Streamlining operations with Fujitsu’s AMS

SHOWA GLOVE is a manufacturer of innovative, protective work gloves. An integrated manufacturer of both medical and industrial PPE hand protection, they strive to strike a balance between creativity and innovation with their products.

As companies continue to expand, the need to modernize and streamline operations arises. This is true for SHOWA GLOVE, a company selling as many as 2,000 different types of gloves, for use in the home and professional settings. With plans to expand their
operations overseas, the company was faced with the challenge of looking for a SAP system operation and maintenance vendor.

As mentioned by Hiroyuki Kochi, Director and General Manager of the Business Promotion Division, “As SHOWA GLOVE does not have an IT department, which obviously means we have no software engineers or programmers on staff, we have always outsourced development, operations, and maintenance to vendors since the days the microprocessor started becoming big.”

Fujitsu stood out as the optimal choice for SHOWA GLOVE among many vendors. Kochi
says, “We appreciated the fact that Fujitsu is a one-stop shop with the ability to support
everything from hardware, apps, servers, and data center management.”

Because SHOWA GLOVE is first and foremost a manufacturing company, utmost detail and attention is needed in selecting a vendor to outsource their operations and maintenance to. Various people in the Business Development Division highlight different criteria for selecting a vendor. Kochi mentions efficient and speedy response times when resolving problems. “For example, there are cases where an employee, who causes problems in data due to some operational error, thinks the problem is due to the system and not from the procedure that he or she performed. Even in these kind of situations, Fujitsu is able to investigate the cause of the problem and promptly inform us of the cause while showing us ways the problem can be reproduced.”

Mariko Yaguchi from the System Operations Team places priority on understanding the business first. “My expectations from a operation and maintenance vendor is for them to understand what we do as a business first before performing their operating and maintenance duties.” Other vital criteria include adaptability to environmental changes which might affect operations, proper communication and escalation of concerns, and
having the body of knowledge and expertise to address any issue.

With a proven track record and numerous case studies in Japan and abroad, Fujitsu’s AMS service is known to equip professionals with the necessary SAP knowledge. Yaguchi continues to commend Fujitsu for their detailed support and communication. “From my on-site perspective, I feel that our knowledge and skills are getting sharper through Fujitsu’s AMS service. Whenever I would contact Fujitsu with questions, they were quick and courteous to help me understand the SAP system better.”

Working with a vendor requires an immense amount of trust. The team thinks
highly of Fujitsu and their approach to collaboration. “We have a particular way of
harmonizing with Fujitsu, a spirit of dancing to the same beat particular to Japanese
companies, which allows us to companies very smoothly with each other. I believe that
one of Fujitsu’s strengths lies in its ability to create such relationships,” remarks Yasuaki
Fukuda from the System Operation Team. “Fujitsu is great at responding to inquiries from
our point of view. I think that as we move forward, we will be able to build a relationship of knowledge and trust,” says Sumiyo Shirouzu from IT Infrastructure Team. Kochi agrees and mentions Fujitsu’s capability of fostering close and professional relations with the company. “Watching the interactions between Yaguchi and Shirouzu with the AMS team, I’m often astonished that they have never met in person. Their interactions are just that warm and cordial. The ability to communicate smoothly without ever having met face-to-face is made possible by mutual trust, and this comfort in communication is a major
attraction.”

The S/4HANA conversion project is proceeding smoothly precisely because Fujitsu
has a solid understanding of SHOWA GLOVE’s operations through the AMS team.
This is another attraction of Fujitsu. Additionally, overseas offices have been running
SAP systems since around 2015, all with Fujitsu’s help. Fujitsu’s expertise in overseas
expansion combined with SHOWA GLOVE’s accumulated know-how has resulted in a
significant decrease in the number of inquiries received.

Based on past achievements, SHOWA GLOVE made the decision to outsource the
implementation of S/4HANA and AMS to Fujitsu for its US base. The project is said to
be underway and aims to begin operations in 2025. Fujitsu will continue to support
SHOWA GLOVE on its forward march as a global company by leveraging their
accumulated knowledge and technology.