Chemical product manufacturer Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) last month was granted Japanese government approval to establish a new information platform.
The government approval enables SDK to stay on  track of its medium-term business plan, which aims to fully utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of things (IoT) to maximise customer experience.
By establishing the new information platform, SDK will continue increasing management efficiency and creating best solutions through integration of various products and services.
The approval was given as one of the "Plans for Innovative Use of Data for Industrial Activities" under the Act on Special Measures for Productivity Improvement.
In accordance with Article 22 of the Act, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications as well as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry approve capital investment plans for productivity improvement (in terms of labour productivity and return on investment) through coordination and the use of data with prescribed cybersecurity measures. In cases of capital investments based on such approved plans, companies can receive government support in the form of tax credit and special depreciation.
In May this year SDK decided to introduce SAP S/4HANA ERP system in its organization. The plan is to build a platform for unified management of information on sales, accounting and procurement pertaining to various sites it operates globally. The unified data under SAP S/4HANA"will be supplied to new systems to calculate sales target and profit/loss simulation, and analysis.
Thus, SDK will achieve a proactive management style by implementing effective measures based on "planning backward from a future image."
