noveltune Chapter 290 Departmental Collaboration
Chapter 290 Departmental Collaboration
(Thanks to "Saionji Yuyuko Kouya" for the amazing certification! Two updates today.)
Marunouchi, Tokyo.
The core strategic room on the fourth basement floor of the Saionji Industrial Headquarters.
The huge black lacquered glass conference table was already filled with core executives who controlled the lifeline of the major businesses of the Saionji Group.
Last night, all the core executives present received an emergency summons bearing the dual seals of the family head and the young lady.
The meeting agenda on Tongda was only a few words long: "[Group Macro-Strategic Coordination and Internal Business Risk Assessment]".
This comes amidst a prolonged market downturn and a tight credit environment in Tibet. Adding to this, just a few days ago, S-Food's Managing Director Kang Soo was urgently recalled to his company for questioning regarding a terminal pricing instruction.
Everyone speculated that something big was about to happen.
There are still ten minutes until the meeting officially begins.
Tadashi Yanai opened the memo in front of him, turned his gaze to Tokuhiro Eguchi sitting opposite him, and bowed slightly.
"President Eguchi. The demolition and interior renovation of those core bankrupt shops in the Kanto region are progressing very well."
Tadashi Yanai smiled, looking much better; at least his eyes weren't always bloodshot anymore.
"Based on the current delivery schedule, Uniqlo and S-Mart's new autumn stores can be fully operational by mid-September. The trend of consumption downgrading caused by the market downturn is already evident, and we are just in time to absorb this huge influx of price-sensitive customers. In this regard, we would also like to thank Saionji Construction for their strong support."
Eguchi Tokuhiro leaned back in the large leather chair, his thick arms crossed in front of his chest, and waved.
"President Yanai, you're too kind. The lightweight renovation of those hundreds of shops only involved a small portion of the transportation capacity from the surrounding construction teams."
"The main focus of the Saionji construction project is currently concentrated on the Odaiba Saionji Tower project." Eguchi's eyes shone with pride for his company's project. "The settlement test of the 80-meter deep-sea pneumatic caisson foundation was successfully completed at the beginning of the year. Currently, the high-strength steel main frame of the above-ground part has been constructed on schedule up to the 45th floor."
He tapped the table twice with his index finger.
"As for the load-bearing and earthquake-resistant core tube, we have adopted the latest hydraulic climbing formwork technology. The concrete pouring is progressing steadily upwards at a standard cycle of one floor every four days. All the key milestones of the Saionji Pagoda are within the established timetable."
"I see. The Saionji Pagoda is one of the projects that the young lady values most. When it is completed, President Eguchi will have accomplished another great feat."
"You flatter me. We're all just trying to help Miss..."
As Yanai Tadashi spoke, he turned to look at Katsuragi Ryota, the logistics manager of Saionji, who was sitting on his right.
"Minister Katsuragi, the restocking frequency in lower-tier markets is expected to double after the autumn store expansion. Are there any pressures on logistics capacity?"
Ryota Katsuragi opened the data panel of the terminal.
"President Yanai, please rest assured that there is ample capacity," Katsuragi replied crisply. "The private roll-on/roll-off shipping routes at Yokohama Port have already added two services. The heavy truck dispatching network in the Kanto region has also recently adopted the latest dynamic routing algorithm, which has almost reduced the empty load rate of vehicles to a minimum. There will be no bottlenecks in logistics to cope with the expansion in the fall."
S-Food President Okamoto promptly took over the conversation.
"Now that Minister Katsuragi's motorcade is ready, our food division will naturally not hold back the opening of the new store this fall." Okamoto flipped through the report, "The Otsuka Kohei team has recently made substantial breakthroughs in agricultural technology improvement in Hokkaido. The stock of F1 crossbred cattle can now keep up with the fully automated sorting line in Chiba's central kitchen. The production cost of end-product ingredients has been stably controlled within the target threshold."
Hiroshi Takahashi, sitting at the end of the long table, slightly adjusted the cuffs of his dark suit.
This key business executive, who once worked tirelessly on the front lines, has now been officially promoted to head of overseas manufacturing for the Saionji Group. The youthful naiveté in his eyes has long since faded, and he now appears quite composed as he faces a table full of the group's top executives.
"Please rest assured regarding the clothing supply." Hiroshi Takahashi glanced at Tadashi Yanai. "The special workshops at the Shanghai OEM factory are operating strictly according to the autumn expansion orders from S-Mart and Uniqlo. Customs clearance and registration have been completed in advance, ensuring a stable supply of basic clothing across the sea to our warehouse. Furthermore, we have compressed the entire product turnover cycle from front to back end by a full three days."
Listening to the discussions from various departments about expansion and production capacity, Koji Matsumoto, head of semiconductor and precision manufacturing, put down his coffee cup.
"The front-end business landscape is expanding, and the technological foundation we acquired for the back-end has finally been physically implemented." Koji Matsumoto adjusted his glasses. "The legal handover procedures for the special optical glass plant and the high-precision multi-axis machine tool assets spun off from city banks like Fuji have all been completed. The core hardware is being disassembled with shockproof measures and transported to the underground laboratory in batches. The physical foundation needed for next-generation semiconductor research and development is now truly in place."
On the other side of the long table, SA Entertainment's president, Itakura, opened a revenue report with a colorful cover.
This former shop manager, who used to run a small shop in Akihabara's electronics district, has been pretending to know everything for over five years as Satsuki asked him to, and now he truly possesses the ability to lead a large entertainment company.
"All fronts are pushing forward with great effort, and the headquarters must be expending a lot of funds. Fortunately, the entertainment sector has been monetizing quite well recently, which can alleviate some of the pressure on the cash pool." Itakura's tone was somewhat diplomatic. "The four-member female rock group that we recently launched is generating far more buzz than expected, and their first single has already broken the platinum mark."
