3/8/2007 - Doing Business with Japan Timely Topic in Mississippi
PHOTO: Gov. Haley Barbour presents Hitoshi Hasegawa, chief executive director of Japan External Trade Organization-Houston, with a gift during the "Doing Business with Japan" seminar held at MMA March 7, 2007. “Doing Business with Japan” sparked even more interest after this month’s announcement that Toyota was investing in Mississippi with a $1.3 billion auto assembly plant in Blue Springs. One week after Toyota’s announcement, MMA hosted 60 representatives from economic development, local and state government, and businesses who came to learn more about doing business with Japanese companies. Gov. Haley Barbour was the keynote speaker at the seminar, which, though timely, was planned before Toyota’s plans were announced. “It’s a delight doing business in the Japanese way,” said Barbour, echoing the experiences of other Mississippi businesses who already have a working relationship with the Japanese. Dawson Wilkerson, plant manager at Zeon Chemicals in Hattiesburg, and Paul Watson, export manager for Proformance Pet Products in Madison, told similar stories to those attending the seminar. “Relationships are important when working with Japanese companies,” said Wilkerson. “Personal relationships are more important than a legal contract. Breaking a contract is personal; it’s detrimental to the relationship.” In addition, team issues are important, said Wilkerson, as the Japanese operate under a consensus philosophy. “You need to allow time for building relationships and answering team questions.” Other elements essential to doing business with Japan are distinguishing your product and ensuring the supply chain is consistent, he said. Watson, whose export business sells pet foods to 42 countries including Japan, says the business opportunities are increasing as corn production moves south, where rice and chicken already are being produced. In addition, he says, “It’s less expensive to ship to Japan than to freight to the West Coast.” “We are living in a world economy, a knowledge-based economy,” said Barbour. “If we’re not going to succeed globally, we’re not going to succeed. “We need to upgrade our skills. The workplace is changing and the velocity of change is increasing,” said the governor. “Technology has changed the way we do things. We’re recognizing that the key to productivity is not to work harder, but to work smarter.” MMA was among the local sponsors of the event in cooperation with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)-Houston. JETRO is a government-related agency that promotes investment in Japan, encourages technical exchange and helps manufacturers, exporters and entrepreneurs identify markets in Japan. The half-day seminar was held March 7 in the MMA conference room. In keeping with the theme, participants were served a traditional bento box lunch catered by Little Tokyo Restaurant in Ridgeland. Additional sponsors of the event were:
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