Welcome!  My name is Scott Jamieson.  I am the President of the Bluegrass Automotive Manufacturers Association, more commonly referred to as BAMA.

 

BAMA was founded in 1989 as an independent corporation.  Its original purpose was to provide Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA with a forum for introducing suppliers to basic Toyota philosophies with a special emphasis on the Toyota Production System.

 

Initially, BAMA consisted of 6 suppliers that were local to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky.   BAMA has grown fifteen-fold over the past 33 years and today our current membership stands at approximately 90 member companies.

 

BAMA members are core suppliers, representing more than 63% of Toyota’s annual purchases and accounting for 60% of the total vehicle cost.  Our long-term goal is to have 60-80% of all North American Toyota suppliers integrated into BAMA.

 

The purpose of BAMA has grown and evolved over the last three decades. Initially the focus was to introduce TPS principles and the Toyota Way, however now, BAMA is a key educational and development resource for all members. It encourages the identification of Kaizen opportunities and best practice sharing among members through workshops and activities, as well as offering networking opportunities with other BAMA and Toyota members. It also provides expanded opportunities for direct communications with Toyota executives and access to Toyota training programs, while giving members the opportunity to collectively raise issues and communicate problems affecting the way we do business.

 

BAMA is a strong, vibrant organization that has solidified and strengthened the supplier relationship with Toyota, and it has enabled our member companies to advance their own initiatives in the areas of safety, continuous improvement, best practices, benchmarking and problem solving. BAMA not only improves the individual member company, but we take pride in our ability to continuously adapt and work together to overcome challenges as a team.

 

BAMA and Toyota have a shared goal of delivering the highest quality product at the lowest cost with the shortest lead time. We are looking forward to entering a new era in this partnership and are excited for the opportunities and improvements in the coming years.