Asahi Intecc (7747): Thailand factory tour: Culture of development-production collaboration enables sustained productivity gains

Research evidence excerpt

Asahi Intecc (7747): Thailand factory tour: Culture of development-production collaboration enables sustained productivity gains

tory through various initiatives within the factory. The rise in the gross margin in

FY6/26 was driven mainly by productivity gains at the Thailand and Hanoi factories, and

Asahi Intecc still sees room for improvement. It has pursued production automation and

other initiatives but plans to review the overall supply chain to ensure optimal inventory

levels and stable supply. Instead of worrying about being displaced by automation,

personnel at the Thailand factory have actively cooperated in automation and

productivity improvement activities, and we were impressed by the short distance and

collaborative approach between development and production. Asahi Intecc sometimes

encourages less productive employees to retire, but aims to avoid a loss of employee

motivation by providing robust support, including by shifting personnel to high-value-

added or understaffed work, and believes this has contributed to improving productivity.

Asahi Intecc has developed a culture where employees at different factories teach each

other about manufacturing, and it seems the ability of employees to engage in other work

beyond their current roles and to use their skills to develop prototypes also contributes

to sustained productivity gains. Asahi Intecc’s management places great importance on

maintaining the motivation of engineers in the Thailand factory’s development division.

Asahi Intecc also creates an environment that allows employees to concentrate on their

work without undue burdens, including by controlling factory noise and heat, and this

also seems to contribute to ongoing gains in productivity.