GK spoke with Mamoru Iwata, President of Sanken Kogyo Co., Ltd., about the challenges of promoting ‘Made in Japan’ overseas and the company’s evolving approach to R&D.
Do you experience any challenges when communicating the benefits of ‘Made in Japan’ to foreign clients?
Our industry has remained relatively small and limited to Japan so far, only over the past 5-6 years have we seen an increase in overseas opportunities. Besides the language gap, one of the biggest challenges is the differing business culture. American companies often want a product straight away, trading quality for production time. However, in Japan, the thought process is that although something may take extra time to produce, it will be completely free from imperfections, and therefore, a better product. Often explaining this to foreign clients can be an uphill battle, however the historical reliability of Japanese products, such as automobiles and consumer electronics, truly shows that ‘Made in Japan’ is worth the wait.
When it comes to industries, where do the majority of your clients come from?
As we do not work with mass production, client needs change from time to time, and as such, our focus of production changes industry often. Several years ago, the medical industry was very active, however now we are seeing more orders within semiconductors, as well as the automotive industry for the past two years. Generally, we try to cover a wide range of industries, and focus on specific markets that are active at the time.
How does your company approach the complex task of R&D to help meet the needs of your clients?
Rather than via our salespeople, our engineers maintain very close relationships with our clients, maintaining our philosophy of ‘never say no’ when handling client proposals. We always try to arrive at a solution, regardless of how difficult the specifications may seem. Usually, this begins with our research team creating a mental concept of the final product, then working backward to produce it in reality.
What has allowed you to gain such a reputation in the market? In other words, what is your company’s competitive advantage?
One unique characteristic of Sanken compared to other manufacturing companies is our large amount of female staff, over 50% of our total workforce, a stark contrast in an industry traditionally dominated by men. This adds a unique perspective and different interpersonal skills to our business decisions, and as such, we are able to operate more efficiently than our competitors. We operate a no-frills approach both internally and externally; ensuring that clients are happy and satisfied is our number one priority.
Traditional prototype manufacturers in Japan are often very small companies, with long lead times and inefficient, time-consuming manufacturing processes. We have broken from this tradition, acting quickly from the moment the client contacts us until the product has been delivered. By providing prototypes quickly, we support the smooth operation of the manufacturer’s own design department, thereby winning us favor with a range of clients.
