Social
Quality and Customer Value

A commitment to quality is essential to achieving a sustainable society and providing people worldwide with safe and comfortable living through attractive, high-quality products, services and solutions. This commitment embodies the “Bridgestone E8 Commitment.” Bridgestone established its Quality Mission Statement to engage every employee in contributing to the creation of high-quality products, services and solutions that exceed customers' expectations through innovation and kaizen (continuous improvement).

The Quality Mission Statement is a blueprint for the future direction of Bridgestone and its leadership. It advances Bridgestone’s proud heritage of quality and commitment to continuous improvement, and is based on the spirit of its founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, who instilled these values in Bridgestone’s DNA.

Through employee engagement with a commitment toward continuous improvement and innovation, Bridgestone strives to apply the principles of excellence to achieve superior quality throughout the entire value chain, globally across all businesses.

Bridgestone puts the safety of its customers and employees first and delivers products, services and solutions with superior quality.

The foundation to reinforce quality management is Bridgestone’s DNA “Focus on quality” and our mission, “Serving Society with Superior Quality”, which reflects that DNA. Firstly, Bridgestone will reaffirm and re-penetrate this DNA and return to its origins by reconfirming Bridgestone’s unique Deming Plan. Bridgestone has been promoting this approach since the 1960s, and in 1968 Bridgestone received the Deming prize. The basic premise of the Deming Plan is “Good company quality makes good quality of products and services.” Based on this, Bridgestone is globally reaffirming and re-penetrating five focus concepts of its Deming Plan as the “framework” of thinking:

• Master PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act);
• Use why why analysis (WHY-WHY-WHY)
• Promote rational standardization;
• Explain by using accurate data; and
• Control important points.

Kanichiro Ishibashi (appointed as president in 1963) used the hand-drawn image below when he initiated a restructuring plan in 1968. This image highlights the importance of quality in all aspects of the business and remains fundamental to our DNA.

Quality is led by the Quality Management department, but is a cross-functional responsibility. Bridgestone cannot achieve superior quality standards through just one departmental function. Quality is an outcome of thoughtful interdisciplinary planning and execution, and it is the underlying value of its businesses.

Bridgestone is always looking for ways to strengthen its culture of quality:

• The Quality Mission Statement has been deployed globally and requires a company-wide commitment – from top executives to newly hired staff. Bridgestone has implemented awareness and e-learning programs to underscore the active role everyone within the Group must play for Bridgestone to achieve its mission to create customer value and maintain customer trust. To reenforce Bridgestone's DNA, "Focus on quality,” and our company's global mission, "Serving Society with Superior Quality," Bridgestone will reaffirm and re-penetrate its unique Deming Plan and drive new engagement to all executives and staff.
• Bridgestone prioritizes quality education across the organization. Specific training modules are delivered to increase competencies regarding quality tools and capabilities. Lean Six Sigma programs, or statistical quality controls, are also implemented at the strategic business unit (SBU) level.
• Bridgestone places emphasis on managing risks throughout the value chain. In particular, Bridgestone developed a set of standardized quality requirements (called Process Quality Assurance Reference List: PQARL) based on global best practices to mitigate risks and ensure the delivery of the highest quality tire products and services. Since 2020, Bridgestone has expanded the scope of quality requirements in PQARL to include diversified products, bicycles, sporting goods and internal manufacturing business categories to further advance quality improvement.

To achieve its quality and customer value mission, Bridgestone established goals, including:

• Achieving ISO 9001 quality management system certification at all of its manufacturing sites.
• Monitoring quality-related items regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) evaluations using the industry average as a benchmark and disclosing certain ESG milestones.

To achieve the above goals, Bridgestone is promoting the dissemination of the Quality Mission Statement to all employees globally. Bridgestone is developing a quality assurance system that will enable it to produce high-quality products that are friendly to the global environment and minimize waste in the production process of each business site.

