Living Only Once: I Want to Leave a Lasting Impact on the World
My previous job was at an OA equipment manufacturer, where I was responsible for purchasing electrical components for copiers. I started thinking about changing jobs because I felt uncertain about future demand in an increasingly paperless business environment. At the same time, I wanted to be involved in a product that could truly make a difference in society—something that leaves a lasting impact. When I considered this, the first thing that came to mind was automobiles.
There are two main reasons I chose Nissan among many automakers. The first was my resonance with the company’s corporate purpose of “Driving innovation to enrich people’s lives”.” For me, coming from a rural area, cars are an essential part of daily life. I felt excited about how technological innovations in automobiles could improve people’s lives even further. The second reason was Nissan’s alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi. I wanted to pursue a new career in an exciting, global environment filled with diversity, where different organizational cultures are fused together.
Driving Competitive Edge in the Fast
- Paced Autonomous Driving Domain
The Global Costing Department leads related divisions in cost analysis activities aimed at delivering products that are both cost-effective and highly competitive. Our mission is to enhance Nissan’s market competitiveness by maintaining a balanced view of “performance versus price,” working closely with both the design and purchasing departments to ensure Nissan vehicles remain attractive choices for customers.
My main responsibility is managing the costs of electronic and electrical components and systems related to autonomous driving. As one of the most promising and rapidly evolving advanced technologies, autonomous driving is attracting worldwide attention. The pace of trend changes is extremely fast, making it challenging to accurately predict the functional levels of next-generation systems and to identify the optimal balance of performance and cost that can compete with other automakers. Staying ahead requires keeping up with industry trends, benchmarking other companies’ products, and maintaining close communication with our own advanced development teams.
Expanding My “CAN” by Building
on Past Experiences
My work in vehicle cost management is quite different from my previous experience in procurement, making this a challenging career transition. Nevertheless, I strongly wanted to increase my “CAN” (what I can do), and this desire motivated me to learn a wide range of new skills in a completely different industry and environment. This challenge has allowed me to gain knowledge and experience from a new perspective, and I believe I’ve been able to work across departments while understanding the thoughts and positions of the procurement team.
One of the most interesting aspects of cost management is that “simply lowering prices” is not the sole objective. In the autonomous driving field, blindly pursuing cost reductions that compromise the performance customers expect from our products will not lead to sales. The key is how to “optimize” costs in collaboration with other departments while ensuring the specifications required by customers for autonomous systems are met. Balancing these factors directly impacts the company’s profitability after a new vehicle launch, and managing this balance has become a major challenge for me.
Cross-National Dialogue Fosters Better Decision-Making
When I decided to join Nissan, I was eager to be in a “truly global and diverse environment,” and once I started working here, I felt that the company’s culture truly matched my expectations. Half of my team members are foreign nationals, and I have many opportunities to negotiate with overseas bases while living in Japan, working alongside colleagues from various backgrounds toward shared goals.
When people from different countries come together, their perspectives and values naturally vary. Sometimes, disagreements occur during meetings. However, what I strongly feel in such situations is that “Everyone is working toward the same goal and seeking the best possible outcome.” In other words, there’s a “healthy conflict,” which ultimately results in a positive atmosphere where we can say, “That was a good meeting today,” and leave on good terms.
Moving to Nissan was a pivotal moment for me, as I was able to advance my career within an open, global environment that encourages free exchange of ideas and perspectives.
