"Panasonic is the person I admire the most, the person I want to thank the most."
This sentiment was expressed by Kazuo Inamori, Japan's "saint of management." "When I was most confused and helpless in business, it was the wisdom of Mr. Panasonic who enlightened me, and Mr. Panasonic was like a beacon in the darkness, illuminating the direction of my progress."
As one of the best leaders of the 20th century, kazuo Inamori is "Mr. Matsushita," and as one of the best leaders of the 20th century, he was recognized by many different cultures: in Japan, he was revered as the "god of management"; in Western society, his photographs appeared on the cover of Time magazine in the United States, ranking among the world's leading business management geniuses.
(Konosuke Matsushita, The "God of Management" in Japan)
Panasonic did not go to school much, and when he founded Panasonic Electric, he had less than 100 yen on hand. But it took him only 20 years to transform Panasonic from a small family workshop into one of Japan's most prestigious brands. He led Panasonic and its employees through two world wars, the global economic crisis and The domestic industrial downturn in Japan, and built Panasonic into a world-class company.
Konosuke Panasonic believes that "a philosopher does not necessarily become an entrepreneur, but an entrepreneur must be a philosopher." "Chief Supply Chain Officer" analyzes the far-reaching impact of Panasonic's founder Konosuke Panasonic and his business approach on Panasonic's supply chain management.
First, the traditional strong enterprise, the status of the chain master
In the modern economy and society, the competition of industries has expanded from the competition between individual enterprises to the competition between the entire supply chain. Therefore, how to improve the overall performance of the supply chain is a matter of great concern to every company.
The supply chain master refers to the core enterprises that occupy a dominant position in the industrial supply chain, have influence on the resource allocation of most of the enterprises in the chain, and shoulder the responsibility of improving the performance of the entire supply chain, most of which are in the downstream of the supply chain, close to the consumer market, and at the same time have super strength in brand influence, research and development capabilities, marketing means and other aspects.
Panasonic has developed for more than 100 years since 1918, and has formed five business divisions in home appliances, environmental solutions, Internet solutions, automobiles, and industrial solutions, and is the main chain enterprise in the electrical and new energy industries.
The birth of the chain master enterprise helps the integration of supply chain resources and helps to improve performance. For example, Walmart eventually defeated Kelmar by Walmart's super supply chain integration capabilities. So, what can Panasonic rely on to become the main chain? Relying on core scientific and technological breakthroughs, to obtain the dominance of the supply chain.
When he first saw the electric car, Panasonic Konosuke knew that the development of electricity would be the focus of future development; in 1923, Panasonic Konosuke began to lead Panasonic to conduct battery research and development, mainly for home appliance goods services; in 1994, Panasonic successfully developed lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, and since then laid out new energy-related fields and aimed at the automotive battery market; in 2009, Panasonic acquired Sanyo Electric, joined hands with Tesla, and joined forces to supply Panasonic 18650 cylindrical batteries for Tesla Since then, panasonic has continuously improved its technology and expanded its production capacity, from 18650 to 21700, and Panasonic has pushed the development of cylindrical power batteries to the peak.
Panasonic divides the company's various business segments into high-speed growth, stable growth and low-profit business, and the automotive power battery has always been one of its high-speed growth businesses, laying the foundation for Panasonic's "chain master" status: as the battery market continues to open, the demand of upstream enterprises expands and fully benefits; while batteries with higher energy density and capacity reduce the number of cells and PACK accessories, making downstream automakers lightweight upgrades and thus driving the cost and price of the vehicle down.
In 2001, Panasonic's annual sales at its peak totaled more than $61 billion, ranking 26th among the world's top 500 manufacturing companies. As of 2013, Panasonic and other three major Japanese companies held nearly 70% of the world's share (by capacity). But by 2017, China's Ningde era of new energy technology surpassed Panasonic and took the world's first throne.
With the increasingly fierce market competition, the Ningde era and LG Chem are fiercely catching up, Panasonic is constantly exploring new ways to win, and the business wisdom of its founder Panasonic Konosuke is constantly reflected in Panasonic's new journey.
