Mastering Change with Passion and Agility: A Resilient Vision for the Future
In part 2 of our chat with FUJIFILM Business Innovation Asia Pacific President, Masatsugu Naito, we discussed the role of digital transformation in changing the business landscape, and the importance of innovative leadership in setting a vision for future resilience.
Similar to many other terms, the popularity of digital transformation emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic, and FUJIFILM Business Innovation now has a range of new products and services available in this field. Do you believe that disruption is a key factor in driving the need for digital transformation? How do you see the work of building resilience in this area?
Masatsugu Naito: The demand for digital transformation has been on the rise, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s fair to say that digital transformation will permanently shape the future of business operations.
Our competency lies in creating comprehensive solutions that meet our customers’ complex needs. We take the time to understand their structural concerns by looking at pain points that exist across their entire process. From there, we develop an end-to-end solution that improves the experience for all involved in this process rather than individual segments. This is done by looking at the needs of our customers and using our solutions as well as our trusted partners’ technology to meet them. I believe our value has always been about identifying the lack of integration between different operations, then bridging those gaps in an innovative way.
That makes a lot of sense. We integrate our distinctive expertise with cutting-edge technology from our trusted partners, and in this way we create value for our customers that’s more holistic. Delivering an end-to-end solution gives customers a clearer picture of our unique proposition, as you say.
Masatsugu Naito: One concrete example of this is in our work with our customers in the insurance and banking industries, where handling sensitive data is a complicated process with many parts to it. Our in-house Ripcord OCR (optical character recognition) technology is useful for one part of this process, the scanning and archiving stage. Recently I met an external partner with a strong competency in AI technology. We plan to integrate this technology to not just solve the immediate problem but enhance the business process. So, on top of archiving and indexing the data, our customers can now take it a step further and use AI capability to calculate and estimate insurance claim amounts based on their clients’ archived data. We’re not only helping our customers manage different phases of their operation, but really bringing their business to the next level so that they’re equipped to face upcoming challenges and opportunities in the new normal. This is what we mean by building resilience.
Do you see any upcoming trends in business that you think will shape the landscape?
Masatsugu Naito: In the past, the main objective of companies was to generate returns for their investors. However, with the emergence of this new individualised lifestyle trend, the focus is shifting more to becoming a sustainable company that can adapt to the evolving needs of customers, rather than solely prioritising the interests of shareholders. Take the Fujifilm Instax product as an example. Instant film continues to be relevant by answering the customer’s desire to capture memories in this way and it has continued to be an essential part of their lifestyle over the years. Similarly, to achieve success, enterprises should start thinking of how to innovatively satisfy consumer needs that are also in flux, rather than just focusing on investors.
You’ve had extensive experience running businesses in various countries, where changes in the process have been a significant factor in achieving success. These changes are commonly referred to as innovation. What guidance would you provide to business leaders aiming to promote innovation within their organization?
Masatsugu Naito: Establishing a company culture that embraces innovation requires business leaders to create a vision for change. To realise this vision, leaders need to establish human connections with employees to reassure them to try new things and not be intimidated by change. To promote innovation within the organisation you need a more engaged and driven workforce that is willing to step outside their comfort zone, to think creatively and experiment.
Continue to embrace change and view the change as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Build the capacity for agility on an organizational level while keeping a measured approach
"Continue to embrace change and view the change as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Build the capacity for agility on an organizational level while keeping a measured approach".
