EDIT Interview psi sep21_PSI_mar15 25/08/2021 13:25 Page 2
INTERVIEW
Reacting to market changes Recently we heard that Panasonic is changing its organisation and moving its security business into a new entity called i-PRO EMEA. What does this mean for the UK market and for the company moving forward? ast month we reported that Panasonic Europe B.V. and Panasonic System Communications Company Europe (PSCEU) will be transferring the European Security and Industrial Medical Vision businesses, currently part of PSCEU, into a newly founded independent company, i-PRO EMEA (Panasonic i-PRO Sensing Solutions Co. Ltd until end of March 2022). The new company will formally start its operations from 1 October 2021, and will be part of the Japan-based Panasonic i-PRO Sensing Solutions. To find out more about the news and its potential impact on UK installers, we spoke to Mike Burton, Manager of Regional Sales for UK and Ireland.
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What is the thinking behind the new set up? A new organisation has been set up called i-PRO EMEA which will move both the security and the Industrial medical vision (IMV) departments away from the Panasonic company. We understand in the world of manufacturing that being able to adapt to current market situations in both technology and service is crucial for the industry to evolve and ultimately the end user to benefit. With the creation of i-PRO EMEA it allows us a strong platform to build on the 60 years of history that Panasonic has as a manufacturer of high performance surveillance equipment with the flexibility to respond to the markets needs in a much quicker way. This is highlighted further when we see the technology lifecycles becoming shorter and therefore product and technology development needs to be completed and delivered in a much quicker manner enabling us to deliver on our customers expectations.
are making into our team to make sure that we can deliver on our promises while enhancing the channels development. They will, however, see some considerable changes in our operation which can be split down into 3 areas: Technology advancement – making sure that we have the right technology based on the correct product for our customers. Quicker delivery – with the implementation of an on demand manufacturing process, while enhancing market competitiveness making sure that the products are priced correctly. The reality is our headquarters in Japan has been operational in this way since October 2019 meaning that the industry is already starting to see these changes with many new products being launched, without any deterioration of the performance and reliability.
Mike Burton
“With the creation of i-PRO EMEA it allows us a strong platform to build on the 60 years of history that Panasonic has”
So they'll see changes in the terms of the amount of technology coming through, but not necessarily in how they buy it and deal with distributors?
Is this more of a move in the background or will installers actually see some changes? From a perspective of day to day dealings with i-PRO, our partners will see no major differences in the way they are able interact with ourselves and we are working hard in the background to make sure this is realised. One key difference, however, will be the investment we
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