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Through digital technology, companies such as Ricoh are able to integrate their products to be used as printers, copiers, scanners and more. This was never possible with traditional analog products. Ricoh is working closely with its customers to determine the best possible business solutions. Ricoh’s policy is to be closer to its customers and it is for this reason that the company decided to establish its regional headquarters in Singapore in 1996, six years after having set up a representative office. The newly formed Ricoh Asia Pacific officially began operations in 1997. Today, it is responsible for overseeing sales and marketing activities in 17 countries in Southeast Asia. “Singapore is an ideal location for our regional headquarters because of its centralized position in Southeast Asia, exceptional infrastructure, security, free trade agreements, and the supportive and transparent government,” says Shuzo Saito, managing director of Ricoh Asia Pacific. Ricoh Asia Pacific has nine fully owned sales subsidiary companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. It took also over responsibility for operations in Taiwan and Hong Kong this year.
“My main goals for Ricoh Asia Pacific are to increase our presence in this region, continue Ricoh’s excellent status in the industry, and be respected by all of our customers. Our top priority is the total satisfaction of our customers and maintaining a high level of business excellence,” concludes Saito. “Last year Ricoh Asia Pacific was awarded a medal for the Singapore Quality Class, and we have also won prestigious quality business awards for our other subsidiary companies in the region. We plan to maintain this high standard for years to come.” Competing with Giants Have you ever heard of Singapore being compared to a sumo wrestler? If you have spoken with Tetsuo Watanabe, managing director of Brother International Singapore, you would understand the rationale behind this analogy. “In sumo, you might think that a smaller wrestler’s size is his weakness but the biggest wrestler doesn’t necessarily win the match. Ever wondered why? It is because smaller wrestlers learn how to convert their weaknesses into strengths,” he explains. “If you compare Singapore to Mainland China or even Thailand, it is a very small country, but it has turned itself into one of the most developed countries in the world. It can compete with the giants by being small, fast and efficient.” Watanabe feels that, like Singapore, his company is a “smaller wrestler” that uses its strengths to contend with larger competitors. “Frankly speaking, our company is not a giant company like some other printing manufacturers. We are relatively small,” he says. “However, we believe that our size is our strength and has been a key factor in the success of our business. There is no intention for us to do what the giant companies are doing as we have found our own winning formula.”
Brother’s current framework for continued success is known as “Global Vision 21.” “It is our mid-term to long-term vision to be a global-minded, world-class manufacturing company with a high profitability focus on printing technology,” explains Watanabe. “Global Vision 21 is Brother’s long term vision aiming to maximize profits within the current business domain, such as information and communications devices, and to sow the seeds for new business opportunities by strengthening key technology development centering on the printing field.” Singapore will continue to function as Brother’s regional HQ. “This is a country with a great centralized location for Asia, well educated people, and an overall spirit that is welcoming to foreigners,” says Watanabe. “We look at our subsidiaries and liaison offices throughout the region as the arms and legs of our operation – but Singapore continues to be the brain.” Power printing One of the worldwide leaders in the printing industry is Epson, a producer of some of the highest quality technological photo and office printers on the market. Epson Singapore is responsible for overseeing marketing, sales, and production activities from the Philippines to Pakistan. “Our strategy for controlling Epson’s image and business in Asia is not just to sell everywhere, but to be everywhere as well. We need to know the local policies and characteristics of each market so we can do business like the locals do. We must follow suit instead of doing things our own way,” says Shinichiro Fujita, chairman and CEO of Epson Singapore. “We like to modify and merge our business cultures to create a win-win situation. This can be challenging, but also very rewarding and fun.” Along the lines of fun, Epson Singapore recently demonstrated the prowess of its products by creating a photo-collage map of the country made up of 16,800 images of Singaporeans and tourists. The 17-meter by 8-meter work of art was on display in the city in July and August. If it qualifies, it will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest photo-collage on Earth. Participants in the collage project each made a donation of 10 Singapore dollars and a portion of the proceeds went to a range of local and international charities. Global image strategies for Epson are controlled by headquarters in Japan, but the company’s regional headquarters in Singapore work more specifically on local campaigns to fit the needs of each country. Its main goal is to keep these simple and focus on Brother’s area of expertise – photo printers. “We are coordinating all of our sales and production in this region from this office. Sales and production must have a very close relationship to be able to modify to consumer demand and feedback,” adds Fujita. “Our mission is to create a superior image of Epson in the photo printing industry. When people think about photo printing, we want them to think of Epson.” |
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Suzo Saito, managing director of Ricoh Asia Pacific
shinichiro Fujita, chairman and CEO of Epson Singapore, and what is claimed to be the world's largest photo collage
Brother's latest technology for multifunction communications