May 8, 2012
Fujitsu Limited
Establishes manufacturing innovation team to deliver
new value to customers
Tokyo, May 8, 2012 - Fujitsu today announced the
establishment of a "manufacturing innovation
team" concept designed to strengthen the manufacturing
industry in Japan by delivering new value to customers.
Based on this, Fujitsu will offer services to customers
that leverage the know-how, tools and human resources the
company has nurtured over many years in manufacturing such
products as the K computer() as well as a variety of
servers, PCs and smartphones.
Services to be offered based on this concept will include
"Manufacturing Expert Services" from veterans of
the manufacturing front lines, a comprehensive
"Manufacturing Toolset," consisting of on-site
ICT solutions and production equipment, and
"Manufacturing Outsourcing Services," in which
Fujitsu will offer sophisticated, specialized outsourcing
services and BPO services for operations that are common
across the manufacturing industry. These services will be
gradually rolled out starting in October 2012.
Fujitsu's new program utilizes ICT to connect all
aspects of customers' manufacturing operations,
supporting manufacturing innovation on the part of
customers to shorten product development lead times and
raise productivity. This will be done by leveraging such
cutting-edge technologies as digital mock-ups, flexible
manufacturing techniques (standardization and automation),
and production monitoring, and by flexible development and
manufacturing processes that utilize product development
and manufacturing sites around the world.
Background
With weaker worldwide economic growth, a strong yen, higher
environmental demands (lower CO2 emissions), and the impact
of last year's earthquake and subsequent energy
shortages, the manufacturing industry in Japan has been
facing a severe operating environment. In overcoming these
predicaments, it is not enough to simply enhance products
and reduce costs while dealing with the issues of power
supply and the environment. There is also an urgent need to
take advantage of the strong yen in order to accelerate the
shift toward both the procurement of raw materials and
production outside Japan and seek new directions for growth
by expanding business other markets, particularly in
emerging economies.
With this in mind, as part of its "NextValue"
activities to strengthen the products and services of
customers in the manufacturing industry through the use of
ICT, Fujitsu is establishing a new manufacturing innovation
team concept to deliver new value to customers by
leveraging the manufacturing know-how, tools, and human
resources nurtured over many years. Based on this concept,
a suite of new services will be gradually rolled out.
In offering these services, Fujitsu will provide
opportunities to tour "model factory" and access
to know-how from its manufacturing innovation promotion
group and frontline experts. Initial model factory will
include Fujitsu IT Products Limited, which manufactures
supercomputers and a range of servers, Fujitsu Peripherals
Limited, which develops and produces mobile phones, and
Shimane Fujitsu Limited, which serves as a production base
for notebook PCs, including its "Izumo" models.
More model factory will be included in the future.
About the Manufacturing Innovation Team
1. Leveraging the Fujitsu Group's manufacturing
know-how, tools and human resources
By offering the product manufacturing know-how the Fujitsu
Group has accumulated over many years as a service, Fujitsu
will deliver new value to customers to enhance the
competitiveness of their products by strengthening product
performance and quality, accelerating development and
production speed, and reducing costs.
2. Extensive utilization of cutting-edge ICT, from planning
to development, production and sales
Digital mock-ups are utilized to enable production lines to
be reproduced virtually, allowing customers to verify
completeness of product designs and the viability of mass
production at the product development phase. In addition,
flexible manufacturing techniques (standardization and
automation) enabling the introduction of automated
machinery and monitoring at every stage of the process
(assembly, coating, inspection, and testing) and
manufacturing monitoring, which aids in upgrading
manufacturing systems, are also provided. In this way,
Fujitsu will support customer efforts to drive improvements
in product functionality and quality as well as production
and cost efficiencies.
3. Offerings based on a wide spectrum of experience, from
high-performance enterprise products to consumer goods
From enterprise ICT hardware requiring the high performance
and high reliability provided by supercomputers, to
smartphones and PCs, where considerations such as cost,
design, and user-friendliness take priority, Fujitsu is
able to provide a wide range of know-how based on its
experience in developing and manufacturing a diverse array
of products.
Menu of Services
1. "Manufacturing Expert Services" support
manufacturing innovation though staff with sophisticated
technical skills
Veterans of Fujitsu's manufacturing processes team up
with experienced on-site staff in assisting customers by
taking part in development and production processes, as
well as providing diagnostic support and guidance connected
with manufacturing innovation. For example, based on their
experience with high-density packaging designs or effective
heat-dispersing designs for mobile phones or other
products, circuit and casing design specialists might offer
specialized advice to the customer while providing broad
support until targets for product specifications or
indicators for performance, quality, or design are met.
