What kind of field surveys are required for overseas expansion?

The Need for On-site Surveys in Overseas Expansion

Companies looking to expand overseas are aiming to increase profits by capturing overseas markets and acquiring low-cost labor overseas. In recent years, the number of regions where personnel costs have soared has increased, but the popularity of Japanese products, eagerness to purchase products in emerging countries, and the expansion of markets in these countries will continue to drive companies overseas.

It’s an overseas expansion with such a big advantage, but it also has a big risk. Even if you try to expand overseas with the same image as in Japan, you might get a sprain unexpectedly.

Therefore, it is important to collect information through prior research when expanding overseas. There are preliminary surveys that you can do while you are in Japan, and field surveys that you go to the countries or regions where you actually do business.

In particular, through field surveys, it is possible to obtain realistic information that is not available in Japan and to collect highly reliable data. If you only listen to local experts, outsource field surveys, or look up information on the Internet, you may believe incorrect or outdated information.

Therefore, if you are planning to expand your business overseas, it is necessary for the person in charge or responsible person to visit the country or region and conduct a field survey.

Learn about security and the situation through field surveys

One of the important things to achieve overseas expansion is to know the safety. Overseas countries are in a different social situation from Japan, and often are not suitable for developing business or for dispatched staff to live safely.

For this reason, it is important to confirm whether or not the area chosen as the overseas destination is safe. As a preliminary survey, using the Internet and requesting information from a local subsidiary or a local surveyor will be effective to some extent.

However, there are cases where the correct information is not conveyed, and there are also cases where it is difficult to convey information from sentences and pictures. They may also convey only good news for attracting Japanese companies and building partnerships.

In light of this, the final confirmation of the actual situation must be made by visiting the site directly. In fact, even though it was said to be safe in the prior investigation, it seems that the security is bad and anti-Japanese sentiment is increasing.

Because the freshness of information is also important in regions and countries where the situation is changeable, it is necessary to visit the site to check the latest information.

Learn the quality and thoughts of workers through field surveys

It is also important to know the quality of human resources, which can be said to be the backbone of overseas expansion, through field surveys. Labor management is difficult in overseas expansion, and one of the reasons may be the difference in the way people approach labor.

If you are looking to reduce labor costs by providing local labor, especially if you are easily going overseas, there are risks. In foreign countries, there are times when workers are not as serious and precise as the Japanese. There are also times when they are not as accurate or strict as the Japanese.

Other factors may include a focus on productivity and low quality, or a lack of acceptance of long working hours. Even if you know these things in your head, you don’t know how much they are until you experience them in the field.

It is important to regard these differences not as good or bad but as differences in national character. If it is acceptable, we will consider labor management and education in the future.

If necessary quality and quantity cannot be guaranteed, the plan must be reviewed because it may lead to business failure. It is difficult for local people with different cultures and sensibilities to get used to Japanese labor culture, and it will be a big burden to expand overseas.

Visiting Partners and Business Partners in Field Surveys

When expanding overseas, it is also important to acquire partner companies and business partners with whom we have relationships in local sales and procurement. In order to start a smooth business, we need to find reliable partners and suppliers.

In other countries, however, you may be fooled by your partner or you may not be able to build the relationship you want.

For overseas expansion, we provide opportunities for face-to-face discussions with potential partners, visit their factories and facilities, observe the actual process, and make a judgment as to whether they are trustworthy. For sales, it is also important to research the distribution system beforehand and check it on the spot.

The on-site survey can detect the gap with the preliminary survey.

When expanding overseas, we will first conduct preliminary surveys and then conduct on-site surveys as the plan is finalized. In the field survey, it is important to check mainly the parts that cannot be seen without going to the site, and to determine the error with the results and information from the preliminary survey.

If there is a difference from the preliminary survey, it is necessary to reflect it in the content of the survey, and if it significantly affects the business plan, it is necessary to review the plan.

Summary

As described above, it is very important to actually go to the site to confirm the preliminary survey. If information can be measured in terms of numbers, such as the working population and GDP, it is unlikely that there will be large errors. However, there are many things that cannot be measured in terms of numbers alone, such as human resources, social conditions, and the working environment, which cannot be measured in terms of numbers, that cannot be determined without actually looking at them through field surveys.

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