Bridgestone requires all manufacturing locations in which it has a 50% or more share to achieve and maintain ISO 9001 quality management system certification. As of February 3, 2025, 114 sites are targeted for ISO 9001 certification, and all sites are certified (Certification acquisition rate: 100%).

Bridgestone embraces internal and external audits and certifications, such as IATF 16949^*1 and VDA 6.1,^*2 so that it can ensure superior quality that meets our customers’ demands.

1. International standards for quality management systems specific to the automotive industry
2. Standards for quality management systems for the German automobile industry

Bridgestone has established the Global CQO Structure, which is composed of the Global Chief Quality Officer (Global CQO) and the CQOs of all SBUs. Together, they are responsible for ensuring the quality of products, services and solutions in their respective markets. The CQOs are building a quality assurance system across the entire value chain to deliver customer value and maintain customer trust through innovation and continuous improvement. In addition, the Global Head Office (GHO) and Global Business Support (GBS) advance these activities by sharing roles such as issuing policies, developing global systems, managing the quality status of each SBU, conducting quality audits, and supporting SBU activities.

In 2017, Bridgestone established the Global Quality Management Committee (GQMC) to strengthen global governance regarding the deployment of its quality mission and initiatives in each SBU.

The GQMC sets the global quality direction and strategy, identifies global quality challenges, and proposes solutions that leverage global expertise and resources. Bridgestone has also established an auditing framework to continuously assess the effectiveness of systems and processes to deliver the highest quality of products, services and solutions to its customers.

Bridgestone’s organizational structure

Global CQO structure

Bridgestone is committed to creating customer value and maintaining customer trust by continuously enhancing the quality of products, services and solutions throughout the entire value chain based on the Quality Mission Statement principles.

Entire value chain

To ensure the quality of design and development globally, Bridgestone standardizes and continuously enhances its processes in all technology centers.

Bridgestone leverages the structure and collaboration outlined in the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process, which includes critical tasks from concept approval through production. The aim is to create a product quality plan for developing and manufacturing products that meet customer requirements.

For quality assurance in the development process, Bridgestone’s aim is to successfully deliver and continuously identify opportunities to optimize the development processes of all product development groups. The scope covers the entire development process, including production processes and manufacturing technology.

In all SBUs at the global level, development processes are structured using a gate-based approach. At each gate, all specified criteria must be met to assure achievement of development targets (including risk analysis) and final product safety and quality.

Bridgestone procures raw materials and outsourced materials from a wide range of suppliers. To maintain and continuously enhance quality assurance throughout the value chain, Bridgestone applies the highest quality standards to all suppliers and business partners (including Tier-N) by requesting their compliance with a purchase contract and its Global Sustainable Procurement Policy. To ensure superior quality, Bridgestone also established Group-wide approval criteria for raw materials and outsourced products.

Each SBU currently holds annual procurement policy briefings related to quality assurance for Tier 1 suppliers. Additionally, to help prevent quality issues at any of its suppliers, the company provides them with guidance for improvement several times per year.

Bridgestone is proud of the relationships it has built with its suppliers. It also continuously monitors the quality of goods received, audits suppliers, and pursues other initiatives to ensure suppliers maintain high quality assurance systems and supply products that consistently meet its quality requirements.

For more details, see “Procurement.”

Global Business Support and SBUs have been strengthening their cooperation on outsourcing products to improve global quality assurance.

At the global level, Bridgestone is continuously working with its partners and suppliers to enhance the overall quality of outsourced products and deliver superior quality to customers. This includes providing training and other supplier development that instill high quality standards and criteria which focus on assuring early detection of any potential issues.

Bridgestone strives to continuously improve global manufacturing processes by introducing innovative technologies to consistently create industry leading products, services and solutions that meet growing customer expectations.

Bridgestone seeks to identify potential quality risks at its production sites and proactively implements preventive actions using Failure Mode and Effects analysis (FMEA) quality assurance methods and by focusing on Critical to Quality (CTQ) inputs.

