TPX Series system delivered Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. |  ▲TPX Series System No.100 |
1990
| May | Capital increased to 60 million yen | |
|---|---|---|
| October | Construction of the new Sakyoyama House (company housing) completed | |
| December | Full-scale operation of TOYOTA A-TOP (service parts) All parts centers of Toyota Motor Corporation |
1991
| March | No.200 TPX Series system delivered |  ▲TPX Series System No.200 |
|---|---|---|
| April | New-generation application development tool ASPECT completed | |
| June | Capital increased to 100 million yen |
1992
| March | VAR agreement concluded with Tandem Computers Japan Ltd. NonStop system announced |
|
|---|---|---|
| April | Capital increased to 150 million yen | |
| May | ASPECT System No.1 Operation at the Mishima FA System Plant of OMRON Corporation |
|
| December | ASPECT System No.2 Operation at Toyota Motor Kyushu, Inc. |
1993
| March | New Model 70 sorter completed | |
|---|---|---|
| June | TOPIX Anjo Plaza completed Capital increased to 180 million yen |
|
| December | System delivered to NUMMI (U.S.A.) |
1994
| June | Fifteenth anniversary of the company’s founding |  ▲TOPICS information exchange meeting 1994 |
|---|---|---|
| July | New application controller E Series announced | |
| November | Open TOPICS announced | |
| December | System delivered to Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited (TMCA) |
1995
| July | TOPIX Field Service Inc. renamed TOPIX E S |
|
|---|---|---|
| November | Toyota invoice/receipt-less system started Tahara Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation |
1996
| April | BL-2 delivered to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC) TAC E Series System No.100 delivered |
|
|---|---|---|
| June | TAC D Series released | |
| October | TOPICS Year 2000 Plan announced |
1997
| February | BL-6 (Windows NT version) completed Delivered to Aisan Industry Co., Ltd. |  ▲TOPICS information exchange meeting |
|---|
1999
| February | BL-5 (Windows NT version) completed Delivered to the Nagakusa Plant of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. |
|
|---|---|---|
| July | At a TOPICS user information exchange meeting, an event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of TOPIX’s founding was held under the title “Y2K Problem Study Meeting”. |
2000
| January | Handling of the Y2K problem safely completed | |
|---|---|---|
| May | Anjo PD Center opened | |
| August | e-kanban B/M version delivered to the Iwate Plant of Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. | |
| October | Service commenced at the e-kanban Support Desk (8-hour operation) |  ▲e-kanban Support Desk |
2001
| January | Floor space of the Nagoya Head Office increased, establishing an e-kanban support structure | |
|---|---|---|
| May | Seventeen-hour operation started at the e-kanban Support Desk | |
| September | e-kanban B/M version delivered to the Kyoto Plant of Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. |
2002
| March | Lifestyle business established as a new operation and activities started | |
|---|---|---|
| April | Progression from batch processing to On-site & On-demand processing mode announced | |
| October | Kanban MES proposed, BL-6J/K completed | |
| November | New-generation kanban “e-kanban (rewritable kanban)” announced | |
| December | Sales of the e-post, a new terminal for On-site & On-demand processing, started |  ▲e-post |
2003
| April | Business activity functions consolidated at the TOPIX Anjo Solution Plaza, establishing a new structure | |
|---|---|---|
| October | Fourth-generation TOPICS proposed TOPIX Anjo Solution Plaza remodeled and opened as a permanent exhibit area (Phase 1) |
 ▲Permanent exhibit area |
2004
| January | “Promoting visualization of production and logistics” set as the 2004 theme | |
|---|---|---|
| March | Pull System (tentative name), a one-way kanban system, announced | |
| June | Exhibit held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of TOPIX’s founding | |
| July | e-kanban System Operation Seminar, a TOPICS training course, held Shipment of rewritable card printers started |
|
| October | Lifestyle business spun off and established as Shizen Sozai Seikatsu Co., Ltd. TOPIX’s capital changed to 90 million yen in connection with the spin-off |
2005
| October | TOPICS 2005, a new fourth-generation solution, announced |
|---|
2006
| May | Toyota Motor Corporation announces a plan to rebuild its domestic procurement and logistics system; TOPIX participates in this project. |
|---|
2007
| November | System No.1 of the Global Standard e-kanban Ver. 3.0, a system for all plants within the Toyota Group, delivered to the Tahara Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation |
|---|
2008
| May | Tahara Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation began using the Global Standard e-kanban system for mass production involving some of its suppliers | |
|---|---|---|
| July | Nagakusa Plant of Toyota Industries Corporation. began using the Global Standard e-kanban system for mass production involving some of its suppliers | |
| October | Tahara Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation began using the Global Standard e-kanban system for mass production involving all of its suppliers | |
| November | “Total Solution” announced at the Autumn 2008 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar |
2009
| June | Thirtieth anniversary of TOPIX’s founding Through capital/business tie-up with Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, TOPIX corporation becomes a member of the Toyota Tsusho Group. |
|
|---|---|---|
| October | TOPIX E S, a wholly owned subsidiary, merged into TOPIX corporation Special lecture (The 19th TOPICS information exchange meeting) held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of TOPIX’s founding |
|
| November | 2009 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar An event held under the title ”Operational improvement and visualization through the utilization of logistics information” |
2010
| April | The address of the Head Office changed from Naka-ku, Nagoya City to the Anjo Solution Plaza (Toei-cho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture) | |
