The Meiden Group defines DX as an effort to use digital technology and data to change the world’s expectations in terms of existing business models (businesses and products); systems associated with operations in general; and the knowledge, skills, mindsets, organizations, and corporate cultures of the employees responsible for these, and thereby realize the enterprise’s desired state and vision. The Group has previously used digital technology to transform its business, such as IoT to visualize manufacturing lines and implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Each of these efforts, however, was limited to individual or partial optimization. Going forward, we will promote DX with a company-wide approach. This will make our business more competitive and bring a greater impact to society. Within the DX Promotion Committee, headed by the Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, there are four subcommittees, each conducting specific initiatives with a different theme. Committee meeting discussions are regularly reported to the Executive Officers’ Meeting and the Board of Directors for follow-up and supervision of progress.

The desire to “enrich society through the power of electricity” has been at the heart of the Meiden Group since its founding. This led us to an attitude of thinking about the rich lives and exciting societies to be enjoyed by people on the other end of our products and services. It has been the driving force behind the creation of new value for our customers in every era.

This desire is unchanged today, even as society rapidly changes and people’s ways of thinking are growing more diverse. The important thing is to explore and pursue added value from the customer's point of view, such as "Why do they buy our company products and how do they need us?", to move from the phase of “What can we get the customer to buy?” . Getting there will require aggressive DX. For example, we will take previously scattered customer contact information, make it into a database, and share it. This will not only enhance our sales of physical goods, but also expand sales of services. By combining the two, we will develop a system to create a virtuous cycle of business.

In today's world, an enterprise’s competitive advantage depends directly on how fast it can make business decisions. To survive, enterprises need a system to quickly and centrally view all sorts of information that can support decision-making, such as business resources (people, goods, and money), project progress, and operating status of products already delivered. We recognize that there is still room for improvement in the mechanisms for absorbing information right away and speeding up decision-making. To practice defensive DX, we will elevate our business by centrally managing, quickly linking, and visualizing company-wide business information. At the same time, by bringing digital innovation to our work sites and linking data in our core businesses, we will work for the overall optimization of supply chain management for higher productivity.

A prerequisite to advancing DX is to build a foundation so that every employee takes DX personally and works accordingly. To do so, we are developing an environment that supports the training and awareness of employees, who will take the lead in advancing DX. Our aim is to foster a corporate culture for the digital age. Specific training measures include continuing our existing ICT Primer and Basic Education for new employees and in addition continuous IT skills e-learning designed for self-development. In addition, we created new DX training for all employees starting in FY2023, providing opportunities for people to understand what DX is and why it is needed now. All Meidensha employees will receive DX training by FY2024, and training will gradually expand to cover the entire Meiden Group.