Support for global business development | TECHNO MANAGEMENT RESEARCH INSTITUTE CO.,LTD.

For businesses thinking about or already operating overseas

Consulting on overseas business development

Recent years have seen Japan’s manufacturing industry continue to move overseas in step with the accelerating pace of economic globalization. On the global market, these businesses come under pressure from a variety of new risks like increasing competition from local businesses in emerging markets, rising labor and material costs, and fluctuating exchange rates. To establish an advantage, management must quickly get quality programs and productivity at their overseas operating bases up to speed. Moreover, managing business processes across borders requires innovative thinking that can internally coordinate domestic efforts to strengthen parent plants, launch R&D operations in local markets and steer other growth-minded actions.
TMRI is well-versed in overseas markets and business development, and has produced big results for clients operating overseas by applying the experience and knowhow nurtured from the consulting services provided to over 4,000 business sites.

Increasing productivity at overseas factories with our original VPM ® approach to corporate innovation

Using the behavioral sciences to build teamwork that can innovate business: VPM ® (Value Producing Management) is TMRI’s original approach to enhancing corporate value through a surgical focus on waste in business processes. The purpose of VPM ® is to engage the entire workforce in corporate innovation by using the behavioral sciences to build teamwork and improve motivation at the manufacturing frontline.
Our VPM ® theory is backed by years of experience and success innovating factories overseas. And, we have continued to develop it for new growth challenges such as by adding guidance on building a corporate climate that allows a common system of values to be shared across language and cultural barriers, establishing self-directed improvements as a regular practice by local worker empowerment and manager training, and developing programs that greatly elevate awareness of quality, productivity and costs.
How our original VPM ®
approach works

Scope and coverage

* TMRI has provided consulting services in the places marked with *

Experts on global business development: TMRI is a team of professional consultants specialized in the manufacturing industry. Since the problems that businesses face with operating factories overseas vary according to country and region, they of course cannot be solved with any one theory alone. We, therefore, provide practical consulting services that enlighten the client to the drive and human demeanor they need to overcome language and cultural differences, and guide them to assured results with their global manufacturing efforts.
Wide mobility range: TMRI’s consulting services assist manufacturing businesses operating in ASEAN (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam), China and other parts of Asia. Moreover, we plan to sequentially expand our service area to India, South America and elsewhere.
TMRI handles it all: We can help businesses solve whatever issues they are having at their overseas operating bases -- development, design, procurement, inventory, quality, logistics, sales or other. Moreover, to ensure the practical consulting services we provide lead to positive results, TMRI dispatches professional consultants who are versed in the client’s line of business and industry.

Techno Management Consulting Thailand (TMCT)

Expanding the reach of our consulting services: We established TMCT in Bangkok, Thailand in 2010 to expand the reach of our consulting services. With full access to the resources of the Techno Management network, TMCT is helping numerous businesses innovate their manufacturing operations by launching and streamlining overseas factories. They are introducing clients to VPM ® so that they can open new facilities, make factories profitable, strategically utilize local human resources and successfully overcome a plethora of challenges.
TMCT closeup

Seminars held overseas

For businesses searching for the key to “innovative manufacturing” overseas: Declining profitability because of falling productivity, failed attempts to improve quality defects, slow or no progress being made with human resource development. These are some of the issues businesses have to deal with on a daily basis at their factories overseas. And, to think these factories were built to counter rising wages and escalating competition in the first place, they are undeniably in dire need of “manufacturing innovation”.
Through our global management innovation seminars, TMRI is sharing what we have learned about activating locally recruited human resources and “innovating manufacturing” from our experiences assisting clients develop business overseas, in order to help businesses build growth cycles that work for them.

Popular seminar themes

Closer coordination between parent companies in Japan and their factories overseas
Human resource development for locally recruited executives/factory managers
Managing factories overseas like in Japan
Methods of business localization overseas unknown to Japan
Building systems that improve quality, cost-competitiveness and productivity
Roles played by personnel transferred from Japan and locally hired managers

Global management innovation seminars Our global management innovation seminars focus on Asia. They have been staged in the countries of ASEAN (Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines), Hongkong, China (Guangzhou, Shanghai and Dalian) and elsewhere Japanese businesses operate. Themes are tied to the hosting region by coordinating with industrial parks and public authorities, which has resulted in favorable reviews.

List of seminars( Japanese site)

1-day diagnoses of overseas factories/business sites

TMRI’s 1-day diagnoses have helped businesses to resolve the following troubles at their factories and business sites overseas.

Excessively high numbers of quality defects and claims
Deadlines not being kept
Low factory profitability
Progress not being made with developing locally hired human resources for factory positions
Poor adherence to the practice of keeping things neatly organized
Inadequate coordination between departments
Awareness gaps between headquarters and local business sites
Inadequate reporting, communication and consulting
Lost running time due to unmaintained equipment
Insufficient progress being made with business localization
Problems in workplace communications
Trouble launching an overseas plant

Three characteristics

TMRI has three major characteristics in the 1-day diagnoses of overseas factories/business sites.

Conducted by full-time consultants

Diagnoses are handled by highly skilled and experienced consultants who have successfully assisted many businesses with innovating their factories overseas.
Focus on specific issues

Diagnostic themes can be tailored to specific problems or requests from the client, e.g., increased productivity, improved quality, reduced costs, delivery management, human resources development, etc.
Prescriptions for improvement

Diagnoses also provide clients with useful information for solving issues from various angles – ways to improve factory management, recommended training for locally hired managers, how to go about factory innovation, etc.

Process flow of 1-day diagnoses of overseas factories/business sites

Step

Interview with top management

An diagnostic begins with the consultant asking persons from upper management questions about management policy and issues at the site. Knowing about problems and sticking points from the get-go yields clearer results and more effective solution proposals. Of course, TMRI keeps all disclosed information strictly confidential.
Step

Factory (site) tour

The consultant tours the factory/business site. Being highly versed in business innovation, the consultant inspects and analyzes the site for hidden physical and information wastes, inconsistencies and stresses. No preparations are needed whatsoever. The client can show up for work that day just like on any day.
Step

Interview with site supervisors

The consultant asks locally recruited factory managers and supervisors about their concerns and challenges. These interviews are done separate of those with upper management in order to objectively identify differences in how management and the frontline think, motivation levels, etc.
Step

Quick review

The consultant summarizes what he/she detected or suspects from the day’s interviews and tour, and conveys his/her initial impression to the client. The client can, at this time, confirm the nature of problems and a rough idea on how to fix them.
Step

Diagnostic report

The quantitative and qualitative findings drawn from the interviews and factory tour, and proposed solutions to issues are compiled into a report. At a later date, a presentation that details those findings and how to go about innovating the site is given to the client. Every effort is made to explain problems and fixes to the client’s understanding and to clarify any questions or uncertainties they might have.