[CIOL Exclusive]: Haruto Iwata, MD of Fujifilm India talks about the company initiatives during COVID-19 pandemic

Fujifilm has been a pioneer in providing imaging solutions across the globe with over 85 years of rich experience. Driven by the simple but profound goal of creating ‘Value from Innovation’; the company has reinvented itself as a one-stop solution provider in imaging speciality i.e. Digital Imaging, Optical Devices, Highly-functional material, Graphic systems, and Healthcare.

In this conversation, Mr Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India talks about Covid-19, Fujifilm, work-from-home and the customer service landscape. He throws light on the safety measures opted at various stores + online demo sessions of the products for customers and how Fujifilm is contributing to fight back COVID-19

Mr Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India.

1. How is Covid-19 impacting the business? How is Fujifilm dealing with the situation?

The COVID-19 outbreak has an enormous impact on brands across all industries. From a drop in consumer confidence, restricted mobility and loss of jobs, it has caused a recession like the situation with subsiding consumerism. At Fujifilm, we aim to create meaningful advancements for our customers and communities by enhancing the quality of life of people worldwide. With a top priority to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees and communities.

To function in the new normal, we have enforced work from home, restriction/limitations on travel, complete sanitization of our offices, hygiene protocols and social distancing norms across our offices in India. Apart from these lucrative steps, we have been continuously initiating health check-ups across cities in India, especially in remote areas and associations with hospitals to drive awareness around the early detection of breast cancer amidst lockdown. At the community level, we have also introduced various online workshops to help our customers utilize their time and give our business a chance to forge an instant connection with them. While we are embracing a never seen before and lasting impact of Covid-19, it is important for all of us to stay positive and strong for each other.

2. What were some of the things you miss while working from home? How did you maximize your productivity while working from home?

In these unprecedented times, an approach that is working best for many leaders across the world and for me personally is to act as the “chief crisis officer”, to ensure the seamless functioning of business and manage the physical, mental, and social well-being of our employees. At Fujifilm India, we are modifying our offerings to the current times while testing new content online to identify future sales and consumption patterns. We are evaluating trends and data daily and constantly seek and listen to customer feedback to ensure we’re providing the experience.

With digital as the one-stop medium and work from home becoming a reality in the new normal, we have been quick to adapt to this change. We have been conducting various online workshops and webinars through Fujifilm’s social media channels. In addition to this, we have conducted online unveiling of our new cameras, showcasing our commitment to stay aggressive in the Indian market. Further, with health becoming a priority in these unprecedented times, we have strengthened our responsibilities and focus in our healthcare business by conducting educational workshops for doctors and users of our medical solutions.

3. How are you personally dealing with the pandemic? Are there any new activities that you picked?

The health-crisis induced lockdown has increased the prevalence of working from home practice. With this practice becoming a reality, it becomes imperative to focus on managing time well while staying connected virtually. For me, efficient time-management while staying occupied has been a key differentiator and a learning experience, in the pandemic.

The lockdown and quarantine have given everyone the opportunity to explore their hidden talents in a social media dominant world, the skill of clicking pictures and expressing oneself through them is something everyone truly enjoys and is taking to in isolation. My entire life, I have always been a nature-enthusiast and passionate photographer. With extra time in hand, I have found new ways to respond to the pandemic; by indulging into self-portraits and capturing never seen before clear and clean landscapes on my very Fujifilm cameras.

Recently, during the quarantine, one of a kind revelation has been going back to my roots reading books on Japanese history. Another thing, which has filled me with joy is revisiting old albums and pictures, the nostalgia and the memories bring a sense of happiness that has been shared in the past.

4. What were some of the challenges that you faced once the Govt imposed the lockdown? How did you overcome these challenges?

The occurrence of COVID-19 has changed the face of many industries and led to a stressful time. Due to its growing impact, the government had imposed a lockdown in the country in March to help control the spread of the disease. Understanding the immediate action taken by the government, Fujifilm implemented Work from home policy and offered solutions to our employees for easy work experience.

With rising numbers of customers on the digital bandwagon, the key task at hand for us was to revisit our approach and make them more tech-savvy. With a top priority, we ensured the safety and wellbeing of our employees and communities. In order to motivate people to stay strong and hope this pandemic ends soon with the minimum possible harm. We introduced various online workshops for camera enthusiasts with Zack Arias, Daboo Ratnani and Valentina Vee. We even conducted interactive sessions like INSTAX Doodle Art Contest to help our customers utilize their time and give our business a chance to forge an instant connection with them.

