Enhancing Value-Added Services Development System at Daikin Industries with ULS Consulting Support

Strengthening Value-Added Services at Daikin Industries: A Partnership with ULS Consulting

ULS Consulting, headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, recently lent its expertise to Daikin Industries, a leading air conditioning manufacturer based in Osaka. This collaboration aims to bolster the development of value-added services within Daikin to enhance their responsiveness to market demands.

Founded in 1924, Daikin Industries operates over 130 production sites globally and earns more than 80% of its revenue from international markets. The company possesses a unique ability to develop both air conditioning equipment and refrigerants in-house, resulting in products celebrated for their energy efficiency. In recent years, Daikin has shifted focus from merely selling products to offering integrated services, including predictive maintenance and energy-saving recommendations.

To streamline their services and accelerate market entry, Daikin has been restructuring its internal organization. The establishment of the Technology Innovation Center in 2015 marked the beginning of a dedicated core for technological advancement. Additionally, in 2017, Daikin launched the Daikin Information Technology University to cultivate IT talent and fortify their in-house capabilities. Currently, they are advancing agile development practices and incorporating AI into their development processes to enhance skills, methodologies, and technological infrastructure.

In line with these initiatives, ULS Consulting has supported Daikin in strengthening their engineering capabilities based on platform engineering principles. This involved defining standard processes for system development rooted in agile methodologies, ensuring the internal teams effectively adopt these practices through hands-on application. Furthermore, ULS Consulting contributed to developing a global infrastructure that processes and analyzes operational data collected from devices, transforming it into valuable information via APIs. As a result, the pace of development across various regions is expected to significantly improve, facilitating smoother horizontal deployment of innovations.

Looking forward, Daikin aims to balance quality and speed in development by furthering AI-driven projects collaboratively. Hiroshi Maekawa from Daikin's Technology Innovation Center emphasized, "Harnessing data from air conditioning equipment installed worldwide is central to our commitment to providing bespoke services. Expanding these solution-oriented initiatives requires a robust shared development platform across our global operations and fortifying in-house capabilities, making our partnership with ULS Consulting invaluable. Their open dialogue concerning development priorities has accelerated our decision-making processes and increased organizational alignment."

ULS Consulting is committed to continuing its support for Daikin's digital transformation journey. The collaborative effort will not only strengthen Daikin’s service offerings but will also pave the way for sustainable innovation in the air conditioning and climate control industry.

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