JBS Supports UBE Mitsubishi Cement in Strengthening Global IT Governance

Japan Business Systems Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yukihiro Makita; hereinafter "JBS") supported UBE Mitsubishi Cement Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazuto Hirano; hereinafter "MUCC") in strengthening its IT governance, including overseas locations, and establishing a framework for post-deployment operations through the construction and deployment of a global IT infrastructure. JBS provides support not just for building the IT infrastructure but also for its adoption and stable operation, ensuring customers can use it with peace of mind. This project began with the US base, which has a significant impact on business among MUCC's many overseas locations, intentionally tackling a more challenging site first to identify considerations that should be addressed in the initial stages. The knowledge gained was then organized and templated into deployment procedures and a decision-making framework. By separating common policies from site-specific adjustments, a mechanism was built that could be rolled out to subsequent locations. Furthermore, to prevent misunderstandings due to differences in environment and culture, potential points of consideration were organized during the promotion design phase. Crucial junctures involved on-site verification and close dialogue to build consensus with stakeholders, thereby driving the project forward. Through these efforts, deployment to multiple companies has already been completed, and stable operations are currently being achieved. * Deployed domestic infrastructure/security policies overseas to strengthen governance. * Started with the US base, which has a significant business impact, to organize and clarify key design issues in the initial stages. * Separated common policies from site-specific adjustments to build a deployable model for subsequent locations. * Provided a global service desk at the same level as Japan, aligned with local business hours, to achieve operational adoption and stable operation. **Why is IT Governance Important Now?** In April 2022, MUCC was established as a new company through the integration of the cement and related businesses of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and UBE Corporation. To promote global business, it was necessary to rebuild the infrastructure and IT governance to align with the new company's structure. MUCC operates a total of 9 overseas bases (local subsidiaries) in North America, Asia, and Oceania. With business bases spread across multiple regions, disparities in IT environments, operational rules, and security policies domestically and internationally lead to differences in security measures, audits, and compliance responses. This also results in inefficiencies due to duplicated operations, posing challenges from the perspective of group-wide IT control and management risk. Against this backdrop, MUCC seized the opportunity of the new company's launch to decide on a policy to strengthen IT governance (policies and operations) across domestic and overseas locations based on the standards established in Japan. IT governance enhancement, with "security" and "synergy" as its two pillars, involved JBS supporting the deployment and operational framework for overseas bases based on the infrastructure configuration and security policies established in Japan. **JBS's Strategy and Support Content that Enhanced Global Deployment Momentum** Strengthening IT governance, including overseas bases, presents significant hurdles in gaining consensus among stakeholders and ensuring operational adoption, considering the differing prerequisites and operational practices at each location. With variations in laws and regulations, languages, cultures, and business customs across countries and regions, unilaterally pushing standardization led by headquarters is difficult, requiring a cautious approach to projects. JBS's approach to this challenge was to prioritize remote communication for efficiency while also conducting on-site visits and direct dialogue with stakeholders at critical junctures. Through close on-site verification at each milestone, JBS grasped the premises and operational realities of each base, organized issues, and advanced consensus-building, thereby promoting the project while minimizing rework. As a result, they achieved both standardization of common policies and adjustment of site-specific requirements, leading to efficient deployment. While typically, deployment proceeds gradually from smaller bases, the first overseas deployment in this project was to a large US base, a local subsidiary of the MUCC group with significant business impact. The aim was to identify key issues in the initial stages and leverage them for subsequent base introductions, hence the deliberate choice to start with a more challenging location. The knowledge gained in the initial phase was organized and templated into deployment procedures and decision criteria. By separating what must be adhered to as common policies from what requires adjustment based on site-specific circumstances, subsequent base deployments were conducted efficiently, leading to the establishment of a highly reproducible deployment model. Furthermore, establishing an operational structure was a crucial point for post-deployment adoption. Time differences between the Japanese headquarters and overseas bases in various regions present operational constraints that technology alone cannot resolve. Recognizing this, JBS established a "Global Service Desk" by customizing its remote service desk for MUCC. From JBS's Singapore office, support was provided to accommodate the business hours of each region, taking time differences into account. This ensured support and quality at the same level as Japan in a global environment, aiding operational adoption. Through daily operations, knowledge accumulation and response capabilities were enhanced, establishing an operational foundation that allows for continuous improvement. **Future Outlook** Through collaboration between the JBS Group and its overseas bases, JBS will provide end-to-end global IT services, from planning and design to implementation and operation, centered on the cloud, supporting Japanese global companies operating worldwide. By working closely with both headquarters and overseas bases, leveraging their strong partnership capabilities and reproducible cross-deployment model, JBS will support business transformation and the sustainable growth of overseas operations for companies. For more details, please see here. Reference: [Global IT Governance Enhancement Case Study: UBE Mitsubishi Cement Co., Ltd. | JBS Japan Business Systems Co., Ltd.](https://www.jbs.co.jp/case/globalitgovernance_mu-cc)