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Digital Transformation
DX Vision
Realizing optimal manufacturing and creation of new value
through digital transformation and self-innovation
The Nippon Denko Group has classified the areas in which DX Vision will be realized into the three categories of “Production,” “Operation,” and “Business” and we will create new value in each of these areas. Production DX targets plants and strengthens manufacturing competitiveness through the introduction of smart factories. Operation DX targets back-office operations and focuses resources on high value-added services by improving operational efficiency. Business DX promotes the optimal allocation of management resources and creation of new businesses for business growth. We are also building a foundation for DX promotion by developing a system to improve productivity and quality of work, as well as a promotion system to autonomously realize DX while developing workers with specialized skills.
DX Road Map
Establishment of a DX Promotion Committee
In order to further accelerate DX activities, a DX Promotion Committee was established with the President & CEO as chairperson in January 2025. Based on the company-wide strategy, we plan to hold four meetings a year under the policy of promoting DX while maximizing return on investment and realizing overall organizational transformation. The committee’s main activities are following up on DX initiatives in line with the DX Vision and DX roadmap, managing DX strategies and investment plans, and establishing a DX culture.
DX Promotion Policy
We are strengthening company-wide DX promotion with both top-down and bottom-up approaches in anticipation of the transition to the data utilization phase.
While standardizing common business processes directly linked with business strategies to achieve optimization company-wide, we solve issues through on-site activities and share successful cases by utilizing low-code and no-code tools at all workplaces.
Furthermore, the DX Promotion Committee, chaired by the President & CEO, monitors progress, return on investment, etc. across all divisions.
DX Initiatives
Adoption of a smart factory
Scene of manufacturing at the Koriyama Plant
Considering “the enhancement of manufacturing competitiveness by adopting smart factories” as the core of Production DX, we have implemented our measures stepwise in a planned manner. In Phase 1, we developed an IoT base and digitalized documents mainly for the purposes of visualizing production data and enhancing traceability. Through this, data that used to be stored separately in paper and individual systems have been organized and integrated, making it possible to grasp the production status. In parallel, the concrete onsite improvements, including the sophistication of quality control and labor saving, are starting to produce good results steadily. Through the initiatives in Phase 1, the possibility of improvement through data utilization has become clear. In Phase 2, we will take fullscale measures for improving operations and sophisticating production plans based on data, facility maintenance, and laborsaving by making the most of the base we have developed so far. Based on the strategies of each business division and the themes derived from on-site issues, we aim to realize group-wide optimization and improve competitiveness sustainably by promoting DX with topdown and bottom-up approaches.
Security measures
We are continuously strengthening information security, as the securing of safety of the information base, which supports our business activities, is an important issue.
As preventive measures against cyberattacks, we adopted multi-factor authentication for firewalls, and established a system in which an expert company monitors PCs, etc. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, we hold training for dealing with targeted email attacks and security seminars for all employees, to improve their literacy.
We also implemented some post-invasion measures just in case cyberattacks should occur, including the shift to the cloud. Going forward, we will tighten security further, while discussing the adoption of the “zero-trust” model in which every access will be constantly checked.
In detail, we plan to upgrade the network system in order to prevent the spread of viruses among our bases. In addition, we will visualize our factory network, and separate the network for control and that for operations. Furthermore, we will start the fortification of backup of major servers stepwise.
While implementing these preventive measures and post-invasion measures, we will develop a more robust security base.
Revamp of our core system
We have revamped our core system, which has been operated internally since the 1990s. By adopting the latest web technologies while passing down our unique operational expertise, which has been nurtured for many years, we have established a robust business base for the next generation. This revamp made it possible to prevent the system from becoming a black box, eliminate work exclusive to the skills of specific individuals, and rationalize maintenance costs. In addition, through the shift to an intuitive user interface and the enrichment of information volume on a screen, the speed of employees’ operations improved, realizing utter streamlining of operational efficiency. Furthermore, by accelerating conversion of documents into PDF files, we reduce environmental impact and promote the use of more digital data in the Company.
In-house DX lectures
Scene of an in-house DX lecture
As part of DX promotion, the outside director Tani, who engaged in DX promotion at Ajinomoto Co., Inc., gave an in-house lecture, which many employees in various sections attended. At the lecture, he talked in detail about the essence: “DX is not a mere introduction of digital technology, but a transformation of an organizational structure itself with a clear purpose.” We realized again that it is important to foster a self-sustaining climate by repeating the process of making the wisdom mined in each worksite into the competitiveness of the entire organization with digital technologies and small successful experience without overly fearing failure.
