Value Creation Activities

The source of the Brother Group's value creation comes from the spirit of "At your side."—the company spirit that places our customers first in every situation, every time. Under this spirit, the Brother Group companies all over the world provide a diverse range of products, services, and solutions for consumer and industrial applications by investing the six capitals and Brother's strengths, and by practicing Brother Value Chain Management (BVCM) which is Brother's unique customer-centric management system based on our medium-term business strategy. By addressing the five materialities, we support the productivity and creativity of our customers closely, contribute to society, and help protect the earth. Through this expansion of customer value, we will achieve sustainable growth as a company.

• The Story of Brother's Value Creation [PDF/718KB]

Brother contributes to customers' ability to improve their productivity and unlock their creativity by making the most of a variety of unique technologies cultivated over its history of business evolution, as well as its global networks.
To support all those who wish to keep progressing, we will apply our strengths as a global company with multiple businesses, and while utilizing knowledge gained externally, we will create value, in addition to manufacturing products. In this way, we will help customers to realize their goals.

Since its foundation, Brother has generated new businesses by utilizing commonalities between various customer segments and sales routes and technologies and capabilities in order to meet the changing needs of customers and markets. We have used this continuity as the warp and weft and broadened our business scope by weaving the threads. This breadth, along with a corporate culture enabling collaboration across business domains and new value creation through the combination of technologies, are the unique strengths of Brother.

• Various Customer Segments and Sales Routes [PDF/131KB]

To date, Brother has expanded its facilities for development, production, sales, and services in more than 40 countries and regions. Utilizing these global networks, we have developed flexibility to meet customer needs, agility to provide products and services quickly, and cost competitiveness based on efficient networks. These are also part of our strengths. We will continue to leverage knowledge gained externally and collaboration with partners and provide outstanding value promptly through the collective efforts of the Brother Group companies in Japan and overseas.

• Global Networks [PDF/224KB]

The Brother Group considers customer demands and expectations top priority as our guide for all of our business operations including product planning, development, design, manufacturing, sales, and service, and we have established and practice our unique Brother Value Chain Management (BVCM) system in order to deliver superior value quickly.
Brother achieves flexible and swift value creation through BVCM, a process for delivering superior value to customers, consisting of three chains - the Demand Chain, the Concurrent Chain, and the Supply Chain. After providing value, we quickly add enhancements while listening to feedback from customers and the market. Furthermore, we will continue to deliver better products, services and solutions by accelerating the value chain cycle based on a customer-oriented standpoint.

In order to realize the Brother Group Vision of "promotion of cyclical businesses" and "expansion in the industrial area," we have added (A) Making the chain bidirectional for a circular economy and (B) A flow of rapid product improvement based on customer feedback during the development stage with a focus on the industrial area, to the basic BVCM process (solid white line). Along with the basic process, we will further advance and accelerate the process.

"Value" chain starting with customers

The opinions of "existing" customers who have already purchased Brother products and "potential" customers who may purchase Brother products in the future are the starting point for all our business activities.
Our call centers, which serve as our important points of contact with customers, receive various inquiries and requests from them. We register such information in our database and share it globally across the entire Brother Group.

Based on opinions received by call centers around the world and information acquired through sales and service activities and marketing surveys, sales and design departments work together to analyze customer expectations and demands from various angles, such as "how product use environments will change," and "what improvements would satisfy more customers." Through these efforts, they formulate product concepts.

Product concepts created in the demand chain are given a concrete shape. Product simulations and focus group testing by intended users are run again and again before and after prototyping. Through this process, we develop and design our products speedily while ensuring high product quality. The production engineering department designs optimal production lines to deliver our products at the right time for our customers.

At the Brother Group's manufacturing facilities, we are working closely with partners, such as parts suppliers, and strengthening manufacturing processes and quality control systems, so as to produce high quality products. Products are delivered to customers through our sales facilities in countries and regions all over the world. We are also providing customers with swift, cordial support via online support over the Internet and call centers in order to make each individual satisfied.

Flow to achieve resource circulation by collecting and reusing

The Brother Group is helping society achieve sustainable development by positively and continuously considering the environmental impact in all aspects of our business operations. Concern for the environment shall be the cornerstone of all operations. Safety and environmental impact shall be prime considerations at every stage of a product's life cycle, from design, development, manufacturing, customer usage, and disposal, to reuse and recycling. With "the end of life" of products in mind, the Brother Group has been working to (i) increase reusability and recyclability of products and consumables and (ii) build recycling systems in accordance with laws and regulations in respective countries.

Flow to improve products quickly by obtaining feedback from customers (an example in the industrial area)

The Brother Group pursues greater possibilities for machine tools through product development based on customer demands and expectations. In the SPEEDIO series of machine tools, Brother responds quickly to customer feedback and societal changes, aiming to contribute to value creation on a greater level at manufacturing sites.

Flow to improve products quickly by obtaining feedback from customers (examples in new businesses)

There was a growing interest in safe and secure spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a need for the rapid development of an easy-to-use air purifier. BIL employees visited the intended users, listened to their concerns and issues, and worked to develop a product that would solve those problems. Then in November 2020, BIL developed DF-1, a personal air purifier, utilizing the air flow analysis technology cultivated in its printer development. After test marketing the DF-1, BIL developed DF-2 in July 2021, nine months after the launch of DF-1, now targeting the karaoke and food service industries as well as sales to the general public, based on feedback from customers using the DF-1.

The conventional stationary product, DF-1, draws air in from below and exhales it from above through a filter to purify the entire room. While it can purify a large space, it has proven difficult in some cases to completely prevent micro-droplets generated during face-to-face communication.

On the other hand, DF-2, with its unique double-fan structure, draws in air powerfully from three directions (front, back, and top) and quickly removes micro-droplets with its high-performance filter. By targeting the personal space between people, it creates a clean space around a person much faster than purification of the entire space. In improving DF-2, BIL focused on enhancing its vacuuming performance. DF-2 is now capable of more powerful vacuuming of micro-droplets while maintaining the same level of quietness. In addition, BIL has made detailed and quick improvements based on customer feedback, such as changing the opening/closing method of the lid to make it easier to change the filter.