The Customer's VOICE

The Time to Design has been Substantially Reduced

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Japan is a global enterprise with operations spanning more than a dozen countries through 73 subsidiaries. Their total workforce is approximately 34,000, all working to play a part in the development of the electronics industries of their respective countries.

Murata Electronics (Thailand), Ltd., one of Murata's subsidiaries, manufactures high quality electronic components used in both industrial and consumer electronic equipment. They meet the growing demand for advanced functions and added value in electronic devices.

In this issue, we visited Mr. Hokoi, a Deputy General Manager, of Murata Electronics in Lamphun, Thailand. Murata is a global manufacturer of electronic components used in various consumer and industrial goods such as mobile phones. Their highly innovative culture requires their manufacturing facility to have short lead times and their global presence requires suppliers such as Misumi to provide quality service worldwide.

What kind of services does your department provide?
Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd. conducts research and development, manufacturing and sales of electronic devices developed based on functional ceramics. Murata Electronics (THAILAND) operates as a manufacturing base for capacitors, piezoelectric products, and modules such as power supply sensors and buzzers. As a manager of the Production Engineering Department, I am responsible for the design development of highly developed production equipment and education of local design staff.

What does Misumi mean to you?
The presence of Misumi Thailand, who can deliver parts of the same quality with the same part numbers as in Japan, (as well as throughout the world) with a short lead time, is indispensable for designing our facility. The catalog is now almost like a designer's bible.

Why and how did you start ordering from Misumi Thailand?
Our headquarter in Japan had already been purchasing parts from Misumi, so it was natural that we started to use Misumi Thailand. At first, experts from Japan who know well about Misumi started ordering, and Misumi gradually spread into our local staff.

What do you find the most convenient among the offerings by Misumi?
That's a difficult question, but if I had to pick just one answer, I would say the greatest appeal is the wide product assortment. Compared to when we had to choose each component from different catalogs by specialized manufacturers, we can now find all the necessary components in one Misumi catalog much easier and in a substantially shorter time. The CAD data also contributes to reduction of design time. As I am fully aware of Misumi's advantages, I instruct our local design team members to choose components from Misumi catalog wherever possible. The catalog seems to be convenient for them, too. The less experienced designers are referring to the technical information in the catalog as their textbook.

What do you think of Misumi Thailand's customer service?
The services are customized to fit Thailand's business practice and I find it very convenient. One example is the 3D CAD library in CD-ROM format. I hear in other countries CAD data is downloaded from the Internet, but in Thailand, lowspeed Internet connection is still common and downloading requires enormous time and efforts, so it's not realistic. We are fully making use of Misumi Thailand's 3D CAD library which is available on CD format. Tell us about your future expectations and requests to Misumi.

About Murata Manufacturing

The time to design has been substantially reduced Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Japan is global enterprise with operations spanning more than a dozen countries through 73 subsidiaries. Their total workforce is approximately 34,000, all working to play a part in the development of the electronics industries of their respective countries. Murata Electronics (Thailand), Ltd., one of Murata's subsidiaries, manufactures high quality electronic components used in both industrial and consumer electronic equipment. They meet the growing demand for advanced functions and added value in electronic devices.