To minimize risks and deliver superior quality products, Bridgestone defines and standardizes quality requirements as a Process Quality Assurance Reference List (PQARL) based on domestic and international best practices. Every year, Bridgestone publishes global quality investment guidelines regarding investments to improve the level of quality assurance necessary to meet these requirements and regularly conducts assessments to confirm the status of implementation at sites.

Bridgestone has established a system to share best practices and continuous improvement activities at the global level to ensure all facilities are aligned on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes.

Bridgestone promotes the application of risk-based thinking at all levels of the business based on ISO standards applied throughout the value chain (product strategy, development, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, sales, and service).

Especially during development and production, Bridgestone carries out the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and performs both Design Failure Mode and Effects analysis (D-FMEA) and Process Failure Mode and Effects analysis (P-FMEA). In parallel, cross functional teams conduct regular design reviews at each stage of the process.

Bridgestone also conducts continuous monitoring of manufacturing process quality and final product evaluation in order to meet regulatory and customer requirements and our internal standards.

Bridgestone continuously monitors quality KPIs in each SBU to trigger actions at an early stage, and it exchanges best practices and new learnings among all locations to prevent recurrence of quality issues.

As part of the quest to transform from a “product out” to a “market in” business model, Bridgestone has sought to better utilize the Voice of Customers (VOC) and Voice of Business Partners (VOB), as well as incorporate this management system into the drive to increase customer value. Bridgestone manages the VOC/VOB of each market to suit local conditions and provide the optimal products, services and solutions to its customers.

In Japan, the customer summary system collects VOC from the Customer Communication Center and other relevant departments and shares that information to help improve the quality of Bridgestone products, services and solutions.

Bridgestone Americas (BSAM) and Bridgestone Europe, Middle East, and Africa (BSEMEA) have used commercial market segmentation surveys and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to help ascertain the degree of consumer satisfaction with tire patterns and devise future product plans. Specific customer value indicators (CVI) have also been useful practical indicators.

Bridgestone will continue building a solutions-driven business model and strengthening VOC/VOB management, with the firm belief that these activities will help improve the quality of products, services and solutions and create added value for customers.

Bridgestone continuously collects and analyzes data related to the markets (including failures and incidents) for all SBUs.

Bridgestone tires are driven on roads worldwide, so Bridgestone collects data from any available source and promptly shares the information collected and the results of tire analysis with all relevant departments to help improve tire quality.

For example, in cases of passenger car tire wear, Bridgestone proactively collects information by visiting markets, meeting with distributors, analyzing actual tires, and inspecting used tires. It also establishes systems to analyze trends and promptly identify potential concerns, making it possible to act before problems arise in the market. Bridgestone has promoted early detection of potential problems requiring global and rapid market action , and it has created a rapid response and accurate risk management system designed to facilitate accurate judgments and market action.

As part of Global Quality Governance, Bridgestone utilizes a global CQO system. The CQO system enables each SBU to make rapid judgments based on market information. To identify potential risks and investigate causes in each case, each SBU uses a system for statistically analyzing and periodically evaluating market information. Based on the results, each SBU follows its own detailed procedures and implements the appropriate market response in accordance with Bridgestone standards and the applicable local regulations.

Bridgestone also shares the information globally and strives to prevent recurrence of quality issues within the Group.

Bridgestone will continue to nurture a culture focused on safety and quality, so it can offer consumers the highest quality products that are also safe and reliable.

In case of a product recall, Bridgestone notifies government agencies and discloses information at the following local Bridgestone websites:

Japan (in Japanese)

United States

China (in Chinese)

Thailand (in English)

Please see ESG data for details.

In Japan, Bridgestone monitors the state of quality in the market and also collects and analyzes market quality information and VOCs. The company also implements a PDCA approach for early resolution and to implement improvements in accordance with its quality manuals and standards. At other SBUs, potential quality issues and customer complaints are collected and analyzed. In particular, safety issues are analyzed in detail in accordance with local regulations and Bridgestone standards.

