It's all about the customer
September 25, 2006
It's all about the customer. Check it out:(New Straits Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) OVER the years, the information and communications technology business has evolved from technology equipment provision to more customer-focused ICT solutions and services provision. The technology vendor now acts more like a partner and an adviser to organisations in achieving business goals and objectives. Fujitsu Asia Pte Ltd's regional chief executive officer Noboru Oi shares with ROZANA SANI about his experience and take on this trend.
Q: Having held your present position for some two months now, can you share with us your current scope of responsibility? A: My current responsibility is to ensure that all country offices within Fujitsu in the Asean region leverage on and optimise the company's global network and knowledge sharing. If each country runs the company as a standalone, it's almost equal to a local company, right? Hence, it is important that we use our depth of knowledge in technology, which is our key strength and differentiator, to create value-add for our customers.
Obviously, customers would know their business best, but through discussions and the sharing of their experience and based on our IT experience, we can create a framework that would cater to their needs and requirements.
Q: What are your plans for the business in this region? A: Fujitsu's IT solution is for the enterprise, not for the ordinary customer. From Fujitsu's point of view, enterprise business management and IT need to be highly aligned.
Traditionally, IT companies push IT technologies and enterprises try to adopt the technologies. Now, enterprises can customise IT solutions to achieve their desired business results and multiple benefits.
To illustrate, in Japan, Fujitsu is working with a famous department store to explore new ideas using RFID (radio frequency identification), point-of-sales and several other technologies to help the company interact better with its customers. For example, through the store's loyalty card, the company can track where the customers go and what they pick and buy. With such information, the company can cater to the customers' needs better while increasing sales.
That's where I want to see Fujitsu going in this region. Our strategy is customer-focused. This means to develop our ideas through the customer's view. To achieve this, I believe human resource development and training is very important.
Q: How does this vision fit in the Malaysian market? A: We need to address customers' expectations. We want the customers to see us as a partner and valuable adviser. That's why we seek long-term relations.
Malaysia is a high-potential country for the future. It's geographically wide, English is widely spoken, it's a platform through which we can access other Muslim countries, and its Government is keen to invite hi- tech companies to invest there. Even our chairman is a member of the MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) international advisory panel. So, Malaysia is one of the key countries for Asia and also for Fujitsu.
Q: What is your management philosophy? A: For me, customer expectations are the same worldwide. However, their behaviours are sometimes different. My philosophy for this service business is more of an agricultural approach. This means putting the seeds into the ground, pouring water every day and then look forward to harvest.
Some people think that you can buy resources. That is not the philosophy of Fujitsu. We hire talented people with potential. And we help them grow by giving them training, networking opportunities and so on.
Q: You've been with Fujitsu for more than 30 years. What has made you stick with the company for so long? A: I started with Fujitsu (in Japan) for four years attached to an electric power company. Then I moved on to Australia, then back to Japan and then on to the United States for American-style company management. So, my resume has many lines; it's almost like job hopping. But the experience has been good for my family as well, so everything has been positive so far.
BIODATA NOBORU Oi graduated with a Master's in physics from Osaka University in Japan in March 1976. A month later, he secured a job with Fujitsu Ltd, starting off a long-term career with the global information and communications technology solutions provider.
Prior to his present positions as regional chief executive officer of Fujitsu Asia Pte Ltd and general manager, Asia-Pacific regional operations office of Fujitsu Ltd based in Singapore, he was vice president, Asean and Oceania division, Asia-Pacific business unit, Fujitsu Ltd.
Earlier on in March 2004, he was group vice president, Asia-Pacific division, global business group, Fujitsu Ltd. His stint with Fujitsu also includes executive vice president, business development, Fujitsu Consulting (US), and senior system engineer, Fujitsu Australia Ltd.
Copyright 2006 The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Intelligence Wire.
Related Tags: fujitsu, Fujitsu, business, company, customers, customer
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