Greetings from the 38th President of JIMA
– In the Era Where Industrial Management and Engineering Is Expected –
Kenichi Funaki – Hitachi, Ltd.
At the regular general meeting on June 1, 2025, I was appointed as the 38th president of the Japan Industrial Management Association. I am grateful for the support from many people at the election, and I would ask for your continued cooperation in the operation and management of the association.
I studied industrial engineering at university and specialized in plant engineering during my master’s program. After that, I joined Hitachi, Ltd. as a researcher in production systems, engaging in research and system development related to manufacturing process design, equipment management and maintenance, production planning and control, and supply chain management, as well as service design and business process reengineering. Additionally, as a manager of research and development and innovation creation, I have promoted joint research with universities and research institutions. Currently, I focus on strategies and execution of open innovation, including investments in startups through corporate venturing and fostering collaboration with startups. I also provide advice on management and investment as an outside director of startups and as an advisor to venture capital firms. At the Japan Industrial Management Association, I have served on various committees and was vice president in the previous term.
It is said that this is the first time in 44 years since the 17th term that the Japan Industrial Management Association has welcomed a president from the industrial sector. The 17th president was Mr. Taiichi Ohno, world-famous for the Toyota Production System, so I feel deeply honored and determined. Reflecting on the tradition built by my predecessors, I feel the heavy responsibility and will pursue the significance of having a president from the industrial sector. I sense that industrial management and engineering is now needed more multifacetedly than ever before, and I believe that is where my role lies.
Currently, management faces a wide range of challenges amid changes in the social and industrial environment. With shortages of labor, resources, energy, and food, the challenge is how to achieve efficient and sustainable growth under such a variety of shortages. At the same time, there are questions about how to respond to various risks such as climate change, disasters, and geopolitical/geoeconomical issues. The evolution and diversification of people’s sense of values due to economic development require adapting to changes in value provision forms, such as from goods to experiences and from ownership to sharing, as well as differences by region and culture. Advances in AI, progress in bioscience and engineering, and challenges in new energy development are powerful tools to solve these challenges. However, industrial management and engineering, which leverages these from a management perspective and creates optimal methods and systems to solve problems, is increasingly demanded.
Looking around the industrial sector where I work, I rarely hear voices calling to utilize knowledge of industrial management and engineering to cope with such challenges. It seems that industrial management and engineering itself is not well recognized. This is not only a serious problem for us as the association responsible for industrial management and engineering, but also a significant loss for society and industry as a whole. To overcome this situation, efforts to raise its presence in society and industry are necessary. As a president from the industrial sector, I will fully address this issue.
To raise the presence of industrial management and engineering, it is essential to show the value it can provide by addressing social and industrial challenges. However, as mentioned, modern challenges are diverse. Therefore, in addition to the issues we have tackled so far, it is necessary to boldly explore new research themes. For example, in an era of resource and energy shortages, the introduction of bioprocesses is increasing in all industries, whether primary, secondary, or tertiary. There are many challenges in process design, production management, quality control, logistics management, and cost management for bioprocesses. Also, the shortage of skilled workers is occurring not only in manufacturing and logistics but in all departments. There are movements to consider using AI agents (autonomous task-executing AI) in tasks requiring interdepartmental coordination such as supply-demand adjustment and parts procurement, as well as in service provision and management tasks. New logics of planning and management that repeatedly learn, coordinate, and optimize will be required and may lead to new forms of industrial engineering. Demonstrating industrial management and engineering that responds to new social and industrial challenges will increase its presence.
Research approaches may also need to diversify. To address complex and diverse challenges, not only the approach of analyzing systems by decomposing elements (analysis) but also the approach of understanding interactions between local and whole and synthesizing optimal systems (synthesis) will become increasingly important. For example, problems dealing with manufacturing costs and productivity might have been considered separately from energy efficiency and environmental impact in the past. However, modern factory operations require comprehensive handling and optimization of core business activities that create added value, as well as waste heat treatment, material recycling, power procurement management (selling, buying, storage), and utility management such as water and gas. Expanding management targets to the supply chain requires consideration of even more complex interactions. This is precisely the synthesis approach.
In such an era, the role of researchers may be to strengthen proactive activities that not only solve identified or presented problems but also anticipate social and industrial changes, propose new problems, and lead society. More than ten years ago, the Japan Industrial Management Association cooperated in planning and partially writing the excellent asset “Industrial Engineering 2050 Vision” and its subsequent “Supplementary Edition,” led by the Japan Professional Engineers Association’s Industrial Engineering Division.
Furthermore, it is important to communicate the challenges and achievements of industrial management and engineering to society and industry and promote exchanges among industry, government, and academia. To raise awareness of industrial management and engineering, it may also be necessary to inform leaders in industry and government as well as the education sector, including schools and preparatory schools. The Communications of JIMA, our official magazine, which connects industry, government and academia, along with our conferences, branch activities, and research divisions, provides a strong foundation for knowledge exchange and networking inside and outside the association. In this era where industrial management and engineering is expected, I would like to gather the wisdom of board members together with members at the association to consider how to expand and update these foundations. With the increasing options of digital media such as social networking services and the metaverse, there is room for innovation in introducing new research and human resource exchanges.
The 38th term board consists of excellent leaders who share the above awareness and work together with the same mindset. With the cooperation of all members at the association, I believe that if we can envision a Japan Industrial Management Association suitable for the times, issues the society has faced for many years, such as declining membership, quantitative and qualitative expansion of papers and research presentations, and internationalization, will move in a positive direction, evolving into a vibrant society. I would appreciate the support of all members. Thank you very much.
