Chapter 11 Chapter 10 Entering Overseas: Judging the Situation and Competing in the World

Matsushita took off again after World War II. On the one hand, it benefited from the international situation—the outbreak of the Korean War, which contributed to the prosperity of the Japanese economy; The belief of starting from scratch, as well as its unique modest and pragmatic business attitude and excellent business wisdom, led the Panasonic Group, which was at a low ebb, to rise again. In the early 1950s, Konosuke Matsushita visited the United States and Europe twice in a row in order to understand the overseas market, technology and operation. In January 1951, Konosuke Matsushita and his company blew the clarion call to march overseas. The ambitious Konosuke Matsushita had set his sights on the world. On January 18, Konosuke Matsushita flew to the United States for the first time in his life to visit and investigate, and took the first step for Panasonic to go global.

Konosuke Matsushita's trip has two purposes: one is to examine the sales prospects of Japanese products in the US market; the other is to examine the profitability of major US companies. Konosuke Matsushita learned a lot during the short 3-month inspection in the United States.Regarding the profits of American companies, Konosuke Matsushita is most impressed by two things: one is the high salary and high responsibility in the United States.A standard General Electric radio sells for $24 in a store, and the workers who make it make $1.50 an hour.Workers can earn $12 for eight hours a day, so workers can buy radios produced by their own company after only two days of work.But in Japan, the price of the radio produced by Matsushita Electric is about 9,000 yen, and the average wage of workers is 6,000 yen per month. That is to say, Japanese workers have to work for one and a half months to buy a radio. do not.The salary gap enables people with heavy responsibilities to better understand and fulfill their responsibilities, and new employees can also realize that they can get high salaries through their own efforts, so they are more enthusiastic and diligent about their work.

Another is the assembly operation in the United States.Konosuke Matsushita applied Ford Motor's "assembly line operation method" to his factory very early, but coming to Ford Motor City in person shocked him no less than the shock brought about by the misery after World War II.The division of labor on the assembly line in the United States is so detailed that each person only completes one or two processes. Such repeated and simple operations will inevitably improve the proficiency of workers, which can not only ensure product quality but also reduce energy consumption.Meticulous and professional division of labor greatly improves work efficiency and reduces production costs.

The prosperity of the United States also amazed Matsushita Konosuke.The prosperity of New York was almost a luxury for the Japanese at that time.There are many high-rise buildings and bright lights day and night. Due to the lack of electricity in Japan, Tokyo will have a power outage for one hour after 7 pm every night.Konosuke Matsushita, who personally experienced it, was shocked by the power alone.Konosuke Matsushita had always had a flat-inch hairstyle before. After arriving in the United States, he felt that his hairstyle was rustic, so he grew long hair and combed it neatly into a small part to return to the country.Regarding the prosperity of the United States, Konosuke Matsushita secretly made up his mind: "It must be as prosperous as the United States!" After returning home, he summoned the company's employees and said: "Let us create that kind of brilliance in Japan!"

In addition, during the investigation, Konosuke Matsushita found that many products sold in the US market are not about quality but design.The price of electrical products in the United States is very expensive, such as electric irons, refrigerators, etc., but after you buy it, you can take it apart and see that there is nothing special about the internal parts, and the service life is not longer than ordinary products, but its appearance design and color are very beautiful. Simple and convenient, so the price is much higher than similar products.Konosuke Matsushita brought the American idea of ​​focusing on product shape design back to the company, applied it immediately, and quickly became a design department to change the backward status of "first-class quality, low-end design".Konosuke Matsushita realized that if the product design is not changed, Japanese products will always be ordinary goods sold at low prices, and it is impossible to occupy the world market, especially exporting to European and American countries.

