Message from the Director in charge of Corporate Marketing

Toward Customer-Centric Business Development

The Shimadzu Group aims to realize our management philosophy of “Realizing Our Wishes for the Well-being of Mankind and the Earth.” Under our medium-term management plan, we are striving to become an innovative company that solves social issues with global partners. To this end, we have identified four domains̶ Healthcare, Material, Green, and Industry̶as domains for creating social value. Based on the concept of transforming our organization to be more “customer-centric” in each of these domains, we are advancing various initiatives.
In April 2024, we transferred the sales functions of our domestic business divisions and established a new Sales & Marketing Division, implementing a bold and comprehensive sales reform. The key point of this initiative is a major shift from product-centric business development to customer-centric development. Until the establishment of the Sales & Marketing Division, each business division had its own sales department, and each was responsible for selling only the products of its respective business division. As a result, multiple sales representatives would sometimes visit the same customer. By separating the sales functions from each business division and consolidating them into the newly established Sales & Marketing Division, each sales representative is now able to offer products from any business division. This organizational change is aimed at enabling our sales team to be closer to customers, understand their issues in their own words, and provide end-to-end solutions.
As background, the Shimadzu Group has faced the challenge that no new businesses have emerged in recent years that could transform our portfolio. We recognize that unless we shift away from a product-out mindset and become a company capable of sales-driven development, we will not be able to create new core businesses.

Promoting End-to-End Solutions Tailored to Customer Needs

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sales team of the Medical Systems Division mainly specialized in selling imaging diagnostic systems, such as X-ray systems, to radiologists. In 2020, when the pandemic began, the Shimadzu Group developed PCR test reagents and a fully automated PCR testing system for COVID-19. However, these products were developed by the Analytical & Measuring Instruments Division, not the Medical Systems Division. So, the question arose: who would be responsible for selling these products?
At that time, a strong collaborative relationship was successfully established between the sales teams of both business divisions. The sales team of the Medical Systems Division took the lead and was able to sell the COVID-19 testing systems to hospital clinical laboratories. Building on this success, the Sales & Marketing Division established a new MedTech Sales Department dedicated to medical customers, creating a sales structure that provides end-to-end solutions tailored to each phase of the customer’s workflow: prevention and screening, initial diagnosis, definitive diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. In addition, to commercialize applications in the clinical testing market, it is not sufficient to focus solely on the hardware, such as analytical and measuring instruments. It is necessary to offer these instruments together with the reagents used for testing and to establish a recurring-revenue business model in which profits are generated from reagent sales after the instruments are installed. For this reason, we acquired Nissui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., formerly a subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. (now Nissui Corporation), as a Group company two years ago. The company has since been renamed Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation, and we are now advancing collaboration in the clinical testing market.
In this way, we propose a wide range of products tailored to customer needs as end-to-end solutions, including offerings from the Shimadzu Group companies and external partners.

Expansion of a New Distributor System

However, removing the barriers between business divisions within the Sales & Marketing Division brought about a significant issue: the existing distributor system. Until now, each business division had its own distinct distributor system, so it became necessary to unify them. In particular, the Analytical & Measuring Instruments Division had long required non-compete agreements, resulting in a situation where there were Shimadzu distributors and trading companies that handled everything except Shimadzu products. This arrangement had persisted for decades and became a major obstacle to unification.
In addition, we have implemented a territory system for our distributors, which made it difficult to fully support customers whose operations spanned multiple regions. As a result, our market coverage rate did not improve as expected. Furthermore, our customers’ R&D activities have been shifting from a focus on chemical synthesis to life sciences utilizing biological approaches. Trading companies specializing in this field have also been expanding their scale through M&A, presenting another challenge for us.
To address these challenges, we completely restructured our distributor system. First, we abolished the territory system, allowing any distributor to serve any customer regardless of region. In addition, similar to Shimadzu Group’s Sales & Marketing Division, any distributor can now sell products from any business division. While maintaining the existing distributor framework, we also introduced a new category called dealers, which are not subject to non-compete requirements. By adding trading companies specializing in the life sciences industry as sales channels, we have dramatically expanded our overall sales capabilities.

Toward “Going for the ONE: A New Era of Sales”

It has now been one year since we implemented these major reforms. We have already begun to see results, such as receiving inquiries from customers we had never reached previously. Our next challenge is to firmly establish these reforms in Japan, accumulate successful experiences, and then expand these initiatives overseas. Overseas, each business division currently operates its own separate sales subsidiary, so integrating these will require considerable effort. Nevertheless, we are committed to moving forward swiftly.
As the director in charge of corporate marketing, I have adopted the slogan, “Going for the ONE: A New Era of Sales.” “Going for the ONE” is the slogan I introduced when I assumed this role in April 2023. It expresses my commitment to achieving three “ONEs”: ONE Purpose̶Best for Our Customers, becoming ONE Shimadzu, and striving to be No.1.
Global conditions are becoming increasingly uncertain, with factors such as tariffs under the new U.S. administration. Nevertheless, there is a growing global focus on planetary health, and we believe this presents a favorable tailwind for the Shimadzu Group as we strive to address these challenges.
One of my long-held beliefs is to “enjoy your work.” I believe that the most challenging tasks and new endeavors are the ones that can be the most enjoyable. When you find enjoyment in your work, you can approach it with a positive attitude.
The Shimadzu Group celebrated its 150th anniversary at the end of March 2025. Building on the transformations and strategies we have implemented so far, we have achieved business growth. Looking ahead to our 200th anniversary, I hope to fully enjoy overcoming the challenges of this difficult era.