At Fujifilm, we have always aimed at creating meaningful advancements. In the last few months, we have taken several measures to ensure safety both internally and externally. In line with our philosophy of ‘Value from Innovation and our ‘Never Stop’ attitude, we will continue to showcase our unwavering commitment and never stop building on our innovations and expertise.

5. With the ongoing pandemic situation in the country, how do you see the market evolving in terms of demand for products and services?

The Covid-19 has led to a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour. The way we work, shop and communicate with people have changed more than any other disruption; including technological ones in the recent past. While some of these changes are no doubt temporary, others will be permanent. Marketers across industries are trying to redesign their business models and the imaging solutions industry is no exception. Consumers are likely to opt for online shopping even after the outbreak ends, and this change will be seen in the imaging industry as well.

At Fujifilm, we are following a similar approach first by keeping the safety of our consumers. We have taken various steps like supplying essential commodity kits to protect mother and girl child and extending support to healthcare workers in Mumbai. Also, we are conducting various online workshops on endoscopy, breast cancer, etc. We recently announced the launch of the 2nd Edition of its User’s Case Book on ‘Early Detection is the Key to Control Breast Cancer’.

Building onto our customer experience, we virtually launched our flagship camera, the X-T4 in May 2020. Being the first ones in the industry to modify our product launch strategy keeping in mind our community-first approach, especially during these times. We believe that it is all about adapting your product offerings, marketing language, and availability according to the business environment.

6. How does technology change now in the imaging industry, post Covid-19?

Fujifilm has been always driven by simple yet profound goals. We want to create meaningful advancements that create a value-added impact on its customers and communities. With the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19 and the healthcare industry undergoing tremendous pressure. We are looking at redefining healthcare technologies with the amalgamation of AI, IoT and our best-in-class healthcare solutions. With the ‘new normal’ and the pandemic the world is grappling with, an undivided focus on healthcare has become imperative. In the coming year, we will bank on revolutionising our existing medical solutions with innovations and technologies; in order to create a much progressive diagnosis for patients.

To stay connected to our customers and partners, we have been conducting various online workshops through Fujifilm’s social media channels. We at Fujifilm have always believed in offering holistic customer experience. And during times like these, we have drastically modified our approach. Recently, we introduced firmware updates for the X-A7 and X-T200. These converts a camera into a webcam for online meetings. They connect the camera to the computer via USB for both PC and macOS computers.

We believe that these difficult times have given us an opportunity to evolve, upgrade and be resilient to change. The key aspect to remember is that we are not the only ones fronting the problem. Thereby we should “Never Stop” hoping for a better tomorrow.

7. In the wake of Coronavirus and various health & safety precautions that people are taking, what are some of the safety measures that are deployed at your various Contact Centers, to ensure contactless service delivery?

We encourage our consumers to stay safe and adopt social distancing guidelines. Hence, we have also started a service in providing one-to-one demo sessions. These provide prompt information to photography enthusiasts who are interested in buying products from the comfort of their homes. Consumers can simply visit the website and choose their comfortable slot. They have to submit their details and they will get a meeting link for a demo session from Fujifilm technical experts.

As far as sanitation is concerned, Fujifilm stores are conducting temperature checks for every customer. We have barred entry for those detected with fever and our stores are being regularly cleaned with disinfectant.

Fujifilm’s employees are at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19 and support the healthcare professionals. We have ensured that our employees adopt adequate measures while installing machines at the hospitals. Our team is adhering to the to safety norms by the government. These include social distancing and sanitization to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.

8. What are the company's future plans?

We are constantly striving towards bringing a change in the lives of the people with best-in-class innovation. We are modulating our road map for this year. Further, we will debut new products on identifying an appropriate window of opportunity. To navigate through these difficult times, we are working towards newer strategies for the future. For now, our key focus area is to keep all our employees, partners and community at large healthy and safe.

Following the overarching theme of ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’; we as a people’s brand will continue to keep innovating our ways. We will build for these altered consumer journeys in the coming time.

9. How important is health maintenance in the current day and age?

The global pandemic of Covid-19 has left a dramatic effect on every aspect of our lives. The virus and state-imposed lockdowns have brought changes that are not just short-term. They will change the world like never before. This is a key moment for leaders to step up and do what’s right to protect people, customers, and the company.

It is important for our community to be safe and healthy at home as well as at work. We are embracing a never seen before and lasting impact of Covid-19. So, it is important for all of us to stay positive and strong for each other. Together, let's build the future for the health and wellness of humanity.