He pushed the report forward half an inch.
"In addition, the industrial upgrade of the KTV business has been completed. Based on the early container model, we have taken advantage of the recent sharp drop in shop rents to fully launch standardized large-scale stores in the core business district of Kanto."
"With the support of copyright licensing fees and revenue from related artists, daily revenue is steadily increasing. In the next quarter, the cash flow that the entertainment segment can provide to the headquarters' cash pool is expected to reach a new high."
Progress briefings from various departments filled the air above the strategy room.
Executive Director Endo and Masato Saionji, seated on either side of the first seat, listened quietly to the roar of the massive machine.
Endo picked up his coffee and took a sip, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
The group's internal circulation of funds and materials is in an extremely healthy state.
In the midst of widespread devastation and corporate bankruptcies, the Saionji family stood like a meticulously crafted steel fortress, its various businesses not only surviving but actively replenishing themselves.
The industries that the young lady has developed over the years have initially formed a sound internal circulation system. Under such circumstances, the Saionji Group is almost the only company that is still developing positively.
Saionji Masato adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, and his pen paused lightly on the notebook.
He steered the conversation to something that had happened just a few days prior.
"Everyone."
Masato, the intelligence chief, spoke softly, yet his voice instantly silenced the conversation in the room.
"You have all probably seen the internal report regarding Executive Director Kang Xiu's mistake in terminal pricing."
The executives on both sides of the long table straightened up.
That mere fifty yen price increase exposed many problems.
The Saionji Group is now a very large entity.
Infrastructure, retail, logistics, technology, entertainment. The battlefronts are extremely extensive.
Even if everyone cooperates smoothly at the meeting table, in actual implementation, the vision of each regional official is still inevitably limited by the KPIs and performance data of their own department.
Once a single component makes minor, unauthorized changes for short-term financial gains or departmental interests, this micro-level shift can easily and imperceptibly undermine a macro-level strategic plan spanning multiple industries.
Kang Xiu's mistake exposed a structural gap in the entire group's information transmission and compliance monitoring.
Of course, these are not issues they should be concerned with. This punishment was personally administered by the young lady, so she must have already prepared a complete solution.
Just as everyone present was speculating about what kind of plan the young lady would come up with this time.
"Click".
The explosion-proof door is open.
Satsuki and Shuichi stepped inside. Fujita followed closely behind, carrying a black briefcase.
Behind Fujita Tsuyoshi was a young girl wearing black-rimmed glasses and ordinary dark business attire—Saionji Maki.
This suddenly promoted member of a marginalized family carried a thick stack of documents and quietly followed at the back.
The executives all stood up and bowed slightly in greeting.
Their gazes swept over Maki.
Faced with this somewhat reserved newcomer, the executives present all felt a slight apprehension. However, no one showed any disdain.
Within a strictly hierarchical zaibatsu family like the Saionji family, the fact that the young lady herself could personally lead someone into this top-secret strategic room speaks volumes.
Such people who appear very young are likely to possess extraordinary talent in a specific niche field.
They calmly returned to their seats.
Satsuki sat down in the main leather swivel chair, and Shuichi sat down next to her.
"Everyone," Satsuki's voice was clear and crisp, getting straight to the point, "The intelligence system should have already informed you about Managing Director Kang Xiu's matter."
She picked up the bone china teacup on the table, took a small sip, and set the final tone for the matter.
"This matter has nothing to do with corruption."
"He undermined the group's macro-strategy of using cost differentials to destroy competitors' cash flow in order to gain a few hundred million yen more profit on the department's books. This is a typical example of short-sightedness that puts local interests above overall goals."
Satsuki put down her teacup and calmly glanced at the executives on both sides of the long table.
"In recent years, the group has expanded rapidly. Everyone here has done an excellent job in their respective business segments."
"However, due to the existence of information barriers, the information you obtain on a daily basis is often limited to the performance indicators and financial data of your own department."
"When everyone is focused on the piece of the puzzle in front of them, it is easy to overlook the overall planning. The optimal solution in a local area, once it is removed from the overall planning of the higher dimension and placed in the macro strategy of the whole group, may turn into a serious deviation from the course."
The strategy room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The executives held their breath, listening intently.
"I don't need you to guess the intentions of those above you. From today onwards, this one-way command-issuing model will be broken."
Satsuki announced the first resolution.
"All core executives present will be fully integrated into the group's long-term macro strategic information network. Headquarters will share with you in advance the expected flow of cross-border funds, the forecast of short selling in the macro environment, and the strategic bottom line for each stage."
"Only by providing everyone with a clear overview of the situation can we fundamentally prevent strategic violations caused by information asymmetry between departments."
Satsuki then changed the subject and introduced corresponding management measures.
"To ensure that our macro strategies are implemented at the grassroots level as consistently as possible, the Group will formally establish a new, independent organization—"
"Saionji Special Mission Command Office"
Satsuki tapped her fingers lightly twice on the table.
"This department is directly and solely responsible to me. It is independent of the subsidiaries and not subject to the administrative jurisdiction of any business unit."
"It will serve as a strategic filter and corrective mechanism for the entire group, dedicated to monitoring potential deviations in interests and execution in the course of business development by various departments."
She turned her head slightly to look at Maki, who was sitting in the chair behind her.
"Saionji Maki," Satsuki introduced to everyone, "From today onwards, she will be one of the core leaders of the General Affairs Office, fully participating in and leading all subsequent accounting and review work."
The executives' gazes all turned to the young girl wearing black-rimmed glasses.
After Satsuki finished her introduction, she looked away and focused on sipping her black tea, saying no more.