Looking to do business in Japan – Market Entry & Business Planning?
Starting business or structuring a business in Japan can be a daunting experience. There are many things to know and to make the right decisions now that could save you money in the long run.
Cross border transactions to lock-in to regional markets require competence in business and culture/customs. For example establishing successful Alliances and Joint Ventures or Subsidiaries and Branches require an acute understanding of a business model that will work and competence in business and culture/customs in Japan. Also Mergers and Acquisitions can be successful too when these are matched with their operating enviroment and benchmarks and KPIs drive revenue and relationships.
At the outset the most important task in preparation is to improve the export profile of your businesses, your region and NZ too. NZ has suffered from a low rate of internationalization coupled with emerging experience of entrepreneurs in international markets. From a business structuring point of view NZ Businesses have also suffered from lack of capital flow and reliable information making measurement of financial strategy, sustained business outcomes internationally problematic. Clear direction, adequate capital and confidence in business leadership are three important qualities to overcome these problems. So too is well designed and structured processes based on targetted collaboration. Not only can performance link people to an organization but organizations can link together to drive performance driven alliances.
Japan is respected and recognized for innovation. NZ is recognized for systems and processes. Industry clusters are important to both countries and we need to do more in linking these clusters for mutual gain for Japan and NZ. Clusters provide five advantages for both Japan and NZ for relevance in having a presence and engagement:
- Concentration of market force
- Strong Morale and Leadership
- Unity in Cooperation
- Relevant Information
- Economy of Effort.
Will Karaitiana of Christchurch, NZ and Kara Raku of Kobe, Japan have agreed to formalize their business relationship by way of a company named Japan NZ International Ltd . They can talk about your international business information needs regarding business structure, industry clusters. They can then compile available information for you and then add their own knowledge and experience to provide you with the most up to date reports about starting or structuring business in Japan. They know about the pitfalls and hurdles to overcome in completing your unique value chain and the customs and traditions of Japan that are relevant to your sector and your business. These can be translated into KPIs and a dashboard to monitor progress can then be produced for each business structure and its units. Online interaction can improve effort and set information infrastructure in place.
Will and Kara have skills in family businesses in Japan and NZ combined with strategic management accounting capability to complete value chain analyses and strategic marketing and communications capability to position your product and services in the mind of your customers to maximize sales opportunity. In the first instance they focus on the regions and prefectures in Japan and NZ to provide depth to maximize market penetration. This is consistent with economic restructuring initiatives happening right now in Japan.
To summarise the matters of importance to consider at the outset of considering your business model and levels of competence in Japan business and culture are how to:
- Match your business to the dynamic operational environment
- Ensure efficiencies and responsiveness in distribution networks
- Determine if cost leadership, differentiation or a focus strategy is most important in the operating environment
- Specify objectives that make sense to your business model but allow for standard products that make global integration effortless
- Develop TQM and CRM business policies and plans to drive revenue and relationships
- Allocate resources to accelerate operating cash flows
- Fund financing and investment activities from operating cash flows or debt equity instruments.
Kobe, Japan and Christchurch New Zealand have special connections. These are earthquakes and people. For Japan-NZ International Ltd it is Kazuyo from Kobe and Bill from Christchurch.
Contact
For a free no obligation meeting or web conversation, please contact Will by email on [email protected], or Kara on [email protected]
