Q&A: Panasonic’s Panoramic Perspective

Jean-Marc Allain, the new president of Panasonic System Solutions Co. (PSSA), discusses the abundance of opportunities in the face of current economic woes.

The Right Man for the Job

Please explain what made you uniquely qualified for your present position.

J.M. Allain: I’ve been involved in technology my entire career with a special concentration in integration. This has provided me the opportunity to be involved with consultants, manufacturers, end users and suppliers across virtually every aspect of systems technology and applications.

With Panasonic being the largest manufacturer of business and consumer electronics in the world, and with the growing trend toward integration and enterprise-level technology, my background and passion melded well with Panasonic’s desire to capitalize on its global presence, comprehensive product suite and expertise in electronics, in an effort to deliver complete technology solutions.

Fundamentally, I share this vision for higher level systems integration and have always viewed Panasonic as one of the few companies with the ability, portfolio and know-how to realize this goal.

You have been in the position for more than six months now, what has the experience been like thus far?

Allain: I am extremely energized and excited with the progress we’ve been able to make in terms of redirecting our business strategies and in changing the mindset of our organization to support Panasonic’s new systems model.

I will say that the sudden, although somewhat anticipated, global economic downturn is definitely an influencer relative to our earlier projections, but I see this as a challenge to execute smarter, innovative business solutions.

How does your approach differ from that of previous PSSA management?

Allain: I am shifting Panasonic’s emphasis from product sales to systems sales as technology becomes more driven by software solutions that enable enterprise-level integration.

As a company, we still recognize and will continue to support our product lines in their respective channels, but we are now placing far more emphasis on unifying our entire product suite of business and consumer products on a single scalable platform. This allows us to offer customers more comprehensive capabilities and functionality on a highly cost-efficient basis while providing a business model that promises continued growth for our customers and Panasonic.

What are your duties/responsibilities, and whom do you report to? Describe the organizational relationships.

Allain: I report directly to the chairman of Panasonic North America. Together with the chairman and the rest of the executive team, we defined my charter even before I started this job. I continue to enjoy their full support of the systems model we have been developing and executing.

I will also say that the so-called B2B model is not unique to North America. Panasonic’s global chairman has tasked all regions and companies to concentrate more of their efforts on enterprise-level business. Given the fact that Panasonic offers approximately 8,000 products, this provides us with access to the entire portfolio that previously fell under the purview of disparate business units. This gives us a great advantage over our competitors and allows for complete, true end-to-end solutions for our customers.

Who reports directly to you and how many employees do you supervise?

Allain: My direct reports are all the division heads within the System Solutions Co. as well as all the various support groups such as marketing, finance and human resources. But my door is open to every employee.

A great Japanese tradition that we have adopted in our office is the morning chat. At 9 a.m., all employees gather around the common area of our office and we go over our achievements, struggles, deliverables and any other pertinent information that all should know. This is a great way to encourage all to bring any ideas they may have so that we look at every possible means of improving our business operations.

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About the Author

Contact:

Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].

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