Second, Matsushita Konosuke's governance spirit: Panasonic's new journey on the winning secret
(1) "Philosophy of Tap Water" and "Social Instruments"
Konosuke Matsushita believes that it is the responsibility and mission of the company to fulfill people's desire to live a better life. The so-called "philosophy of tap water" is a vivid metaphor for the mission of the company. Konosuke said: "Management is to create 'being' from 'nothingness', to bring a rich and abundant life to all human beings through production activities, and to provide goods like tap water to customers with excellent quality and at a price that consumers can buy." The benefit of customers is the greatest source of benefit for enterprises. ”
(Konosuke Matsushita and his management monograph "Philosophy of Tap Water")
Konosuke Matsushita is convinced that entrepreneurs who uphold this mission should not only focus on the development of their own enterprises, but should regard the enterprise as a part of society, in a word, "the enterprise is the public instrument of society." In 1909, 15-year-old Konosuke Matsushita saw a ground tram driving on the streets of Osaka and was fascinated by the new era of electricity. In the future, he led Panasonic to make a significant contribution to the electrification of Japanese families and promoted the realization of a prosperous life.
Panasonic Konosuke set the goal for Panasonic to achieve an "ideal society", and today, the most urgent problem to be solved in the 21st century is the global environment problem, so Panasonic is engaged in the new energy automobile industry, it is to inherit the spirit of its founder, practice the concept of "social public instrument", and take action to deal with environmental problems.
Image source: Daily watch
Relying on its position as the main chain owner, Panasonic has been striving to be a leading company to solve environmental problems, reducing environmental load and energy consumption in production activities through its new energy products. As the global "carbon neutrality" process gradually accelerates, the market demand for electric vehicles in major economies, including the United States and China, is growing. Through the electric vehicle battery business, Panasonic has also created more revenue for itself.
(2) "Dike management": diversified development, steady victory
In his book The Nature of Management, Matsushita Konosuke said: "From a very early age, I have attached great importance to the business model that leaves room for it. I gave it a name, Management. For example, when you borrow money from a bank, you only need to borrow 10,000 yen, but the actual loan is 20,000 yen. 10,000 yen more than expected. Then the extra ten thousand yen was deposited in the bank as a term deposit, which was to build a dam of funds with the loan in case of emergency. ”
Of course, it is not only in terms of funds that it is necessary to build this. To do a good job in operation, it is also necessary to build the of talent, the of equipment, the of inventory, and the of technology. The levees are built to ensure normal operation, leaving room for all aspects, which is of great and long-term significance for development. In short, in every respect, it is dangerous to make every effort"
Image source: Chinese Encyclopedia
Today, Panasonic's diversified business development strategy reflects Konosuke's management thinking. The five divisions of home appliances, environmental solutions, Internet solutions, automotive, and industrial solutions work together to form for each other. In recent years, Panasonic has focused on building components and provided services to other businesses, among which the vigorous development of lithium batteries, for Tesla exclusive batteries is one of its attempts to expand diversified business.
In terms of supply chain, Panasonic is also strengthening its position as a chain owner in the management model pioneered by Yukinosuke. Panasonic said it will develop a larger electric vehicle battery industry and develop diversified businesses other than Tesla. Over the next three years, Panasonic will invest 600 billion yen ($4.8 billion), two-thirds of which will be spent on electric vehicle batteries, supply chain software, and air conditioning.
Panasonic is creating a new service model, hoping to carry out win-win cooperation with enterprises in the chain such as logistics, car rental, battery trading and recycling, and second-hand car trading, and contribute to the development of electric vehicles through the cooperation of multi-stakeholders in the whole supply chain.