In October 1951, Konosuke Matsushita went abroad for inspection again. This inspection was accompanied by Takahashi Arataro, the executive director, and his son-in-law Masaharu Matsushita. In addition to visiting the United States, the 3 people are also planning to visit major European industrial and commercial enterprises. Another purpose of this trip is to find a suitable technical partner to make Panasonic's electronic technology reach an unprecedented new level and become a world-class electrical appliance manufacturer. enterprise. From North America to Europe, Konosuke Matsushita and his team visited more than a dozen electrical appliances industries in different countries, and analyzed the products in different countries from shape design, performance to principle one by one. Finally, Konosuke Matsushita chose Philips of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has many similarities with Japan, with its narrow territory, lack of resources, and limited domestic market.Despite this, Philips has grown rapidly from a small light bulb factory at the beginning after 60 years of development. It has reached 750,000, and has direct operating companies in 48 countries. 80% of its products are exported, and its quality is world-renowned.However, if Japan wants economic prosperity and wealth, it is better to learn from the United States than to learn from the Netherlands. In order to save raw materials and energy, it must also take the road of meticulous and precise product design. In order to improve efficiency and reduce costs, it must also learn from the Netherlands’ strict management and business philosophy.

After careful comparison, Konosuke Matsushita chose Philips of the Netherlands as his partner. This is the first time that Panasonic has cooperated with a world-class company.This cooperation can be described as arduous and hard-won. Relying on its strong strength and advanced technology, Philips of the Netherlands put forward various harsh requirements to Panasonic.After the brainstorming, persistent and sincere efforts of Konosuke Matsushita and others, Panasonic finally realized the cooperation with Philips. At the beginning, Philips of the Netherlands was very cautious about Panasonic's application for cooperation.In their eyes, Panasonic is just an ordinary small company, which actually put forward a request for cooperation. How could the proud Dutch hand over their high-tech technology to an unknown company?

In the face of repeated requests from Konosuke Matsushita, Philips of the Netherlands sent a three-member team to Japan to investigate Matsushita.Philips came to Panasonic for inspection, so Panasonic’s operations and other internal affairs are still kept secret from Japanese counterparts, but they will be shown to the Dutch company without reservation. How can the experienced Matsushita Konosuke not understand this truth, but for cooperation To improve the strength of Panasonic, partial sacrifice is necessary!After more than a month of on-the-spot investigation, the three-person team returned to Amsterdam with three full boxes of materials, documents and reports, and took away Konosuke Matsushita's uneasy heart.

One month later, the three-person team returned to Osaka and brought back the company's opinions: they agreed to cooperate with Panasonic and submitted a letter of intent for cooperation with Philips. 1. The first cooperation projects are light bulbs, electron tubes and fluorescent lamps, and the cooperation projects will continue to expand depending on the cooperation situation. 2. A joint venture with Panasonic Corporation to build a new company, with a start-up fee of 550,000 US dollars, Philips will participate in 30% of the shares, and the new company will be handed over to Panasonic Corporation for management.

