146 ◾ New JIT, New Management Technology Principle
planning and design divisions to regularly receive customer data from (3) domes-
tic and overseas dealers, which are exposed to the front line of customer desires
through their marketing/sales/service activities.
Similarly, the collection of customer data is also possible through (4) consulting
spaces, namely, the showrooms promoting the company’s own products or public
facilities for discussions and consultations with the customers. Moreover, (5) the
domestic/overseas marketing research companies (research) conducting analyses of
market trends and customer preferences are also a source of information for feeling
out customer values.
All these sections are connected through on-line networking ...