What is DX?

DX is an abbreviation for "Digital Transformation".
The concept is “Utilizing advanced digital technology to transform not only business but also people's lives for the better”.

When thinking about DX in small and medium-sized businesses,
many managers think
“I don't know how to introduce digital technology in a situation where a lot of work is done by hand.”
or,
“Digital technology has nothing to do with my company.”

Current status of manufacturing industry DX in Hiroshima Prefecture

According to a survey conducted by Hiroshima Prefecture, where TOYODENSO is located, only 4% of manufacturing companies in Hiroshima Prefecture have 100 or more employees.
In addition, 80% of companies are not aware of the keyword "DX", and even if they are aware, only about 25% are actually using digital technology.

DX introduction approach for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies

While we could have aimed for further efficiency gains by suddenly introducing robots, etc., there is a reason why we did not do that. There were financial issues and system design requirements associated with the sudden introduction of robots, and the company's internal resources were not available.
Aren't many small and medium-sized businesses facing the same problem? Our goal with DX is to highlight the characteristics of Japan and create a manufacturing industry that can compete with the world.
We started DX with a realistic approach for small and medium-sized companies, and we are now seeing internal reforms taking place. Even if you can't implement all of your ideas from the beginning, approaching productivity improvement and technology transfer issues by incorporating parts of them is the first step toward DX for small and medium-sized companies.

Create a test field for factory DX

Under these circumstances, we at TOYODENSO opened the DX Factory in Kabe (Asakita Ward, Hiroshima City).
This DX factory is positioned as a DX promotion base for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, and is used as a test field for products, services, and operations.
By publishing our case studies, we will serve as a role model for DX in the small and medium-sized manufacturing industry, and help small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to maximize their strengths, such as "detailedness", "coordination", and "improvement spirit".

We would like to work together with partner companies who want to create a place where people can work together and promote DX together.

Academic background

Together with Professor Emeritus Toshihiko Hamasaki, Hiroshima Institute of Technology, we will demonstrate how to realize "continuous production technology for small-lot production" and "stable value creation" in the manufacturing of control panels, In other words, we will demonstrate how to realize "mass customization" in small- and medium-sized factories at the DX factory.