-
Expert Services for Design Innovation: Eliminates design
problems through the use of 3D data
-
Expert Services for Production Innovation: Eliminates
mass-production productivity problems and supports
production shifts to offshore sites
-
Expert Services for Coordinating Design and Production:
Provides support in Japan for planning, development, and
production preparations, as well as global manufacturing
support
2. Offering an advanced "Manufacturing Toolset"
to improve productivity and flexibility in manufacturing
Fujitsu is offering over 20 different tools it uses for its
own production lines as an advanced manufacturing toolset.
In addition to ICT solutions for product development and
production management, such as the PLEMIA technology
information management system, the "iCAD V7" 3-D
CAD system, VPS, and GP4, this toolset includes precision
assembly robots, assembly equipment for installing parts,
soldering equipment, coating applicators, and endurance
testing machines. In addition, equipment coordination and
integration into the production line will be accompanied by
comprehensive support.
Fujitsu is also providing manufacturing optimization
solutions using portable wireless terminals able to collect
results from on-site operations and perform standardization
measures as well as adjustments to the work flow. This
greatly improves the operational efficiency at every
process and contributes to paperless facilities.
3. Offering "Manufacturing Outsourcing Services"
for specialized indirect operations
Based on its experience in advanced quality inspection
procedures for servers and impact analysis for
highly-durable PCs and mobile phones, Fujitsu is offering
outsourcing services for specialized functions such as
collision and impact analysis as well as failure analysis.
Fujitsu also offers outsourcing services for common
operations such as purchasing accessory materials.
By outsourcing indirect operations, for which it is
difficult to achieve efficiency at the individual plant
level, or highly specialized analytical operations,
indirect operations can be standardized and made more
efficient, enabling scarce resources to be devoted to
increasing production and making manufacturing operations
more resilient in the event of emergencies.
Fujitsu Group's Initiatives in Manufacturing Innovation
Utilizing ICT to connect all stages of the manufacturing
process from development to production, the Fujitsu Group
leverages cutting-edge ICT technologies such as digital
mock-ups, flexible manufacturing techniques
(standardization and automation), and production monitoring
to shorten product development timeframes and improve
efficiency. The company has also been working to
standardize its manufacturing know-how and convert it into
digital form.
With digital mock-ups, 3D virtual prototypes and tests
shorten the time required for verification testing of
prototypes while significantly reducing both workload and
cost. In addition, these tools help to eliminate design
problems in the initial design stage as well as
mass-production and productivity problems related to the
design. In addition, Fujitsu is performing development
optimization and know-how visualization through concurrent
development, which is achieved through coordination between
different design areas (i.e. maker, electronics, and
software).
Furthermore, trial and error tests are performed on designs
for high-productivity manufacturing processes and
production lines in a virtual plant focusing on human
activities, leading to the introduction of optimal
production lines for individual plants. This method enables
plants to respond to changing economic conditions such as
component prices, supply and demand, business continuity,
and the strength of the yen, providing support for the
establishment of a system where production bases can be
utilized flexibly. Repeated mock disaster response drills
are part of Fujitsu's business continuity planning
process, so when the Tohoku earthquake struck, a portion of
the production of desktop PCs that had been performed at
Fujitsu Isotec, which had been damaged in the earthquake,
was switched over to Shimane Fujitsu, which normally
handled just the production of notebook PCs. This
switchover enabled a supply structure to be quickly
re-established and manufacturing and shipping operations to
be quickly resumed.
These new services will be exhibited at Fujitsu Forum 2012
held at the Tokyo International Forum on May 17-18.
Sales Target
100 billion yen over three years (including related
business)
Glossary and Notes
Developed together by RIKEN and Fujitsu, the K computer
achieved the world's highest computing performance in
both the June and November 2011 TOP 500 lists. The
next-generation supercomputer's nickname "K"
has been used by RIKEN since July 2010.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and
communication technology (ICT) company offering a full
range of technology products, solutions and services. Over
170,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100
countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to
shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu
Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.5
trillion yen (US$54 billion) for the fiscal year ended
March 31, 2012. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.
Press Contacts
All other company or product names mentioned herein
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners. Information provided in this press release is
accurate at time of publication and is subject to change
without advance notice.
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