Annual Report 2017

Trading Companies

Logistics

General Services

Analysis & Research

Information Technology

 

Tosoh's other businesses provide support services for its many operations and their employees.

  • Snapshot

    Tosoh is committed to close connections among its business operations and customers. It relies on its other businesses to ensure those connections. Timely support of its diverse operations is mission critical for Tosoh. Tosoh’s other businesses, therefore, are always on call.

    In addition to trading companies, Tosoh’s other businesses include professional services that assist the Tosoh Group. These include logistics, administrative services, personnel training, information technology (IT) support, and more. Other businesses also contribute essential research and analytical support for Tosoh’s introduction of innovative technologies, products, and services.

    Tosoh works to ensure that each of its other businesses evolves from a cost center to a profit center. And it ensures that they compete with external suppliers for Tosoh Group business, which benefits them and the Tosoh Group by promoting cost- and administrative effectiveness and technological advances.

  • Group Performance

    Solid Performance in a Challenging Environment

    Other sales declined 1.5%, to ¥39.1 billion (US$361.3 million), and accounted for 5.3% of Tosoh’s consolidated net sales, an increase from 3.7% a year earlier. Operating income was up 4.6%, to ¥2.7 billion (US$24.8 million), and the operating margin, at 6.9%, was also up, from 6.5% in fiscal 2016.

    The main factor in the sales decline was a decrease in trading company sales. Sales by additional other operations also trended low for the year in review.

  • Supporting Tosoh Group

    Logistics

    Logistics are an important part of Tosoh Group’s business efforts. There are four ways this logistical support helps Tosoh Group companies: by reducing manpower required and improving efficiency; by providing risk management and other related processes to upgrade safety and quality; by making sure that shipping terminals and warehouses are ready to meet changing needs, and that shipping route traffic is optimized; and through logistics support overseas expansion.

    General Services

    Tosoh’s general services businesses assist with personnel management, employee benefit administration and training, optimization of the health and safety of Tosoh Group employees, and encouraging encouragement of participation by subsidiaries and affiliates in the Tosoh Group salary administration system.

    Analysis and Research

    Tosoh’s analysis and research businesses provide various services to Tosoh Group companies worldwide, ranging from organic, inorganic, polymer chemistry and electronic materials in assisting the development of new products and applications in those fields.

    Around half of the analysis and research is conducted at the Nanyo Complex, while the remainder is undertaken at the Yokkaichi Complex and other various Tokyo-based Tosoh operations.

    Tosoh promotes the independent development of Tosoh Group companies worldwide with a substantial equipment budget, which provides for annual upgrades, installation and analysis of equipment. In recent years, external sales in analysis and research have increased, helping these companies to become profitable on their own.

    Information Systems

    Information Systems is responsible for constant evaluation and upgrade of technologies, systems and services. They comprise the IT backbone of Tosoh, and train employees on programming languages, writing applications for the IT systems, and acquiring skills in innovation and process improvement.

    In light of massive cyber attacks on corporations and public infrastructure around the world, Tosoh is taking a more proactive approach to heightening its ability to manage IT risk. Tosoh’s IT strategy team, working with Tosoh Information Systems Corporation, has made IT security a major priority. An assortment of upgrades to Tosoh’s IT security infrastructure have already been executed so as to limit the company's exposure to incidents involving sensitive information leaving the company, and to viruses and other dangerous programs coming into the company's network. Future upgrades to employee computer hardware and to software will continue so as to further strengthen Tosoh's ability minimize IT risk. The IT strategy team also holds regular educational seminars throughout the year so as to sustain and expand employee awareness of and ensure compliance with IT security measures.

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