When Thinking Becomes Visible: A3 Thinking Workshop at Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific
- Mar 24
- 8 min read
Updated: 5 minutes ago
By Allan Ung | Founder & Principal Consultant, Operational Excellence Consulting
Originally delivered: 5 December 2025, Singapore
Allan Ung is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Operational Excellence Consulting, a Singapore-based firm specialising in Lean, operational excellence, and structured problem solving. With over 30 years of experience across manufacturing, technology, and global operations — including senior roles at IBM, Microsoft, and Underwriters Laboratories — Allan is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC, Japan), Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, TPM Instructor, and TWI Master Trainer. He has facilitated programmes for organisations including Toyota Electron, Panasonic, Micron, Toyota Tsusho, Sika Group, and Nippon Paint.
The Moment a Room Full of Managers and Professionals Stops Guessing
There is a particular shift I have learned to watch for in A3 workshops. It happens somewhere in the middle of the morning — usually during the root cause analysis segment — when a team stops debating opinions and starts following the evidence. The energy in the room changes. Arguments give way to inquiry. Competing narratives converge into a single structured story on one sheet of paper.
That shift happened at Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific (TTAP) on 5 December 2025, when 15 participants from across the organisation gathered for a full-day A3 Thinking workshop I had the privilege of facilitating.
It was, in every sense, a day about making thinking visible.
👉 A3 Thinking is far more than a reporting format. If you would like a deeper understanding of the four A3 report types and how each connects to the PDCA cycle, read The power of A3 frameworks: a structured approach to thinking, problem solving, and strategic alignment. |
Why A3 Thinking — and Why TTAP
TTAP is a trading and business management company operating across a remarkable breadth of sectors: mobility, machinery, energy, chemicals, food, and global trade. It is guided by three core values — Humanity, Gembality, and Beyond — and a genuine commitment to building operational capability that matches the complexity of its business.
That context matters. In organisations of TTAP's diversity, one of the most persistent challenges is not a lack of intelligence or effort — it is a lack of shared language. Different departments use different frameworks. Problems get solved in different ways. Proposals land differently depending on who wrote them and how.
A3 Thinking addresses precisely this. Developed within Toyota and embedded in the Toyota Production System, the A3 is a discipline for structured reasoning that fits on a single sheet of A3 paper. It combines logical thinking, visual clarity, and the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle into a format that makes complex thinking legible — to the person doing the thinking, and to every stakeholder who reads the result.
When TTAP decided to invest in A3 Thinking capability for its people, it was making a decision not just about a tool, but about a common problem-solving language across the organisation.
Two A3 Types, One Shared Discipline
The workshop covered two A3 formats: the Problem Solving A3 and the Proposal A3. Though they serve different purposes, both demand the same underlying discipline — clear thinking, evidence-based reasoning, and concise visual communication.
The A3 Problem Solving Process
The Problem Solving A3 follows eight structured steps, each of which builds on the last. It is not a form to fill in — it is a thinking process that unfolds in sequence, forcing the author to earn each section by doing the work of the previous one.
Here is what the framework looks like in practice:
What makes the Problem Solving A3 powerful is not any single step — it is the discipline of doing them in order. The most common failure mode in problem solving is jumping to countermeasures before completing the root cause analysis. The A3 structure prevents this. You cannot fill in Step 6 with integrity until you have done the work of Step 5.
Throughout the day, I emphasised one phrase repeatedly: make thinking visible. The A3 is not a reporting tool. It is a thinking tool that happens to produce a report.
The Proposal A3
Beyond problem solving, participants also worked on the Proposal A3 — a framework for communicating ideas, recommendations, and business cases in a structured and persuasive format.
Where the Problem Solving A3 asks "what is wrong and why?", the Proposal A3 asks "what should we do and why?" — requiring the author to articulate a clear rationale, evaluate alternatives honestly, anticipate risks, and arrive at a recommendation that decision-makers can act on without needing a lengthy briefing document.
One of the day's most energising exercises used the Proposal A3 to explore how AI could enhance TTAP's work processes — a live, relevant, and genuinely contested topic that generated lively team debate and some remarkably sharp thinking.
Here is the Proposal A3 framework:
The Proposal A3 is particularly valuable in organisations like TTAP, where decisions cross departmental boundaries and need to persuade stakeholders who were not in the room when the idea was conceived. A well-structured Proposal A3 does the stakeholder alignment work in advance — on paper, before the meeting.
What the Day Actually Looked Like
The workshop followed a rhythm I have refined across dozens of A3 engagements: short bursts of concept introduction, immediately followed by team practice.
We opened with the principles of A3 Thinking and the four A3 report types, establishing the broader landscape before narrowing into the two formats we would practise in depth. From there, participants worked through the Problem Solving A3 step by step — learning each stage, practising it, then receiving coaching before moving to the next.
The core tools of the Problem Solving A3 — 5W1H for problem framing, 5 Whys for root cause drilling, and the Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram for structured cause-effect mapping — were introduced not as standalone techniques but as instruments in service of the A3 logic. The goal was always clarity and traceability: can you show me, on one sheet of paper, that your countermeasure genuinely addresses the root cause?
