For Customers

Basic Policy

Framework

Making Improvements by Listening to Customer Feedback

Employee Education and Awareness

Objectives and Achievements

Basic Policy

Since its founding in 1899, NEC has been developing a corporate culture under the "Better Products, Better Services," in which we create products and services that are more valuable to customers, and in which every one of us understands, considers, and quickly responds to what our customers expect in order to make NEC a company that is trusted and chosen by customers.

* The word "Better" in our "Better Products, Better Services" embodies our desire to "continuously make improvements to achieve our very best." With this desire, we conduct business activities from the point of view of consumers and citizens, and work with customers to solve social and environmental issues.

Framework

NEC believes that improving customer satisfaction is vital to building relationships of trust with customers.
NEC’s CS improvement activities are mainly led by Quality Promoters (QPs) (There were 1,200 QPs as of March 31, 2012.) The basic role of QPs is to examine the company’s activities from the viewpoint of customers and continually promote improvements that enhance the value of business activities.

Surveys are not the only source of customer feedback: we also receive information from customers through a variety of systems and activities. We have established separate specialized contact points for each key product and service where customers can ask questions, provide opinions and make requests. One of these contact points is BIGLOBE Customer Support, where we field technical inquiries concerning services, administrative procedures, settings and so forth for BIGLOBE, NEC’s Internet service provider. Another is the Aterm Information Center, which is a contact point that specializes in the usage of wireless LAN products and related technologies. From these highly specialized contact points, we strive to respond to customers based on their feedback.

Because of its involvement with a diverse array of businesses and products, NEC has seen certain cases in which customers are unsure about who to contact. In response, we have established the NEC Customer Communication Center (CCC) as a general contact point for people experiencing these or other difficulties to consult, as well as voice their opinions or requests to NEC.
The CCC first strives to listen carefully to customers’ opinions and requests and accurately understand the nature of their inquiries. It then promptly collaborates with the relevant business divisions to solve their issues.

Making Improvements by Listening to Customer Feedback

At NEC, one of the ways we improve the level of customer service is to use customer feedback from CS surveys and customer contact points to identify issues and study ways to improve them, thereby leading to improvements in the related business divisions.

Customer Feedback From Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Business customers (corporate, public and other sectors)

The NEC Group Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire is an annual survey of corporate and public sector clients in Japan that is designed to find out how these clients evaluate NEC. Around 2,000 clients were surveyed in fiscal 2012. In this survey, sales divisions immediately take the lead in following up with the customer through an on-site visit after questionnaire responses have been received. The content of the responses is verified and then reflected in improvement activities.

To reduce human error, which is cited as one of the most frequent reasons for problems in the survey results, we continuously implement training that highlights areas where employees need to take particular care, based on analyses of such factors as behavior patterns that can easily lead to human error. In fiscal 2012, this training was offered to approximately 500 individuals in 13 divisions. Based on analysis of a questionnaire survey implemented after the training, we found that the main reason for human error among younger employees was "mistakes in judgment" whereas the main reason for older employees was "forgetfulness." Looking ahead, NEC will implement training that more closely reflects actual conditions by incorporating this information into training materials. Moreover, at a systems engineering-related affiliate, NEC nurtured its own instructors and offered training to the affiliate’s entire staff of approximately 600 employees. As a result, NEC received a positive evaluation in customer satisfaction surveys indicating that fewer problems were arising from human error.

NEC has examined changes in responses to survey categories from year to year from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2012, while making a point of not drastically changing these survey categories. As a result, we found that the share of customers indicating disapproval with NEC in terms of the “supply of information” and “proposals” has decreased. We believe that this reflects an increase in the number of new proposals we could offer customers, as a result of commencing activities designed to generate new proposals from customer and employee feedback across the company. However, we also received considerable customer feedback indicating greater expectations for the supply of information and proposals, such as a desire for more ambitious proposals. Therefore, we believe that we must further strengthen proposal-based activities from the customer’s perspective.

Furthermore, we have also learned that NEC has been unable to respond to customer inquiries and requests in line with customer expectations. In response, the entire company has returned to basics and has started a drive to discuss and confirm various issues among business divisions, such as whether or not we are responding to customer inquiries based on misguided assumptions.

From fiscal 2011, NEC has continued to implement "prevention and improved responses to problems" as a company-wide theme. In regard to this theme, according to the results of surveys conducted by external agencies in fiscal 2012, the "rate of problems experienced in the past year" by customers decreased. We believe that this is the result of activities in upstream processes emphasizing the bug detection rate, as part of trouble prevention measures. However, as there is still room for improvement, NEC will continue to implement company-wide activities.

Individual customers (consumers and citizens)

In addition to customer feedback received through questionnaires and call centers, NEC interviews employees of retail stores, who are closest to customers, to gauge customer satisfaction with retail products. Based on this feedback, NEC continued to focus on the pursuit of better product usability in fiscal 2011.

