Japan Inc. must boost B2B in Asia.

Japan Inc. must boost B2B in Asia

Shoichiro Hara

Yomiuri

Companies around the world are expected to rely increasingly on Internet-enabled business-to-business (B2B) transactions to fundamentally enhance their efficiency by cutting transaction costs and streamlining production and distribution.

As Asia is no exception, it is crucial for Japanese companies operating in other Asian countries to aggressively adapt themselves to a B2B environment to stay competitive.

However, Japanese businesses in Asia are still lagging behind firms from the United States and Europe in terms of the B2B proliferation.

Japanese companies began establishing manufacturing facilities in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, in the 1970s to …