After the coffee break, participants shifted to the Proposal A3 — and the AI-related exercise generated some of the sharpest thinking of the day, as teams wrestled with articulating a clear rationale, evaluating real alternatives, and making a case that a sceptical decision-maker would find compelling.
The afternoon closed with team presentations and structured feedback, with peer review grounded in four questions: Is the background clear? Is the logic traceable? Are the countermeasures evidence-based? Can this be acted on?
In Their Own Words
The participant reflections from the day capture something that no facilitator summary can fully convey — the personal shift that happens when a framework clicks.
"Understand that it is not just a report and how I can be more effective when problem solving or coming up with a proposal." — Teo Hui Yin, Regional Business Strategy & Development
"Keep in mind to present information in a concise manner." — Max Lee, Mobility Customer Service
"I have learned one of the most effective methods for problem solving and proposals." — Connie Tan, Human Resources
"I will encourage my team to adopt the A3 thinking process and apply it to daily work." — Sun Mengjia, Risk Management
"Will practise regularly, and apply in every part of my job." — Jerryco Vingco, Customer Service
What strikes me about these reflections is the breadth of departments represented — strategy, customer service, HR, risk management. That is the nature of A3 Thinking's value: it is not a specialist tool for engineers or quality teams. It is a shared language for any professional who needs to think clearly, communicate precisely, and act on evidence rather than assumption.
Three Things that Made the Difference at TTAP
Reflecting on the day, three dynamics elevated this session beyond a standard training delivery:
The first was the quality of TTAP's real challenges. When participants apply A3 to live issues rather than case studies, the learning becomes immediately relevant. The discomfort of not having a ready answer to "what is the root cause?" is productive discomfort — and TTAP's participants leaned into it.
The second was cross-functional diversity. Having participants from strategy, HR, risk, customer service, and operations in the same room created a natural tension that the A3 format resolved. Departments that typically communicate past each other had to build a shared narrative on a single sheet of paper. That is not just a training exercise — it is a rehearsal for how the organisation should work.
The third was the decision to go full-day rather than half-day. A3 Thinking cannot be surface-learned. It requires time to move from concept to confusion to clarity — and TTAP gave its people that time.
What this Means for TTAP Going Forward
The A3 Thinking workshop is not an end point. It is a beginning — the establishment of a shared vocabulary and a common framework that TTAP's teams can now use consistently across departments and functions.
The participants who leave a well-facilitated A3 workshop carry more than a completed template. They carry a habit of questioning: What is actually happening? How do I know? What is driving this — really? And what will I do about it that addresses the cause rather than the symptom?
When that habit of mind becomes embedded in daily management routines — in how problems are raised, how proposals are written, how decisions are made — A3 Thinking stops being a workshop topic and starts being part of the organisation's operating system.
That is the trajectory TTAP is on.
About the Author
Allan Ung is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Operational Excellence Consulting, a Singapore-based management training and consulting firm established in 2009. With over 30 years of experience leading operational excellence and quality transformation in manufacturing-intensive environments, Allan's expertise spans Lean Thinking, Total Quality Management (TQM), TPM, TWI, ISO systems, and structured problem solving.
He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC, Japan), Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, TPM Instructor (Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance), TWI Master Trainer, ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, and former Singapore Quality Award National Assessor.
During his tenure with Singapore's National Productivity Board (now Enterprise Singapore), Allan pioneered Cost of Quality and Total Quality Process initiatives that enabled companies in the electrical and fabricated metals industries to reduce quality costs by up to 50 percent. In senior regional and global roles at IBM, Microsoft, and Underwriters Laboratories, he led Lean deployment, quality system strengthening, and cross-border operational transformation.
Allan has facilitated A3 and Lean programmes for organisations including Tokyo Electron, Panasonic, Sika Group, Toyota Tsusho, Micron, NileDutch, and Nippon Paint. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) from the National University of Singapore and completed advanced consultancy training in Japan as a Colombo Plan scholar.
His philosophy: "Manufacturing excellence is achieved through disciplined systems, capable leadership, and sustained execution on the shopfloor."
Looking to Bring A3 Thinking to Your Organisation?
👉 Visit www.oeconsulting.com.sg to explore customised A3 Thinking workshops, facilitation-ready toolkits, and Lean training programmes for Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.
Further Learning Resources
If you’d like to find out more about A3 Thinking, explore our A3 Thinking Training Courses and Facilitation‑Ready Presentations & Toolkits at Operational Excellence Consulting. These practitioner‑led resources are designed to help leaders and teams apply A3 concepts in real workshops, strengthen problem‑solving capability, and deliver sustainable customer value.
👉 Learn more here:
A3 Thinking Workshop — Disciplined, structured approach to thinking, communicating, and driving continuous improvement.
Problem Solving Essentials Toolkit — A complete system combining RCA, PDCA, 8D, and 5S.
PDCA Problem Solving Training Presentation & Practitioner Toolkit — Practical framework for continuous improvement cycles.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Training Presentation & Practitioner Toolkit — Structured methodology to identify, eliminate, and prevent recurring problems.