Konica Minolta 2015 Annual Report Download - page 54

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Research and development activities
Intellectual property activities
The three basic policies governing Konica Minolta’s companywide
technology strategies are: accelerating innovation to drive
continued growth; differentiating technologies to create customer
value; and nurturing first-class technical personnel while
strengthening organizational development capabilities.
Under these policies, Konica Minolta is committed to R&D
aimed at both growing new businesses and strengthening existing
businesses, while at the same time maintaining an R&D-to-sales
ratio of 8% or below. We are also carrying out initiatives to
strengthen the quality of our technical personnel, including
conducting a program for selecting MOT (management of
technology) managers and recruiting global personnel for R&D work.
Our development framework is two-pronged system whereby
we develop in Japan the technologies that will become a platform
used around the world and develop, at development sites
physically near customers, technologies which need to be
customized to that individual customer. Under this system, we are
quickly addressing customer needs in each region while making
large-scale investment decisions throughout the Group and
developing common-platform technologies. In April 2014, we
established Konica Minolta Hachioji SKT, a core center for
technology development and one of the Group’s largest R&D
facilities. The facility conducts R&D that transcends the boundaries
of business units, while promoting open innovation inside and
outside the Company.
Konica Minolta conducts its business activities with an awareness
that intellectual property management forms one of the Company’s
three key overarching strategies, together with its business strategy
and technology strategy.
Konica Minolta makes 70% of its net sales overseas and has
sales and production sites around the world. To support our
business activities with intellectual properties, we submit patent
applications and secure intellectual property rights for key markets
and countries producing Konica Minolta products around the
world. We are proactively submitting patent applications and
securing intellectual property rights in sites involved in intellectual
property activities in Japan, the U.S., and China, and are achieving
appreciable growth in the number of patents registered and held in
these countries.
Moreover, as support for these efforts involving intellectual
property, we are educating and training overseas development
personnel. One such initiative is an education program that
teaches the basic principles of intellectual property to local
development personnel in China.
Value Chain Research and Development
Developing valuable products and services with a two-pronged
strategy involving Japan and local sites
Focused Topic
Green Product development
The Green Products Certification System is Konica Minolta’s
proprietary system for evaluating and certifying products with
superior environmental performance. The criteria that must be
met are set for different businesses and product characteristics,
and the product is certified at one of three levels based on its
degree of achievement. In fiscal 2014 the Group created 33 new
certified products, increasing the total number of certified
products to 147.
Net sales from green products was ¥547.1 billion*, which
comprises 54%* of the Group's net sales.
Percentage of R&D expenses (FY2014)
Business
Technologies
Business
Industrial
Business
Healthcare
Business
Other
58%
17%
7%
18%
¥74.2
billion
Primary R&D themes of our businesses
Business
Technologies
Business
• Strengthening system technologies in coordination with the
cloud and mobile devices
• Developing inkjet printers and ink for industrial use
• Developing next-generation office systems
Healthcare
Business
• Developing in vitro diagnostic technologies (serum protein
detection, fluorescent nanoparticle labeling materials)
Industrial
Business • Developing optical systems for industrial use
* J-GAAP
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KONICA MINOLTA, INC. Annual Report 2015
Foundation for GrowthBusiness StrategiesGrowth StrategyCompany Overview and Characteristics Financial Report