|---|---|---|
| August | The Head Office (at the TOPIX Anjo Solution Plaza) acquired certification for ISO 14001, an international standard for environmental management systems Maintenance hubs in the Kanto District consolidated and the Kanto Service Station opened in Omiya, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture |
|
| October | The Kansai Service Station opened in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture as the maintenance hub for the Kansai District | |
| November | New Product Preview 2010 held, announcing “CALLS” Kyushu Office, the maintenance hub for the Kyushu District, moved to Miyawaka City (formerly Miyata-cho), Fukuoka Prefecture as the Kyushu Service Station 2010 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar held under the title “Tomorrow’s kanban system and kaizen for winning the battle now” |
2011
| March | In response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (on March 11), maintenance service technicians were sent as part of on-site support for users in the Tohoku region | |
|---|---|---|
| April | Release of BL-1, a new order receiving/shipping system, started | |
| September | Release of BL-4S, a one-way parts procurement system, started BL-1, BL-1R, BL-2, and BL-4S delivered to the new plant of Toyotetsu Tohoku Co., Ltd. |
|
| November | 2011 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar held under the title “Let’s work hard on manufacturing – Improving efficiency to support the global environment and strengthening competitiveness” |
2012
| May | The Tohoku Service Station opened in Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi Prefecture as the maintenance hub for the Tohoku region Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the Takahama Plant of Toyota Industries Corporation. |
|
|---|---|---|
| September | BL-4S began operating for mass production at Toyotetsu Fukuoka Co., Ltd. | |
| October | Toyota Working Group appoints TOPIX as the management company and service provider for the Toyota Working Group Common EDI | |
| November | 2012 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar held under the title “Toyota Working Group Common EDI/ASP Service Starts” |
2013
| February | Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the Takaoka and Toyohashi Minami Plants of Toyota Boshoku Corporation | |
|---|---|---|
| April | Toyota Working Group Common EDI/ASP services started Support desk for these services opened Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the Oguchi Plant of Tokai Rika Co., Ltd. |
|
| September | BL-2/BL-4S began operating for mass production at the three plants of Futaba Industrial Co., Ltd. | |
| October | Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the L&F Brazil Plant of Toyota Industries Corporation. Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the Fujisusono, Fujioka, and Tokyo Plants of Toyota Boshoku Corporation |
|
| November | Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the Tsutsumi and Tsuchihashi Plants of Toyota Boshoku Corporation 2013 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar held under the title “How to utilize Toyota Working Group Common EDI in operations” |
2014
| April | Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the three plants of Tokai Rika Co., Ltd. | |
|---|---|---|
| September | The 20th TOPICS information exchange meeting held in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of TOPIX’s founding | |
| October | Parts procurement system at the Sanage and Toyohashi-Kita Plants of Toyota Boshoku Corporation switched from an e-kanban system to Pullsystem | |
| November | 2014 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar held under the title “Using Toyota Working Group Common EDI to reform order receiving/shipping operations” |
2015
| July | BL-4S delivered to Akashi-Kikai Industry Co., Ltd. | |
|---|---|---|
| October | Displayed products at the Monozukuri Fair 2015 held in Fukuoka |  ▲Monozukuri Fair 2015 |
| November | Pullsystem delivered to the Anjo Plant of Toyota Industries Corporation. 2015 TOPICS Exhibit and Seminar held under the title “New initiatives toward manufacturing” |
2016
| April | Displayed at “1st Design Engineering & Manufacturing Solutions Expo in Nagoya”Proposed solution of “Production Track Record Collection” | |
|---|---|---|
| June | Established TOPIX Kyushu Office, near Hakata station in Fukuoka city. | |
| October | Hold TOPIX Exhibition; “TOPIX way of utilizing in-process production order”. |
2017
| April | Established TOPIX Higashinihon Office in Sendai city. | |
|---|---|---|
| July | Nagoya Office moved to Symphony Toyota Bldg. |
2018
| February | “TopicsAlpha” delivered to ASUNO HORIE（THAILAND）Co.,LTD | |
|---|---|---|
| April | Pullsystem began operating for mass production at the Shintoyo plant of Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. | |
| July | “TopicsAlpha” delivered to PT. Futaba Industrial Indonesia. |
2019
| February | “TopicsAlpha” delivered to Hamura plant of Hino Motors, Ltd. | |
|---|---|---|
| July | The 21th TOPICS information exchange meeting held in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of TOPIX’s founding BL-1R began operating for mass production at TAKEBE TEKKOSHO Co.,Ltd. |
2020
| January | BL-4S began operating for mass production at the six plants of Sango Co., Ltd. and two Sango Group. | |
|---|---|---|
| March | “TopTime” delivered to Inabe plant of TOYOTA AUTO BODY Co., Ltd. “TopTime” delivered to Morimachi plant of TOYODA GOSEI Co., Ltd. |
2022
| April | Leveling pickup system（Libra） began operating at the Heiwacho plant of Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. |
|---|
2023
| January | Warehouse management system（PHOENIX）began operating at Toyotsu Machinery Corporation | |
|---|---|---|
| October | Nagoya Office moved to Sumitomo Life Nagoya Bldg. “TopTime” delivered to Yajima plant of Subaru SUBARU CORPORATION. |
|
| December | “TopTime Returnable version” was replaced a one-way KB version at TOYOTETSU FUKUOKA Co., Ltd. |
2024
| March | “TopTime” delivered to Yajima plant of SUBARU CORPORATION. |
|---|