Smartphone model featuring a 1,700 mAh long-lasting battery*1 with a continuous standby battery life of approximately 630 hours

Mobile WiMAX router Aterm WM3600R: Up to 10 hours of continuous communication with the industry’s thinnest and most compactly designed device

Aterm Rakuraku QR Start: Easy to connect smartphones and tablets to networks using QR code

In recent years, the demand for connecting to networks via wireless LAN has increased on the back of the rapid penetration of smartphones and tablets. However, NEC has received many comments from customers indicating that manually changing wireless LAN settings is bothersome, and indeed difficult for beginners.

In response to this customer feedback, NEC Access Technica, Ltd. began providing the Aterm Rakuraku QR Start application at no charge to smartphone and tablet users. Customers can now easily access wireless networks by simply installing the application in their smartphone or other device, and reading the QR code enclosed with the wireless LAN router Aterm.

• Aterm is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation.
• QR code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED

Improvement initiatives overseas

NEC has established five regional headquarters, namely in Greater China, Asia Pacific, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), North America and Latin America. Through this global network of five regional headquarters, NEC aims to expand overseas businesses.

From the standpoint of promoting CS activities as it strengthens its global network, NEC has assigned regional quality promoters to each of the five regional headquarters to lead the CS improvement activities for each region as a whole. This is in addition to the quality promoters who have traditionally been assigned to each individual country.

Furthermore, NEC has conducted a CS Activity Survey targeting the quality promoters assigned to each region and country. The results showed that CS-related training for employees of overseas subsidiaries was needed, so NEC developed a CS training program. This program will be successively implemented in the Asian region and elsewhere from fiscal 2013.

In this training program, employees will learn about the detailed and prompt customer service that reflects Japan’s unique spirit of hospitality, about approaches to working as a professional, and about other topics through a case study format. Employees will study the correct approaches and specific actions that lead to improved CS.

Overseas, there are many differences in language and culture, as well as a diverse array of values and perspectives on work. Even so, the training program aims to foster a CS mindset among employees of overseas subsidiaries and encourage actions from the standpoint of customers. This will be achieved by instilling the spirit of "Better Products, Better Services," which NEC has valued since its founding, and through recognition of the importance of customer satisfaction.

Employee Education and Awareness

People are the basis of developing and supplying products and services that deliver high customer satisfaction. At NEC, we offer various kinds of education and training by occupation and grade so that we can develop employees capable of taking notice of issues and making improvements independently. Moreover, NEC implements measures to recognize CS improvement initiatives undertaken from the standpoint of the customer, as well as the "customer beyond the customer" (i.e., as general public and as consumers), with the aim of further motivating employees.
Please follow this link for further details on NEC's CS education and training.

People-centered Education to Foster a Customer-oriented Mindset

In order to enhance customer satisfaction, it is important to take notice of customers' interests and concerns in advance. To this end, it is critical to review our work by asking questions like "Have we provided products and services that exceed customer expectations?" and "Have we truly impressed our customers?" At NEC, we keep track of what companies in other industries are doing to satisfy customers, and structure training programs so that employees can not only learn about their efforts, but also emulate them.
Below is one example of a training session held in fiscal 2012.

Customer-oriented mindset seminar

Specifically, the training program classifies sales activities into three types: "sales with which customers are unhappy," "sales that satisfy customers," and "sales that truly impress customers." Then participants confirm which type they currently fall under, while considering what is necessary to improve to "sales that truly impress customers" through role playing and group discussion.

Furthermore, to ensure that training does not end with just a single training session, questionnaires on the implementation of self-improvement are conducted after the training, along with "Re-Mind Activities" designed to remind participants of what they have learned. A large number of participants expressed comments such as "My mindset towards work before and after the training changed," and "The training heightened my awareness of customer satisfaction." In this way, the seminar has proven effective in planting the seeds of reform in the mindset of employees.

Internal Awards for Outstanding CS Activities

NEC has established an internal awards system, with the aim of fostering a corporate culture where employees find it worthwhile to help customers and share the joy of helping customers within the NEC Group. NEC provides internal awards to business groups and individuals who work from the customer's standpoint and are applauded by customers. The awards are granted once a year, with criteria including the extent of collaboration with other divisions and the difficulty of activities.

An example of awards

Establishing Trust With a Customer Through the "Quality Technology Training Seminar" for NTT DOCOMO and Helping NEC Become No.1 in Mobile Phone Customer Satisfaction through VOC Activities

CS Promotion Department, NEC Saitama, Ltd.

Moreover, since fiscal 2002, the department has continued to hold study sessions called "Quality Technology Seminars" on new product functions and features for shops and call center staff. As the functions of mobile terminals have become increasingly versatile in recent years, the department has correspondingly contributed to improving the skills of staff members and enhancing the quality of aftermarket services.

Looking ahead, the department will continue to coordinate closely and exchange information on the MEDIAS smartphone model, while striving to develop mobile terminals that further increase the satisfaction of ordinary customers who are the end users.

Objectives and Achievements

Objectives for the Medium Term (From Fiscal 2011 to Fiscal 2013) and Fiscal 2012, Achievements and Progress, and Degree of Completion

(Degree of completion: achieved/mostly achieved/some progress/no progress)

Fiscal 2013 Objectives

Ensuring Quality and Safety

Universal Design Friendly to Humans and the Earth

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