CINOism Vol. 62, "A New Organization to Accelerate New Business Creation through Talent Development and Co-creation, Powered by IMS"

— What was the rationale for reorganizing into the Innovation Strategy Division (ISD), with a direct reporting line to the President?

Fujiwara: The OKI Group New Management Plan (Outline) for FY2026–FY2031, announced by our President in March this year, highlights “intellectual capital” — basically, the brainpower and ideas of our people — as a top priority. We’ve spent eight years refining our Innovation Management System (IMS), and now we want to take it to the next level. To do that, I’ve brought in Mr. Hamada, who has a strong sales background, and Mr. Takahashi, who is an expert in marketing and business development, and restructured the function into the Innovation Strategy Division (ISD), reporting directly to the President.

The ISD has two main missions. The first is to accelerate the companywide adoption and implementation of the IMS — cultivating “future designers”: people who can harness design thinking to create new value. The second is to deepen co-creation with our customers and partners, both here in Japan and around the world, while strengthening our global customer touchpoints.

— What does the Co-Creation Strategy Department actually do?

Hamada: There are two primary directions to our co-creation efforts. The first is to reassess our relationships with existing customers and evolve them into strategic partnerships. Rather than taking a passive stance — simply accepting projects or responding to requests — we want to go further by engaging directly with our customers’ management and societal challenges, and working together to define and solve problems. The second is to generate new businesses by leveraging ideas that emerge from co-creation workshops, which are part of OKI’s IMS support services.

The mission of the Co-Creation Strategy Department is to translate the business opportunities arising from these two approaches into tangible value. We are currently building the structures needed to make this happen. To convert the insights and ideas surfaced through customer touchpoints into concrete outcomes, close collaboration is essential — not only with sales, but also with business divisions and other departments across the organization.

Fujiwara: In the past, we tried to do everything ourselves, launching several new businesses based on the IMS, but we realized that isn’t always the best way. Through that experience, we reaffirmed the importance of strategies that bring in our customers and partners. Mr. Hamada’s team is there to help us align with our customers early on so we’re all pulling in the same direction from day one.

— And what about Co-Creation Promotion Department II?

Takahashi: Once the Co-Creation Strategy Department identifies a promising opportunity, my team steps in to assess its viability and potential. Following our IMS process, we work closely with customers and partners to sharpen the concept and align on a shared vision — then hand it off to the teams responsible for PoC development and solution building. At the same time, we actively communicate OKI’s co-creation initiatives externally to attract new partners and expand our ecosystem.

It’s also worth mentioning that while Department I handles opportunities that are already fairly well along, we in Department II focus on the earlier-stage stuff — the uncharted, high-potential ideas that haven’t been tried before. (See Reference 1.)

Fujiwara: We’re now in the age of AI, and OKI already has a strong track record in fields such as sensors and mechatronics. We’re what you might call a “layer master” — a company with deep expertise across the full technology stack. I want Department II to build on those strengths, work alongside AI vendors, and pioneer new businesses in emerging areas like physical AI.

— What are the biggest challenges you’re facing in implementing co-creation as a business?

Hamada: First of all, this isn’t a mission our division can handle on its own. Building cross-functional networks within the company is a top priority. My background is in sales, but going forward I want to broaden my horizons beyond familiar industries — getting out into the field and hearing directly from customers across a wider range of sectors. We’re also working to better visualize our customer touchpoints and relationships.

Takahashi: OKI has driven a lot of change through IMS, but we haven’t fully broken free from the traditional commissioned-work model. We need to shift toward a relationship where we create value together with our customers as equal partners — where we see ourselves as co-owners of the outcome, not just service providers. To get there, developing people who combine both imagination and creativity is an urgent priority.

Fujiwara: Our efforts to date have largely followed a role-divided, subcontracting model. What we’re pursuing going forward is a new form of co-creation — working as one team with our customers, iterating through hypothesis testing and Voice of the Customer (VoC) insights, and co-designing the business from the ground up.

— Where do you see the team going from here?

Hamada: The ISD is a diverse team, with members bringing a wide range of backgrounds and expertise. Within that environment, we want to actively engage in dialogue — not just with internal and external colleagues, but with our customers and partners as well — to generate co-creation businesses from a multifaceted perspective that goes beyond conventional thinking. To make that happen, I believe we need to further strengthen communication on both fronts: inside and outside the organization.

Takahashi: We’re fully aware that launching new businesses is no easy task. That’s precisely why it’s so important to deepen collaboration across organizational boundaries and close the distance between teams. Our goal is for the ISD to serve as the central hub that connects all of these efforts — inside and outside the company.

Fujiwara: In our newly announced management plan, we distilled the OKI Spirit “Lead the Way” — into an action principle for our division: “Always take action and lead the way.” In keeping with that, we’re committed to being agile and responsive — moving quickly to the front lines where our customers’ challenges arise, and engaging proactively with partners and internal departments alike. Ultimately, I want every member of this team to grow into a “future designer” equipped with design thinking — someone who leads innovation across the entire organization.

Reference 1: CINOism Vol. 60,“Where We Are Now — OKI’s Position After Shifting to IMS-Centered Co-Creation and a New Partner Strategy to Accelerate Innovation” (available in Japanese only)

As of May 22, 2026: Yuhiko Fujiwara, Senior Associate Director, CINO* & Head of Innovation Strategy Division
* Chief Innovation Officer