In order to achieve our goal of being the global leader, we announced the " Mori-568PLAN " in April 2005 – Mori Seiki’s first mid-term management plan. The numbers 5, 6, and 8 stand for: a 5 % share of the world market, a 60 % cost to sales ratio, and the establishment of a production system capable of producing 800 units per month. Our goal is to make these figures a reality by March 2008, in the process building a stable corporate model that is not dependent on the external business environment. In this issue we will take a look at an overview of the plan and what we are doing to achieve our goals.

The France Technical Center – a new base of operations in Europe.

Yearly global demand for machine tools is estimated to be around ¥3.5 trillion (US$31-billion) these days. The pace of industrialization is picking up particularly in places like China, Eastern Europe, and Russia. To keep up with these markets, we are expanding our service network from a global point of view and boosting our sales power by increasing our human resources.
Europe by itself makes up roughly one-third of global consumption of machine tools, making it a very important market. In May 2005, we moved the Mori Seiki European headquarters to Paris. We opened a Technical Center conveniently located just 10 minutes from Charles de Gaulle Airport, shortening the distance between us and our European customers. The France Technical Center is equipped with Mori Seiki’s largest showroom. We have put together a system which allows us to respond quickly to all types of requests, including test machining. We are also planning on opening up a technical center in the Czech Republic as part of our efforts to lay down a service network serving Eastern Europe. Our European staff will grow from the current 180 members to around 300 in the near future.
In Asia, we are focusing our efforts on beefing up our service system mainly in China. We currently have eight bases in China, and have opened a die and mold R&D lab in Dongguan. We are putting together a strong foundation for the support system in prospering Asia, including also opening a Technical Center in India in 2004.
Our goal is to raise our current 3.4 % share of the world market to 5 % by assembling sales teams focused on individual industries and customers, in addition to expanding our service network.

The Mori Seiki Qualified Peripherals logo.

In order to achieve a cost to sales ratio of 60 %, we are working to gradually reduce our materials expenditures to start. To do this, we will raise the ratio of raw materials we produce ourselves, by deploying our own casting prototype plant, heat treatment plant, and other new facilities. Until now, we have made our own ball screws, tables, sheet metal, control panels, and so on, in order to ensure top quality and deliver our products quicker. By making even more parts in house, we can further reduce our cost ratio and deliver products even faster.
Another effort underway is standardization of peripheral equipment, strictly selecting only " Mori Seiki Qualified Peripherals " for the peripherals that go on our lathes and machining centers. We will continue offering our customers equipment that is consistent both in terms of quality as well as performance.
Our product lineup will see the addition of new models in the N Series, which has been so popular, thereby raising the percentage of N Series models in order to streamline the lineup. The result of these undertakings will be to lower our current cost to sales ratio of 66 % to 60 %, thereby raising our unit manpower productivity.

Cell production line using the auto campground system.

The machine tool industry sees significant fluctuations in orders, so we have set ourselves a goal of a production capacity of 800 units per month at peak times, in order to deliver orders on time even when they are pouring in. Doing this will require the boosting of our machining capacity, which we will achieve through facilities investment, and greater productivity, which we will achieve by expanding our Chiba Campus.
At Mori Seiki, we are innovators in the area of assembly, having first introduced the revolutionary cell production method to the industry, and we will continue to expand its applicability and productivity in the future. Our auto-campground system prepares all the parts needed for a machine ahead of time, so they are ready and waiting when the operator begins assembly. Our system of parts management using QR codes has also helped reduce assembly time, making it possible to cut the lead time from order to delivery.
At the same time, as demonstrated by our equity investment in Watanabe Seikosho, a manufacturer of cast products, we are also boosting our SCM (supply chain management) strategy. All of these efforts put together will allow us to raise our current monthly production capacity of 600 units to 800 units.
The " Mori-568PLAN " – a mid-term business plan for building a stable corporate model independent of the business environment. In order to become a company that customers can rely upon for their production assets, everyone here at Mori Seiki will work together to reach this goal.

MSQP : Mori Seiki Qualified Peripherals