- Value Creation Activities
- "Value" Chain Starting with Customers
- Product Planning, Research and Development
- Development Design, Production Engineering
- Manufacturing, Distribution, Sales and Service
Flexibility and Cooperation Developed by Listening to Customers
Remaining a company that can transform itself to respond to changes in the business environment
We are facing a rapidly changing business environment, such as the diversification of business tools and markets, and changes in customers' behavior. "Flexibility" and "cooperation with business partners" are indispensable for Brother to handle these situations.
We cope with such changes by listening to customers, taking advantage of the technologies, expertise and know-how we have developed, and working in proper cooperation with partners in new fields such as new businesses.
Brother aims to be able to transform itself in this way.
Brother Holds the Global Service Summit to Further Improve Its Product and Service Quality
P&S offers enhanced support and prompt after-sales services to gain customer loyalty
The Printing & Solutions Business Division (P&S) of Brother Industries, Ltd. has held the Global Service Summit every year since 2007 with the aim of further improving its product and service quality. This summit is the advanced successor of the Global Service Meeting, which was launched in 2000 to discuss quality issues.
The summit is attended by the quality and service departments of Brother's regional headquarters in the Americas, Europe, Asia, China, and Japan to share the basic service policies of the Brother Group and discuss how the whole group works together to address critical challenges towards realizing its global service strategies. Each department reports on its specific activities and data, such as customer support with IT and AI and the analysis results of customer feedback. Participants brought back their findings from the summit to their regions in order to further increase the level of services.
From FY2020 to FY2022, the summit has been held online with the various regions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. At the FY2022 Summit, we explained our medium-term business strategy "CS B2024 ", and shared our "quality strategy, " which was set as one of the goals during the period of CS B2024. Under the quality strategy, there are two themes and activities: "Zero Defects," which aims for zero defects in product quality, and "Circular Economy," which is aimed at responding to a circular economy. In addition to sharing these topics, we discussed with participants from each region the identification of issues to be addressed and the promotion system to achieve them.
The aspirations of P&S's Quality Management and Customer Satisfaction Department are to identify customer needs based on market information and incorporate them into future products and services, and to contribute not only to customers but also to the global environment by providing products and services that can be used for even longer periods of time. To this end, it has set forth its quality strategy to achieve zero defects in product quality through an original management system called the "Brother Value Chain Management" (BVCM) and to respond to the circular economy through product and quality manufacturing that reflects the needs of customers and society so that customers will continue to use Brother's products over the long term.
P&S will continue to ensure that all of its facilities share their activities and strive to effectively and promptly deliver products and services that always satisfy customers around the world.
Promotion of Logistics*1 Operations that Improves Working Environments and Productivity
Aiming to achieve the SDGs through logistics together with stakeholders
The Brother Group is promoting activities to ensure that the human rights of people involved in its business are respected and to provide a safe and secure workplace for workers as part of "pursuing a responsible value chain," one of the five materialities identified for achieving the Group Vision "At your side 2030."
BROTHER INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (BIC(J)), which oversees the Brother Group's global logistics, has identified its own priority issues for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on the Brother Group's Management Policy with an emphasis on sustainability. Various efforts—such as the optimization of logistics and work style reform—are being undertaken together with group companies and partners toward achieving Goal 17 "Partnerships for the goals."
When loading containers during transportation, while there is the benefit of loading efficiency to directly load cartons without using pallets, significant time and effort are required when unloading and moving into warehouses. This places significant workloads on warehouses and also lead to port congestion and worsening of working environments. Therefore, in recent years, the government and transportation industry are working on the White Logistics Movement*2. Including proposing the use of sheet pallets which save space compared to traditional pallets, BIC(J) is working with partners to pursue efficient palletization*3 and improve the working environment.
In addition, we also seek to optimize and visualize logistics by using a dashboard*4 to share information with companies in the Brother Group. The dashboard contains the latest information regarding logistics, freight charge trends, a section for information exchange within the Group, and other information. It enables the immediate sharing of fluctuating information within the Group and allows timely information to be provided to customers. Entering information such as product origin, destination, and weight on this dashboard allows simulation of factors such as the optimal transportation method, route, and freight charges. This removes the past practice of inquiring with shipping and airline companies each time, therefore leading to improvements in operation efficiency. The use of the dashboard also leads to more efficient transportation, and we are working with other companies and businesses to optimize group-wide operations in transportation methods, information-sharing methods, and trade management enhancement.
BIC(J) will continue to provide logistics of even higher quality that meets the expectations and requirements of global stakeholders while always being aware about contributing toward the achievement of the SDGs.
- This is an overall efficient system regarding the distribution of goods. It goes beyond the distribution of goods and includes raw material procurement, business management, and cost management.
- In response to a worsening shortage of truck drivers, this is a movement that is aimed at the stable logistics operations needed for domestic life and industrial activities while also contributing to economic growth. It seeks to improve productivity in truck transportation, create greater logistical efficiency, and achieve more conducive working environments in the logistics industry.
- The final stage of the production line, in which cargo such as boxes, bags, and cases are stacked on pallets.
- This is a data visualization tool that allows various data to be understood at a glance using diagrams, graphs, and other means.
Data About Manufacturing and Sales Facilities
| FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing facilities and sales facilities | In more than 40 countries and regions | |||||
| Sales revenue(Consolidated) | 637,259 million yen | 631,812 million yen | 710,938 million yen | 815,269 million yen | 822,930 million yen | |
| Sales revenue by region | Japan | 19.2% | 15.7% | 14.8% | 14.2% | 14.2% |
| The Americas | 31.4% | 31.8% | 31.3% | 33.8% | 34.4% | |
| Europe | 27.4% | 28.2% | 27.3% | 25.7% | 27.7% | |
| Asia & Others | 22.1% | 24.3% | 26.6% | 26.3% | 23.8% | |