Bridgestone aims to innovate for sustainable mobility using advanced technologies and solutions. Bridgestone also aims to provide products, services and solutions that support safe and secure movement through the evolution of mobility. To these ends, Bridgestone has implemented a robust Quality Management System at all SBUs and throughout the value chain. Delivering safe products, services and solutions that meet customer expectations is one of our top priorities.

Bridgestone will continuously expand and evolve its business to meet the changing needs of society and continue supporting the safe and secure mobility and lifestyles of individuals.

As a part of its Quality Assurance System evolution, Bridgestone is now promoting Prediction Technology based on big data, which leads to higher value for customers and more efficient internal processes. This technology provides useful insights that enable actions at an early stage, improves upstream processes by reducing variations, and predicts and enhances the performance of products, services and solutions. By collecting market data and customer feedback, and applying prediction technology, Bridgestone can manage such data and keep co-creating higher value for customers and wider society.

Bridgestone’s global commitment to quality is instrumental in supporting its vision of becoming a sustainable solutions company that provides social and customer value. This commitment is clearly stated in Bridgestone's Mid-Long Term Business Strategy and demonstrated by its efforts to co-create value with customers, partners, and society overall.

In recent years, Bridgestone's quality-related activities for its solutions business have become increasingly important. Beginning in 2017 in collaboration with the Pilbara Mining Solution Center in Australia, Bridgestone structured a quality management system for the solutions service network. In 2019, the acquisition of Webfleet Solutions provided a framework for the global quality management system to expand and accelerate the application of quality-related activities to new business domains, including mergers and acquisitions.

As a global common quality management foundation in its solutions business, Bridgestone formulated the Solutions Business Management Guidelines in 2020. Each SBU establishes and operates a solutions quality management system customized to the characteristics of the region and market in which they operate based on these guidelines, supporting the provision of value to society and customers.

Bridgestone will continuously improve and strengthen quality management in our solutions business, enhancing the foundation for quickly resolving customer issues and providing new value to our customers.

Bridgestone believes it is critical to pass on its traditional commitment to quality and high level of acquired skills to the next generations. Bridgestone provides quality and product safety training to all employees utilizing various tools and platforms (e.g., e-learning, lecture programs). For operators and inspectors who require specific knowledge and techniques for their work, Bridgestone conducts training programs that include quality control.

Since implementing the Quality Mission Statement in 2016, Bridgestone has been conducting quality-related activities based on the statement for all Group Global employees. In all regions of BRIDGESTONE EAST and WEST where annual CSR training programs are conducted, quality management and product safety are also conducted through e-learning. For new employees, quality education that includes the Quality Mission Statement is provided immediately after they join the company. These activities are constantly updated and are being conducted for all employees. These activities and best practices are also shared with other operations to raise the caliber of quality-related activities throughout the Group. In addition, Bridgestone has begun reaffirming its unique Deming Plan, which it has been promoting since the 1960s to reconfirm and reaffirm Bridgestone's DNA to “Focus on quality.” The basic thought of the Deming Plan is "Good company quality makes good quality products and services." Based on this, the importance of the Deming Plan’s five concepts will be reaffirmed and re-penetrated at each level throughout the global company.

Moving forward, Bridgestone intends to continue developing human resources throughout Bridgestone to help ensure customers receive the highest quality products, services and solutions.

For more than 50 years, TQM(Total Quality Management) activities have been passed down to the whole Group as a culture of continuous improvement and pursuit of innovation. The Bridgestone Group Global TQM conference is held annually for the purpose of enhancing innovation and kaizen through the sharing of best practices related to TQM activities from around the globe to strengthen “improving working and business quality.” The TQM Conference is one of our representative TQM activities aimed at continuing and promoting the deployment of “improving working and business quality” and thoroughly pursuing operational excellence globally. It has been held with the aim of sharing examples of outstanding and innovative improvement activities throughout the Bridgestone Group and fostering mutual growth for realizing our mission of “Serving Society with Superior Quality.”

The 14th Group Global TQM conference was held in 2024. Among over 2,000 improvement cases submitted from the Group, 16 teams representing various regions and business sites presented their excellent initiatives at the conference.