Panasonic to make India a manufacturing hub

Panasonic India, part of Japanese electronic conglomerate Panasonic Corporation, is betting big on B2B (business-to-business) and B2G (business-to-government) segments and wants India to be the global manufacturing hub to achieve its revenue target for the country of $4.8 billion by 2018.

In an interaction with Deccan Herald, Panasonic India Solutions Division Divisional Managing Director Toru Hasegawa said the company is zealously looking at achieving Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga’s plan to achieve the ambitious revenue target of ￥10 trillion ($81.7 billion) in the financial year ending March 2019.

“Panasonic aims to provide ‘better living’, meeting the needs of each individual customer. We want to touch all the spaces where our customers go about their lives and provide not only single pieces of hardware, but also total solutions, including software and services.  Panasonic India is looking at closing $3.66 billion by 2015,” said Tsuga.  

“India is rapidly emerging as a growth leader for the entire APAC region and we want to make it a global manufacturing hub to start exporting to markets like Middle-East and Africa. India has been recognised as the only ‘strategic country’ for the ISAMEA region (India, South Asia, Middle East and Africa) and we are taking initiatives to maximise localisation,” he said.

He said pursuing the concept of ‘A Better Life, A Better World,’ Panasonic India aims to meet the needs of each individual customer. “Our mission is to conduct all business activities under the broad umbrella of ‘Smart Solutions’ to create value for our customers, thereby becoming the most trusted brand with responsibility towards society,” he said.

Leveraging on its highly diverse product portfolio within the B2B segment to gain an edge over its competitors, Panasonic India hopes to establish a strong corporate and consumer connect across product categories.

“We are focusing on areas related to enterprise mobility, energy and security, and surveillance. Furthermore, energy management solutions will also be an important segment for Panasonic to seek growth in India,” he said.

When asked about the growth in the Indian enterprise mobility segment, he said the segment is driven by multiple factors such as improving mobility infrastructure and ecosystem, combined with business and workforce demand.

“Panasonic India caters to the needs of this segment and has already achieved a breakthrough in the mobility space with its wide range of advanced smartphones, toughpads, and toughbooks equipped with best-in-class technology and advanced features,” he said.

On the research and development side, the company has established a unique ‘Business Development Centre’ (IBDC) in India for product develop­ment and creation of new business solu­tions. “With this, Panasonic is aggressively and strategically investing in market research and product innovation and recruits the best of global talent using its in-house open application system,” he said.