MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMY – FINANCE

HO CHI MINH CITY

REPORTS: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

AT YAKULT

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

LECTURER: PHẠM QUỐC LUYẾN

CLASS: MGT1116E_B06E

STUDENT: PHẠM HÙNG THUẬN

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 I. YAKULT OBSERVATION
1. History
The Japanese doctor Minoru Shirota was the one who discovered a drug belonging to
the group of latobacillus that effectively inhibits harmful toxins in our intestinal tract.
He became the first person to isolate and culture stabilizing bacteria in 1930, which
became known as Latobaillia casei Shirota.

He is also the one who launched the first bottle of Yakult in 1935 in the Japanese
market. Then he founded Yakult Honsha – this is also the first Yakult company,
headquartered in Tokyo, Japan in 1955. In 1964, Yakult company in Taiwan was
born, and this is also the first company of Yakult in foreign markets. Up to now,
Yakult has been present in more than 40 countries and territories including Europe,
Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.

2. Yakult VietNam
Yakult Vietnam was established on June 26, 2006. With a total investment capital of
over 400 billion VND due to the capital contribution of Japan's Yakult Honsha
company (80%) and France's Danone group (20%). Yakult Vietnam started its
business in August 2007. Currently, there is only one Yakult factory in Vietnam
located in Binh Duong. And Yakult products are also distributed to most supermarkets
and retail stores nationwide, so that customers can easily buy them

3. Firts impression
Coming to the Yakult factory, the group had some preliminary observations and
assessments as follows:

● People in Yakult

Coming to Yakult, the first special thing that we felt was the professional and
dedicated attitude of the tour guide. She guides and shares very enthusiastically about
the history as well as the process to make the yakult products that we often use.

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Yakult has done a great job in training its employees and at the same time helping
customers better understand the values that Yakult has been trying to bring to
customers.

● Brand identity

It must be said that Yakult has done a good job in advertising and strengthening its
brand awareness through activities such as organizing tours for students or organizing
booths for customers. try the product. Thereby, we can see their professionalism not
only in production and management but also in all other activities such as
communication and advertising.

● Infrastructure

It can be seen that in Yakult they have a convenient layout and design for sightseeing
and moving. Stepping inside Yakult is the front desk. Up to the 2nd floor is a place to
display models. Includes a 3D Yakult model, a large Yakult model and a display
cabinet of Yakult products from many different countries around the world. To serve
the promotion as well as help customers better understand about Yakult.

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 4. Products

Picture 1. Yakult in Japan

Japan's Yakult products are not only Yakult drinking yogurt, but they also develop a
variety of other products such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The yellow box in
the picture is the drug that supports intestinal cancer. Green products are cosmetics
that tend to moisturize the skin

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Basically, the processing of yogurt and yakult is not much different. What makes this
drink special is the beneficial bacteria L. casei Shirota. As the introduction that the
tour guide showed, the body of an adult has about 1-1.5 kg of bacteria existing in the
intestinal tract in it. For a healthy person, the good bacteria will take up more than the
bad bacteria. To be able to successfully introduce beneficial bacteria into us, Professor
Minoru Shirota has successfully created L. Casei Shirota. This probiotic has a very
high survival rate through gastric juice to reach our small intestine. That's the
difference between Yakult and other probiotics.

Picture 2. Yakult packaging from other countries

Depending on the color of each country, the packaging of Yakult products will be
different. The packaging will have the same color as the national flag of each of those
countries. For example, Vietnam has a red point followed by a yellow streak
representing our country's red flag with a yellow star. In addition to the traditional
fermented yogurt drink product line, in some countries there are also yogurt products
with added fruit or sugar-reduced products to support those who want to control sugar
in the body

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 Furthermore, the tastes of the nations differ. Because the sweetness of Yakult is
determined by the sweetener accessible in each country. In most nations, yakult flavor
is the natural flavor of post-fermented milk. Yakult is available in three varieties in the
Singapore market: grape, apple, and orange. The distinction between Yakult in
Vietnam and Yakult in Singapore is that a batch of Yakult in Singapore contains only
two bottles of natural flavor and three bottles of fruit flavors.

5. Yakult Lady Delivery System

Up to the 3rd floor is the area where Yakult details information about the history of
the Yakult Lady's formation. And especially, they are also very delicate when setting
seats for people to visit the factory.

