Kodak and Fujifilm



Kodak and Fujifilm

Introduction

"Both Fujifilm and Kodak knew the digital age was surging towards us," Fujifilm Chief Executive Shigetaka Komori said in a recent interview. "The question was what to do about it."

Comparison and Contrast of Approaches of Kodak and Fujifilm

What Fujifilm did was to look further than simply moving to digital photography from analog. Instead, the company tapped its chemical expertise for broader uses, such as drugs and liquid-crystal display panels. Cosmetics, as well: It seems the process for stopping photos from fading can be, used on skin, too.

The Tokyo-based company's post digital transition was not swift or easy. Thousands of jobs were, sacrificed, and manufacturing facilities shut down. Mr. Komori took the reins of the company as president in 2000, just as demand for color photographic film was hitting its peak. After he was, named chief executive three years later, Fujifilm acted to survive the advance of digital photography by restructuring and venturing into new businesses. In 2005 and 2006, the company cut more than ¥200 billion, or roughly $2.5 billion, in costs, mainly in its photographic-film business.

Fujifilm logged a record profit soon after. Fujifilm reached another turning point after the global financial crisis began, forcing the company to shed a further ¥175 billion in costs from 2009 through 2010.

Management Differences that Affected the Success

"The most decisive factor [for our success] was how drastically we were able to transform our businesses when digitalization occurred," Mr. Komori said. What set Fujifilm apart from Kodak, he said, was the Japanese company's effort to branch out by employing technologies that were originally, developed for photography. "Technologically, we already possessed diverse resources. So we thought, 'There must be ways to turn them into new businesses,' “Mr. Komori said. Fujifilm could not have maintained revenue if it focused only on digital imaging (Jasper, 2012).

More specifically, he sees the four main types of management in the strategic planning process. These include the allocation of resources, adaptation to the external environment, internal coordination and organizational strategic vision. Allocation of resources is the process, which involves the allocation of scarce organizational resources, such as funds, scarce managerial talent and technical expertise.

Old-fashioned as it is, the surface of photographic film has 20 ultrathin layers that contain about 100 kinds of chemical compounds. Fujifilm applied its expertise in handling chemical elements and engineering atomic-scale particles to the development of films used in LCD panels for computers, television sets and other electronic devices. That business, started about a decade ago, is one of Fujifilm's most competitive operations, selling film to LCD-panel component suppliers. The company also is tapping its expertise for drugs, seeking ways for the human body to effectively, absorb chemical elements in drugs. An influenza medication is among the drugs in development.

One of Fujifilm's latest endeavors is cosmetics—it has its own Astalift skin-care line—that use ant oxidation technology for preventing photos from fading. The company also has spent ¥650 billion since 2000 to acquire health-care companies. Fujifilm acquired midsize drug maker Toyama Chemical ...