Senior Employee Profile – Meet Our People (New Graduates)

Two key activities of the Procurement Dept. to which I belong are selection of suppliers and fixing of purchase price. I am in charge of pressed parts and spring assemblies. We are required to purchase timely the required number of parts of proper quality at competitive prices. Stable procurement of required parts for a long term is another essential requirement. We have to evaluate suppliers and give guidance to them according to the requirements from various sections. Accordingly, when ordering new parts, we select the most competitive supplier based on the following four evaluation criteria: price, quality, delivery date, and financial state. On the other hand, in order to increase the competitiveness of our present parts, we implement constant improvements upon deliberation with the sections/departments concerned, including structural review of parts and improvement of manufacturing process. In addition, as we are the point of contact for suppliers, we receive their inquiries and requests; we make adjustments and coordination with other sections so that we can give timely answers.

I was a humanities’ student and therefore, at the start in my career I had no technical knowledge or skill required for the procurement job. I am making continuous efforts toward upskilling so that I can understand product drawings. I now realize that good understanding of suppliers is essential for the procurement job; and I think that advice of my seniors and direct communications with diverse types of people are making a great impact upon my growth as a full-fledged member of society.
Success in lowering purchase prices of parts, materials, equipment and other supplies can contribute much to the cause of the company, so it is a job worth working. I addressed RAL10 (medium-term procurement rationalization project) for a period of 2 years after placement in the Procurement Dept. In the future, I would like to take part in the procurement of parts other than pressed parts and spring assemblies so that I can take a broad view of things that allows me to estimate purchase price of the whole product.

Amidst the recent change of time mainly due to the economic downturn precipitated by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in 2008, followed by the Great East Japan Earthquake, European financial crisis, and long-lasting tendency to strong yen, Japanese car manufacturers have experienced the shrinking of the domestic market, and have established their local production bases overseas, now looking toward external demand. Our company has also been affected a great deal.
Under these circumstances, we, at the Procurement Department, have to address to build an integrated system for the JTEKT COLUMN SYSTEMS Group that enables global procurement. If you are interested in this new attempt and highly motivated to challenge it, our section will be the best choice for you. We are waiting for you to be a part of us.

OJT for 1 year after joining the company → Assigned to the Procurement Dept.; Stays on the job for a period of 2 years (as of April 2012).

I am on the staff of experiments of steering columns that are indispensable for driving automobiles. I conduct various tests on the products made based on design drawings to evaluate and determine whether they can be put into commercial production and placed on the market. Another important field of my job consists in establishing our own evaluation criteria as a specialized manufacturer of auto parts. For this purpose, our activities cover actual research on the market in addition to check and verification of the specifications given on the drawing; so to speak, our section is the last stronghold of product development.

What motivates me most to follow my job is that these experiments always require a strong sense of responsibility as our section is the last stronghold of product development as mentioned above.
Furthermore, you can pass through a varied experience such as experiments under harsh environmental conditions (-35℃ to 80℃) and field tests by riding in real cars.

Imagine - the product you developed by working hard goes on the market as an auto part and is used by people worldwide – it will give you great pleasure, won’t it? If you wish to share such a pleasure with us, our section will be the best choice for you.

OJT for 6 months after joining the company → Assigned to the Prototyping & Experiment Dept.; Stays on the job for a period of 4 years and 6 months (as of April 2012).

I am in the unit responsible for designing steering columns. With the word ‘design,’ you may first imagine a job to plot three-dimensional shapes using a three-dimensional CAD. It is true, of course, but what is more important is layout – to begin with, you must decide a point at which you should place the steering column as the inside of a car driver’s seat contains many parts. Shape and layout are two key points of the role of a design drawing. Once having designed shape and layout, you will request the Prototyping Section to make a trial piece based on your design to check for its quality and performance. If everything is all right with the trial piece, the product will be put into commercial production.

I feel very happy just thinking of many of cars equipped with the product I developed running on highways, especially, my heart is full when I actually see such a car running. I feel like a ‘true parent’ when the product goes on the market through the production flow that comprises design drawing, prototyping, and mass production. Sometimes I gain encouragement from a compliment I receive on my performance, such as: “the latest model is easier to be assembled in the production line.”
You will realize that it is a challenging job worth working as it makes everyone feel happy.

I would recommend you to work strength of materials and industrial dynamics especially hard, maybe until you plunge into the study of these fields. Design of steering columns require abundant knowledge of these fields.
Machining experience using a machine tool is also useful. I experienced much metalworking in my high school days. Although design and manufacturing are two different areas, they are correlative with each other. For example, you must consider whether it is feasible to machine the model that you try to prototype; where the reference position should be for machining, etc.
Seemingly, some of newcomers I meet during on-the-job training (OJT) are hesitant in asking their superiors’ advice. Be communicative. If you like to communicate with people, either chats or job talk, our section will be the best choice for you.

OJT for 3 months after joining the company → Assigned to the Steering Column Design Dept.; Stays on the job for a period of 6 years and 6 months (as of April 2012).

What does the “Finance and Accounting Department” bring to mind? You might imagine that we would work balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and other financial statements day in day out. In addition to the preparation of these statements, our routine duties include a wide range of activities, such as fund administration, cost finding, profit and loss accounting, tax-related operations, production of disclosure documents, administration of affiliates and guidance to be given to them, and many more.
Of these activities, I am mainly in charge of cost finding and profit and loss analysis. These operations focus on calculation and analysis of profits and losses for prototype models and aggregation and tabulation of stock data.
Around every month-end and early in the next month I am busy in journalizing expense vouchers.

One of my important duties is to prepare and analyze the Company’s income statement. It is not an easy task to obtain a clear explanation, for example, for profit increase and decrease – what is the primary factor affording this increase or that drop? However, while I repeat it every month, I can realize the progress in personal growth of myself. I am glad that I can contribute my small efforts to the improvement of the Company’s profit by the information resulting from my analysis through its distribution among the relevant departments, and feel happy every day at working in this department in which I can realize the progress in personal growth of myself. Accounting practice plays an important role not only in the Company’s management strategy but also from the viewpoint of timely disclosure of the Company’s financial information to its stakeholders. I feel that it is a challenging job worth working and am proud that I take part in such a job.

The automotive industry is having a powerful effect upon the society and is one of the key industries indispensable to our country. I am sure that you’ll be pleased with a challenging job worth working if you join us as you can do work associated with automobiles that keep developing day after day. On the other hand, our company has more than 20 bases overseas, including Europe, North America and China; so, JTEKT COLUMN SYSTEMS is an attractive company for you who desire to be in full blast overseas or for you who are searching for a job that allows you to keep relationships with overseas people. Do join us if you are interested in working in the car industry and/or want to take part in global activities.

On-the-job training after joining the company (for one year) → Attached to the Finance and Accounting Dept.; Stays on the job for a period of 1 year and 3 months (as of October 2013).