Picture 3. Yakult Lady Picture 4. History of Yakult

Picture 5. History of Yakult Picture 6. History of Yakult

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 Picture 7. History of Yakult

According to what the tour guide shared, in Yakult, there are staff members who
deliver to customers' homes, also known as Yakult Lday. In 1963, the Yakult Lady
delivery system was formed and this is also the wish and enthusiasm of the Japanese
doctor. He is the one who found and developed this delivery system. With the aim of
helping women in Japanese society to both take care of their families and earn extra
income, it helped improve their position in Japanese society at that time.

Currently, the Yakult Lady delivery system is present in many countries and territories
including Vietnam. The duty of the Yakult Lady is to deliver goods to customers'
homes, and even if it's only 1 batch, they still deliver and do not charge for shipping.
In addition to delivery, Yakult Lady is also a customer feedback channel about the
quality of the product. Every day, The Yakult Lady will spend from 1 hour - 1 hour 30
to study and improve their knowledge.

In Yakult there is also a media room, dedicated to training as well as imparting

information and knowledge about Yakult products and the benefits it brings to
human health.

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 II. HOW YAKULT APPLY TQM?
Enterprises are currently applying 3 main TQM models: ISO 22000: 2018; ISO
14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. There are also standards TCVN 7030:2009 on
fermented milk of Vietnam and even Yakult Honsha's own standard.

ISO 22000:2018: is a leading standard in the food safety management industry, it is

also valid globally. These certified businesses will have to demonstrate that their
business has an effective, well-functioning food safety management system,
consistently improving in a scientific manner, and that control must take place.
frequent.

Yakult did a great job choosing this standard as a basis for the reputation of their
products because of what it brings such as world prestige, the processes must be safe
and rigorous in the chain. Food from the first stage to the last stage is certified, ....

ISO 14001:2015: This standard is a standard for an enterprise's environmental

management system, it helps enterprises orient and manage environmental related
issues in their production and business activities. them to limit the negative effects
they come to. Yakult has put in place these processes to clearly identify potential risks
and provide timely solutions and actions, and then implement process improvements
to avoid similar risks. may appear in the future.

Having this certification proves that the business cares about the environment they can
improve the image and build the brand's reputation to gain sympathy from customers.

ISO 45001:2018: is a standard for occupational health and safety management

systems that is recognized and implemented worldwide, and specifies requirements
for occupational health and safety management systems. (OH&S), which helps the
organization in preventing injury and harm to the health of its employees.

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The adoption of this standard by Yakult brings benefits such as helping businesses
comply with legal requirements, improving corporate reputation and image, reducing
personnel costs, improving processes, improving health & the safety of workers.

TCVN 7030:2009: usually, businesses must meet the requirements of food safety
management in each country, specifically here in Vietnam, businesses will have to
ensure that the substances in the process creating fermented products from the
beginning to the end will have to be within the allowable level. Yakult has been
meeting the requirements of this standard very well.

Yakult Honsha's standards: Yakult factories in Vietnam also apply this specific
standard like factories in Japan - a country that requires very high food safety and
hygiene - although it is not necessary. Doing this can create a good image in people's
eyes

In summary, Yakult Vietnam has used the most prestigious international standards
and also meets its own standards in Vietnam and also standards from the parent
company. Yakult company has applied TQM to the entire system from production to
the environment or to its employees, etc. to create the best comprehensive quality
assurance chain.

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 III. YAKULT MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Picture 8. Manufacturing process

1. Prepare ingredients

Ingredients to be prepared include: Skimmed milk powder, sugar gulcose and white
granulated sugar.

2. Dissolve - Mix

Dissolve skimmed milk powder with glucose and white granulated sugar in hot water,
then filter aseptically in a large bath.

3. Sterilization

Yakult's pasteurization process consists of sterilizing a previously prepared milk

solution with high temperature for a short time to destroy all microorganisms present
in milk1. The water used to blend Yakult's product is filtered by reverse osmosis to
remove excess minerals, then sterilized by ultraviolet light and stored in a large tank
before being used. during production.

4. Fermentation

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Yakult's fermentation process includes the use of Lactobacillus casei Shirota bacteria
to ferment sugar and skimmed milk. The mixture is then put into fermentation tanks
and fermented for a period of 6 to 7 days. Each fermentation time, Yakult increases by
120 liters, however only 60 liters are used in the production process. After
fermentation, the fermentation tank contains billions of live bacteria and at this time
the solution in the tank is thick. The mixture is then homogenized.