3. During the cooperation period, Panasonic paid Philips a technical guidance fee, which accounted for 6% of the sales. After some serious research, Konosuke Matsushita believed that the first two items of the letter of intent for cooperation were acceptable, but the technical guidance fee, which accounted for 6% of sales, was too high.Philips owns the world's leading electronic technology, and it should charge a certain technical guidance fee. The key is not whether there is a technical guidance fee, but the level of the fee. Konosuke Matsushita expressed his opinion to Takahashi Arataro and other company executives , got the unanimous consent of the company's upper management. Therefore, Panasonic proposed to the three-person group of Philips to reduce the technical guidance fee, and the three-person group said that the reduction of the guidance fee should be reported to the company headquarters and conducted research.The two sides agreed on the time and place of the next meeting. Sending off the three-person team of Philips, Konosuke Matsushita fell into hard thinking. There are two ways to reduce the technical guidance fee of Philips: one is to persuade the other party to take the initiative to lower it through negotiation, and the other is to offset the fee by charging fees under other names. .For the first method, only sufficient preparations can be made, but the second method makes Matsushita Konosuke think about it day and night, and it is difficult to find a good method. Sitting down and reading the letter of intent repeatedly, a sudden inspiration flashed: Since the new joint venture company is managed by Panasonic, and management is also a kind of capital, Panasonic can also charge an appropriate "operation guidance fee".This is a bold idea, based on his confidence in Panasonic's management, and also reflects his superb wisdom in business and business. Konosuke Matsushita thought of a good plan for the negotiation, so he immediately summoned Arataro Takahashi, and the two had a long talk: "Mr. Takahashi, your task is to do everything possible to promote the success of the cooperation. Regarding the plan for the management guidance fee, the other party may raise various objections. You must fully prepare and try to give reasonable explanations and explanations." "Yes, Chairman." Takahashi Arataro said. Afterwards, Konosuke Matsushita told Arataro Takahashi which areas could be compromised in the negotiation process and which areas must not give an inch. Finally, Konosuke Matsushita patted Arataro Takahashi on the shoulder and said: "We are bound to win the cooperation with Philips, but The interests of the company must also be safeguarded, Takahashi-kun, you have to make good use of it in the negotiation, the company is counting on you!" "Hey! Chairman, don't worry, I will fulfill my mission!" Takahashi Arataro said firmly. In July 1952, Arataro Takahashi, as the plenipotentiary representative of Matsushita Electric, negotiated cooperation with Philips in The Hague, Netherlands.During the negotiations, Takahashi Arataro first proposed: "The technical guidance fee that your company asks for is 6% of sales, while for a Japanese-US joint venture company, the American side generally pays 3%. There is a difference of 3 percentage points. Would you consider lowering it appropriately?" "Technology and technology are different, and the value naturally varies. Our company's technology is first-class." "We admit that your company's technology is top-notch, but is there such a big gap in technology? In order to cooperate successfully, I implore your company to measure the gap with American technology, which also allows me to explain to the company." After some verbal battles, Philips finally agreed to reduce the technical guidance fee to 4.5%, but Takahashi Arataro's "operation guidance fee plan" was firmly opposed. "The new company is established in Japan. You provide the technology, but who will guide and supervise the business activities? It is Panasonic. Therefore, we can pay you for technical guidance, but we must also charge for business guidance." Hearing Takahashi Arataro say this, the other party's attitude became tough: "Business guidance fee? Never heard of it, and never done it." "It may be unprecedented for you, but we believe that our request is reasonable." Takahashi Arataro said firmly, and the confrontation of opinions between the two sides became quite intense. The negotiation fell into silence, and Takahashi Arataro broke the silence: "The two sides cooperated to establish a joint venture company, and its operation is in charge of Panasonic Electric, and Philips is only responsible for providing technology. You don't need to tell me about your company's strong strength. But no matter how advanced the technology is, if it is not managed well, it will be useless. What's more, in today's business world, management is also a superb professional technology, which plays a decisive role in an enterprise and can determine the fate of the enterprise. I think your company has already known through investigation that our company's management technology level It is unanimously recognized in the industry and highly evaluated. As for sales, we are also full of confidence. If you think our operation is free, then it is difficult for us to accept. Our operation is the same as your technology, and we should get the same Recognized. In view of this, we also have the right to ask your company for operating guidance fees." Takahashi Arataro's words shocked Philips.They have never seen a company that wants to cooperate with them show such a tough attitude.However, in the face of the legitimate demands of the Japanese with good reasons, Philips began to change its attitude. As a result, after many rounds of negotiations, moved by Takahashi Arataro's tenacity, sincerity and enthusiasm, Philips finally made a compromise, obtained 4.5% of the technical guidance fee, and also agreed to pay Panasonic 3% operating guidance fees.Afterwards, Philips sighed: "I have never encountered such a tough negotiating opponent as Panasonic." On October 3, 1952, Konosuke Matsushita personally went to Amsterdam, the Netherlands to attend the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement. The company was named Matsushita Electronics Industry Co., Ltd., valid for 15 years.From 1954, it began to produce electronic tubes such as light bulbs, fluorescent lamps, vacuum tubes, picture tubes, and semiconductor tubes, as well as semiconductors.Related business divisions of Matsushita Electric used these tubes and semiconductors, thereby raising the quality of all kinds of electrical appliances from radios to televisions to the world level. After the contract expired in 1967, the contract was extended for another 10 years after negotiation between the two parties.In the past 15 years, the patent fees (technical guidance fee and business guidance fee) of both parties have been changed to 3% and 2% respectively, and both were changed to 2.5% when the contract was revised. This is a later story. On October 6, the Queen of the Netherlands received Konosuke Matsushita and awarded him an honor. The technical cooperation between Panasonic and Philips was the most decisive turning point for the development of Panasonic after the war.Since then, Panasonic has accelerated the pace of expansion to the world with the strong technical support it received from Philips.