Third, Panasonic's new identity: independent supply chain to create an upgraded version of the digital manufacturing era
In addition to its status as an electrical leader and a promoter of the new energy industry, Panasonic is actually the world's leading supplier of R&D technologies and solutions, providing solutions for a wide range of consumer electronics, housing, automotive and B2B fields, and its GEMBA process (Intelligent Logistics) is designed to maximize the efficiency of all parts of the supply chain from factory labeling and dispatch error detection, distribution center sorting and loading to transportation and delivery certificates.
In terms of factory and warehouse solutions, Panasonic's cloud-based solutions enable real-time tracking of products and assets, and quick and easy identification, serialization and aggregation on packaging lines. In terms of distribution center solutions, Panasonic's Visual Sort Assist system can show how sensors track boxes on conveyor belts, measure dimensions, and then project specified sorting information on the boxes in terms of quantity and color.
In terms of delivery solutions, Panasonic Zetes software ensures flawless delivery by controlling the receipt/delivery and management processes in real time, and in the field service, Panasonic's solution helps the service team fully support the complex direct delivery and delivery vehicle sales support business.
Image source: Rogo.com
On September 17, 2021, Panasonic completed its acquisition of Blue Yonder, an end-to-end digital fulfillment platform provider. This acquisition is Panasonic's new initiative to improve its independent supply chain.
As a pioneer in AI and machine learning-driven supply chains, Blue Yonder is a leader in the supply chain industry. The company's LuminateTM can dispatch all nodes in the supply chain on a unified platform, enabling seamless management across planning, execution, and commerce.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of e-commerce, and the proliferation of data, the demand for more intelligent, autonomous, and edge-aware supply chains has increased dramatically. Through a powerful alliance with Blue Yonder, Panasonic combines GembaProcess Innovation with leading supply chain management solutions aimed at providing customers with innovative solutions for supply chain operations while continuing to play its role as a "chain master": optimizing the entire supply chain, not only within individual companies, but also between companies.
Panasonic's devices, intelligent sensing, facial recognition, robotics, and more are used to collect important data from the front lines and multiply it with external data from business partners and third parties, while Blue Yonder's software solutions can analyze real-world changes in the situation and provide decision support that is sent back to the front lines. This is what we call an autonomous supply chain. Panasonic and Blue Yonder are accelerating this goal by expanding their strategic partnerships, working together to contribute to solving social problems and the management challenges of their customers.
Fourth, Panasonic supply chain layout and the Chinese market
In Panasonic's development, China has played an important role in the past 42 years. As Panasonic moves from the traditional home appliance field to an enterprise-level market with diversified businesses, the Chinese market is becoming an important part of Panasonic's business transformation as a "test field" for new business and management models.
Matsushita Konosuke and Deng Xiaoping
In its 2020 financial report, Panasonic highlighted the vitality and potential of the Chinese market, and saw the boost of the Chinese business as the focus of the transformation challenge. In addition, China has become Panasonic's second largest supplier of raw materials outside of Japan, accounting for 34% of total procurement, and this proportion may continue to rise in the future.
Tetsuro Honma came to China on April 1, 2019, and is one of the few Japanese CEOs who can use Chinese barrier-free communication. During the same period, Panasonic China Northeast Asia Corporation was established. This is the first time that Panasonic has established one of two regional companies outside of Japan (the other is the United States) to achieve success in China with Chinese speed, model, and cost.
At present, Panasonic Group has 77 legal entities and 60,000 employees in Northeast Asia, and the total scale of domestic sales and overseas exports exceeds RMB110 billion, accounting for a quarter of the group's overall business scale. The company has five major business departments: Smart Life Division, Housing Space Division, Cold Chain Logistics Division, Refrigerator and Air Conditioning Parts Division, and Taiwan Division.
Tetsuro Honma said that the manufacture of products that require mass production should be shifted to China-led. "Panasonic will focus more on the improvement and upgrading of the existing Chinese supply chain, and will make full use of the capabilities of Chinese partner companies in the future, we hope to visualize the supply chain, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency in the medium and long term, we are also discussing the transfer of product procurement and product research and development in China to China for management." He said.
(Author: Lao Ba)
Typography: Xiaolan