Unified company-wide DX promotion: Unexpected Gold Prize achievement
In 2023, the Kansai Digital Month Executive Committee*1 established the “KANSAI DX AWARD 2024,” and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. was honored with the Gold Prize in the large enterprise category. In April 2021, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. established the "DX Promotion Committee" chaired by President Inoue, and the entire company has united in its efforts to promote DX. As a member of the Information Systems Division, I was very pleased to receive the prize, as I lead these efforts.
The prize was given in recognition of “the president's leadership in systematically promoting DX” and “the improvements in operational efficiency and productivity, which can be used as a reference for other manufacturing companies.”
In a corporate group with diverse businesses like ours, DX can become fragmented from division to division. Therefore, the Information Systems Division thoroughly considered and defined what DX means to Sumitomo Electric. As a result, we decided to position accelerating the improvement of SEQCDD*2, which we have always valued, as a company-wide activity called ALL SEI DX PLAN (company-wide DX plan), by using digital technology.
The plan is characterized by a hybrid approach that combines division-specific “Business Unit DX plans” and a cross-divisional “DX Platform,” including five company-wide common systems:
・Monozukuri (manufacturing)
・Supply chains
・Work styles reform
・Accelerating process improvement through data analytics
・DX human resource development.
Over the past year, we have undertaken 159 initiatives, and produced examples of improvements, including the automation of visual inspections using AI.
*1 Kansai Economic Federation, Kansai Union, Kinki Bureau of Telecommunications, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Kansai Institute of Information Systems, Information-technology Promotion Agency, Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN
*2 S (Safety), E (Environment), Q (Quality), C (Cost), D (Delivery), and D (Development) represent SEQCDD.
Focus on business resilience and security through IT utilization
The Information Systems Division is responsible for the development and operation of systems and software to provide employees with a secure and stable work environment. Our basic policy is “IT is the source of our competitiveness, and we support continuous growth based on in-house development and operation using our own technology.”
Since joining the company, I have worked in the Information Systems Division. Looking back on the history of the division, I can see that it began in the 1960s with software development, operations, and network construction, and has since shifted and expanded to include information security and DX promotion with the advancement of digitalization.
From the perspective of users, aligned with the company's development, the scope of responsibilities has expanded to include not only Sumitomo Electric itself but also its domestic and overseas affiliates. The range of defensive measures to prevent potential losses has also broadened, encompassing the effective use of IT for business contributions and focusing on measures and actions to ensure business continuity amidst increasing cyber attack risks. As part of DX, we are also accelerating our use of AI, such as by starting an internal service to ensure the safe use of generative AI within the company.
However, our basic policy remains unchanged. As a manufacturing company, we not only have our own production technology, but we also develop and operate our own information technology to support our business. Around the year 2000, there was a noticeable trend in the industrial sector to outsource information systems due to the economic downturn. However, the Sumitomo Electric Group took a different approach. We believe that adhering to our fundamental policy is essential for sustainable growth, which reflects the Sumitomo Spirit of "Shinyo-kakujitsu" (Place importance on integrity and sound management). We owe this to the efforts of our predecessors who upheld this belief and the understanding of our senior management.
Building infrastructure to connect 400 companies: Completed just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic
After joining the company, I was assigned to the Information Systems Division despite my liberal arts background, and was in charge of a large-scale project to develop a company-wide accounting system. Later, I was stationed in the U.S., where I experienced a wide range of work, including supporting the IT transformation of our extensive network of U.S. affiliates and developing the infrastructure of the U.S. domain network, which was not my area of expertise at the time.
I became a founding member of the IoT R&D Center that was established in 2017. The R&D Unit served as the core of the center, along with the Production Engineering Department and Information Systems Division, to promote the use of AI and IoT in the Sumitomo Electric Group through a collaborative effort. Working towards the same goal, reconciling different perspectives based on our backgrounds, was very interesting and educational. The experience of being exposed to IoT and AI technologies has contributed to my work in DX.
What stands out is when I found myself in a position to oversee the company-wide IT infrastructure. The Sumitomo Electric Group, which operates globally, has more than 400 affiliates and subsidiaries, and it is essential to activate communication not only face-to-face but also with a high degree of freedom across distances. Therefore, we started building an infrastructure for global communication in January 2020, and were moving toward a company-wide rollout in six months.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly. I told the team, "Without this infrastructure, work will come to a standstill. We need to push our efforts!” We had already implemented Microsoft Teams® and established rules, allowing us to continue operations even as the number of telecommuting employees increased. The timing was purely coincidental, but I'm glad we were able to accomplish it in time. The field team members truly worked hard.
A diverse corporate group that develops around a common core
I think the greatest strength of the Sumitomo Electric Group is the diversity of its business sectors and divisions. I have been involved with various people in each business division, and I have learned a lot from my encounters with people who made me think, "This person is amazing.” I owe this to the diversity of our human resources.
In light of the diversity of our corporate group, to prevent us from becoming fragmented we vigorously pursue activities around a common core. Examples of this approach include the promotion of DX and other company-wide activities, such as the Quality Management Conference, which is a small group activity led by the Information Systems Division as secretariat.
Tracing the history of the company, we can see that, as the portfolio of the company expanded, each business of course aimed for growth, but in order to grow in the same direction as a corporate group, senior management has always considered a common core and taken measures in the style of Sumitomo Electric.
Learning and absorbing from others in a flexible manner
As a book lover, I learn a lot from books, but I have always placed more emphasis on learning from others. I learn not only knowledge and information, but also their thinking processes, and I compare that to my own to understand the “reasons behind their thinking.” It is important to have one’s own methodology, but also to examine one’s own mental model without being rigidly attached to it. I want to learn and absorb from others in a flexible manner, without a bias that pushes for a single viewpoint.
When I was younger, that was not my approach. Looking back, I believe I changed because I realized that my methodology alone would not work. Above all, it was because I learned the richness of learning from others through encounters with a diverse range of people.
PROFILE
Satoru Takahashi
1990
Joined Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., assigned to Information Systems Division
2017
General Manager, Information Technology Department, Information Systems Division
2020
Manager, IoT R&D Center
2022
Deputy General Manager, Information Systems Division
2023
Executive Officer
General Manager, Information Systems Division