5. Assimilation

Yakult's assimilation process is the process of breaking down large milk molecules
into smaller particles for easier digestion and absorption. This process does not
change the nutritional composition of milk and does not cause harm to the body.

6. Storage tank for sterile sugar solution

After homogenization, the fermented milk is pumped into the storage tank and stirred
with sugar water to form semi-finished milk. The purpose of this stage is to neutralize
the sour taste of the product after fermentation, and at the same time, the sugar will be
a source of nutrition for L.casei Shirota bacteria to live during the shelf life.

7. Mixing tank

The above mixture is diluted with sterile distilled water (cured with UV light).

8. Create bottles

Yakult bottles are made from polystyrene resin that is melted, plasticized and molded
into a unique Yakult bottle form using controlled temperature and pressure in a
hygienic environment. The preformed bottles are inspected and then transported by air
into the bottle storage tank. From the bottle storage tank, the preformed bottles are
sucked in and fed into the bottling machine. In the mixer, the Yakult concentrate is
proportionally combined with filtered, cooled, UV-treated process water to form the
product Yakult. It is then directed to a pressurization tank, where it will be re-filtered
before being sent to the bottling process.

9. Label printing

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Yakult bottles are printed with product information and the Yakult logo at the printer.

10. Filling products

Each bottle will be filled with 65ml Yakult. Then the bottle will be covered with silver
red aluminum foil. The expiry date is also sprayed onto the cap which is then sealed
into the bottle.

11. Bottling

5 bottles will be packed into 1 pack in a thin plastic layer, and 10 packs will be packed
into 1 box.

12. Preservation

The final product will be transported to a cold storage of 5°C to 10°C and the product
will be stored in the warehouse for 1-2 days to check product quality before being
distributed to consumers.

13. Quality check

The Yakult Group works to ensure quality control and to provide safe, secure and
quality products as well as reliable and satisfying services at all levels of research,
development, procurement, production, logistics, public relations, advertising and
sales. Yakult maintains a comprehensive Quality Management Program to ensure that
their products are of the highest quality. For this reason, samples are collected for
laboratory analysis throughout the manufacturing process.

Yakult products meet the quality standards for fermented milk products, according to
the regulations of the Ministry of Health, standards TCVN 7030:2009, ISO
22000:2018, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018

14. Transportation

Products after quality inspection and packaging will be released to the market for
consumption

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 IV. RESULTS AFTER THE VISIT
After the visit to the Yakult factory, we learned a lot of valuable lessons as well as
cultivated the knowledge to support the course as well as for ourselves:

1. Factory inspection procedures: Pre, during and post production inspection.

Pre-production inspection: Checking raw materials of skimmed milk powder, testing

glucose, checking the condition of pipelines, checking plastic particles, BOPP film ….

Inspection in production: Checking CCP points, semi-finished products, packaging,

checking capacity automatically by sensor probe ….

Post-production inspection: Mainly occurs at the QC stage after the product is

packaged, the product is in stock for 24 hours. Inspection criteria such as
microbiology, mold, mildew, etc. Each batch after production is stored for the entire
shelf-life of the product in each batch.

2. Modern and automatic production lines

The systematic organization of the Yakult company is very scientific and practical, so
the defective product is very little showing the meticulousness of each stage. Each
segment used modern and automatic production lines streamlined with ISO
documents such as Process or work instructions, standard operating procedures -SOP.
This is a company advantage when building and implementing multiple systems at the
same time, and it is very easy to document the systems for better performance. And
also optimize human resources for the company while ensuring process quality

3. People

The guides are very welcoming and enthusiastic to introduce and answer everyone's
questions. That shows that Yakult has developed a corporate culture as well as a very

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methodical and professional working process. Those are the things other businesses
should learn from Yakult

3. Experiences

The trip provided a wealth of experiences that helped the course and myself. To
better understand how to safeguard our health, i could learn how to categorize the
good and bad bacteria that reside in the intestinal tract. The factory's closed
production line technology was also on display, as well as Yakult's cutting-edge open
system intended to flexibly boost productivity in the future.I had the opportunity to
observe up close the bottle sterilization, extraction, and labeling procedures used to
create high-quality milk bottles that met the required standards. Additionally, observe
how technology is used in manufacturing, how engineers operate in an automated
production line with professionalism, how modern working practices are used.

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