Most recently, Sony has signed an agreement with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., Hon Hai will sell its two plants, one in LCD TV plant in Slovakia. It’s almost a year since the series stripping factory Sony to adjust the structure of another move.
Insiders pointed out that increased competition and reduce the gap between the quality of products, Sony and other leading Japanese companies in the manufacturing advantage is lost in the new environment, a leading industrial company, reduce the cost high production is particularly important.
Good riddance
This time, Sony has sold two businesses, located in Nitra, Slovakia (Nitra) 90% stake in the plant will be sold to Hon Hai and sold on European markets, the Hon Hai contract manufacturing television. This is not the first time Sony has sold the factory. A year ago, the company in Mexico reached an agreement with these works, such as television.
In fact, Sony sold the plant does not mean out of competition, but can not afford the cost of what has been a brake on the electronics giant. sensitive companies are the best technology with the lowest cost, to create a cost advantage of more powerful, but the Sony manufacturing low-cost transfer of the Cross-industry seems to be weakening.
“It is deeply bitter cost of Sony’s game business. PSP option of local production of most products in Japan, sent the global sales lead to increased costs of production.” Ovid Wen Jianping, vice president of market consultancy firm said.
As the field of consumer electronics increased competition and keep prices down, reduce costs, business process reengineering as the new competitive situation Sony should have to change. In processing, the light “active” as keywords Sony. It is reported that Sony digital cameras, laptops and game consoles Play Station have also been outsourcing some manufacturing.
Sony to change the background, in 2009, the price competitiveness of small television products to ensure profitability, Sony has lost market share. Meanwhile, the performance of Sony’s poor global economic crisis under the impact of the emergence of the first 14 years of operating losses. During fiscal 2008, Sony net loss of 1.01 billion dollars, the market value of Samsung’s major competitors have dropped to 1 / 3.
This has led to numerous product lines, slow the Sony had to start a framework for reform. February 2009, Sony announced a restructuring program and the new management team, Stringer as chairman and CEO at the same time, group president to replace the bowl.
Sony (China) Co., Ltd. Public Relations Senior Manager Jingyuan Jiang told China Business “reference, then, Sony had a history of the structure of the largest adjustment. Enterprises are divided into groups of consumer electronics public components, networking products and services group. Right now, asset rationalization, Stringer has also established two inter-company departments to ensure that products from Sony and network services to a common user interface seamlessly and with a quick, inexpensive and effective way to reach customers.
Japanese enterprises difficult situation
In the IT sector and the field of consumer electronics, stripping of the high cost of manufacturing operations, focusing on the link higher margin core has become a trend.
Sony to sell its two plants in the same time, another Japanese firm Toshiba has also lost his job at a plant in Singapore will be on sale in Taiwan’s AU Optronics Corporation, the plant is to produce laptops LCD display screen.
“The current environment of the industry has changed over time.” Tsinghua Leadership Research Center, co-fang Qin said that many Japanese companies, including Sony, is a feature, manufacturing and technology. For television, for example, in the era of analog TV, the provision of high technology, components or choice of quality of the welding processes, product quality associated with a large degree. Sony has developed the product, Walkman, Trinitron TV pamphlets devoted to the manufacture of differentiation. laptop battery
However, after entering the digital age, the system must cope with the main chip and software design, standardization and automation of manufacturing problems become smaller. Now, their production and quality of OEM has been little difference, but the cost is very different.
“Because the number is not a level of production, cost control is very different. To divest manufacturing assets, first you can turn assets, enabling companies to obtain large amounts of cash. At the same time, in terms of operational efficiency and cost, there will be greatly improved. “Market of Asia-Pacific research firm Gartner principal analyst Lei Ye said the system hardware.
For Sony, a love of technology has also been lying in their own technical resources of our success for many years Japanese firms, their technological advantage, is abolished. In the closing years of last century, the global technical resources in a new era, leading the trend of technology is not so big company R & D, but more like Silicon Valley are able to seed companies Wuxianshangye Qian Jing Shen Zhi individuals.
areas of consumer electronics, a senior official said, make a new game was born: in a rapidly changing world, sitting on his castle of the original technology unique technical differences were the basis of higher prices products has been has been shaken.
Deep financial crisis that Japanese firms should be noted that the causes which have led to this dilemma is not only a crisis of this fierce, but also, and changes in industry structure, its ability to control costs and closely related technology is no longer exclusive.
“Japanese products” used by many people advanced synonymous with high quality. However, around the world at low cost to the appearance of a large manufacturing plant, to break this beautiful legend. ”
Let an expert to do the professional thing. The Japanese began to learn from U.S. firms, those misplaced, or even drag the company stripped the old line departments such as manufacturing plants. However, the change of “light” as the first step, how to really “fly” above, also owned by Japanese firms need higher levels of innovation.
Side is the decline of the Japanese electronics industry, facing many businesses is the rise of the United States, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and emphasized their unique product, the system is completely closed on the businesses of two ideas. They prefer that the platform construction and seize the benefits of disk space for major chain base value throughout the value chain, and even to promote the development of the whole industrial system.
For IBM, for example, after selling its hardware business, has acquired a number of middleware companies. From proposal “to demand and change” to the “wisdom of the Earth, this world-class companies can still present a concept and vision, and organizational resources under this concept and their ideas to a large measure on the process industry.
This management of value chain, leveraging product throughout the value chain, but not very profitable in terms of Japanese companies is to enter the digital age need to learn some- each.
In this case, will create the band can really save money, only the first step, more importantly, De is the active “light” on the basis of the value you Xiao Lian management. The internal reform, Sony and other Japanese companies to do is to integrate the outside world, to develop a more open platform.