Japanese mold consumer companies have turned to China

After 20 years of chasing, the Chinese mold industry is at a critical point, and the model of customer relationship among mold companies will exert decisive influence.

Japanese mold companies are constantly eroding the market share of Chinese mold companies through joint ventures with mold users. China has rapidly grown into the world's third mold manufacturing country. However, some weaknesses in the overall industry chain may lead to China's mold being locked at the low end of the industry. A senior industry commentator pointed out that the mold industry is the foundation of the manufacturing industry. The attitude of China and Japan to the mold industry determines the future of manufacturing in both countries. If this is the case, how will this development, which is related to the foundation of manufacturing, develop?

The Ota Ward, Tokyo, Japan, in 2005 was one of the gathering places for important small and medium-sized mold companies in Japan. Now, the larger factories in the Ota district have moved to China to take advantage of the much cheaper local labor force. By 2007, the signs of industrial hollowing began to show up. More than a third of the enterprises in the region were affected by cheap Chinese labor and had to choose to suspend production or simply close down. Many closed factories now become sites for real estate development.

The decline of these Japanese mold industries is precisely due to the fact that Japanese mold-consuming companies have turned to China to buy inexpensive Chinese molds. According to statistics, since the peak of 1,870 billion yen in 1998, the sales volume of the Japanese mold industry has continued to decline. This number was only 410 billion yen in 2006, which was a little more than one-fifth of 1998. In addition, compared with the peak period, the number of mold manufacturers in Japan decreased by approximately 8.5% in 2006, the number of employees decreased by approximately 30%, and the output value declined by 11%. The dilemma of the mold company in Ota-ku, Tokyo is a vivid reflection of the status of the Japanese mold industry.

In stark contrast to Japan, the Chinese mold industry has experienced unprecedented rapid growth since 20 years ago. Among them, between 1996 and 2002, the output value of China's mold manufacturing industry grew by an average of 14% annually. In 2003, this figure reached an astonishing 25%. Up to now, according to the output value, China's mold sales in 2006 were 72 billion yuan, which has become the third largest mold manufacturing country in the world, second only to the United States and Japan. In the eastern coastal areas, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, dense mold companies have formed numerous enterprise clusters. Most of these companies have imported high-grade tooling special-purpose machine tools, spacious factories and hard-working employees. Compared with their Japanese counterparts, China's mold factories are not worried about not getting orders but fearing too many orders.

Although the absolute output value of the mold industry is not large, due to its special position in the product manufacturing system, the mold industry has the ability to determine the overall level of the manufacturing industry. Moulds are essential for modern industry, especially automotive, aerospace, electronics, electrical appliances, instruments, instruments, weapons, daily necessities, etc. 60% of the products produced by these industrial sectors - 90% of the spare parts rely on Molding. Die technology directly controls the development of the manufacturing industry, product replacement capabilities and competitiveness. According to statistics, the proportion of mold driven related industries is about 1:100, that is, mold development is 100 million yuan, which can drive related industries to 10 billion yuan. Based on this ratio, the output value of related industries driven by China's molds in 2006 was as high as more than 7 trillion yuan. Such a large driving capacity has given the mold industry a cornerstone in modern industry.

For countries such as Japan, where natural resources are severely deficient, human creativity is the only resource. Only by relying on people to continuously create new products, Japan can survive and develop in this era of globalization. In this sense, it is appropriate to call manufacturing Japan the foundation of Japan. It is because of this that the prosperity of the Chinese mold industry will only stimulate the nerves of the Japanese industry. If China, with its abundant resources, has mastered the essence of manufacturing and can continue to sublimate it, the foundation of Japan’s survival will be shaken. In response to threats from China, Japanese mold companies rack their brains. Due to its technical advantages, it has become a common consensus that the high, refined, and sharp technical characteristics of Japanese mold companies can be fully utilized.

In competition with Chinese mold companies, Japanese companies have spared no effort to enhance their competitive advantage in the high-end mold industry. First, strictly control the links that may cause the outflow of intellectual property rights, such as personally maintaining products that are distributed all over the world, and avoiding the risks that may be caused by handing over drawings to users. Second, shifting to areas with cheap labor in China and Southeast Asia, and strengthening the cost competitiveness of Japanese molds by using local labor. Finally, and most importantly, it is to increase the competitive advantage that Japanese mold companies have in the high-end mold market. Due to the high frequency of replacement of modern products, high demands are placed on mold design and processing technology. The competition focus of the mold industry has gradually shifted to mold design, process innovation, and standardization. Japan's mold companies have accumulated rich experience and High-quality human resources have enabled it to continuously strengthen its competitive advantage in these areas.

In 2006, Chinese companies spent 2 billion U.S. dollars on imported molds, and molds such as auto parts and electronic processing fixtures were completely dependent on imports. In addition, many Japanese mold users have completely passed over high-end molds to Japan. Taking advantage of the fact that the overall technical level of the Chinese mold industry is still at a relatively low level, Japanese mold companies are starting to compete tit-for-tat. However, the competition between mold companies in China and Japan is not confined to the industry. The competition in the entire industry chain is already in full swing. The Japanese manufacturing industry with the "creation" culture as its root will not give up the leading position of the mold industry at any time. . We should not forget this point at any time. Twenty-five years ago, the Chinese government promulgated the "Decision on the Main Points of Current Industrial Policy" and listed the mold as the first in the technical transformation sequence of the machinery industry.

In short, in the course of competition with the Chinese mold industry, Japanese mold companies have never been alone. Japanese companies in the various stages of the mold industry chain are playing their own unique influence. The Japanese companies' understanding of the manufacturing industry is indeed extraordinary. Under the guidance of the “Japan-style product manufacturing culture”, Japanese companies have fully played the advantages of cluster operations, and they have taken the obvious upper hand in the process of competition with the Chinese mold industry. The so-called “declining mold industry in Japan” will not attack itself. broken.