The in-house company system Toshiba launched in April 1999 reorganized business units and gave them the managerial autonomy and resources required to promote optimized business strategies, including M&A. The new reorganization recognizes subsequent changes in the business environment and engineers a strategic restructuring of three key in-house companies into five other companies, three of them new. The progress of each company will be benchmarked against another industry leader, in order to assure competitive organizations that cultivate best practices.

In a related move, Toshiba will streamline its corporate decision making by ending the activities of the strategic staff meeting, which has supported and followed-up on decisions by the corporate management meeting. Decision making in such areas as establishing subsidiaries will be devolved to the in-house companies, as a means to extend management autonomy and time-effective decisions. Through these measures, Toshiba aims to cultivate enhanced flexibility in the in-house company management and to accelerate decision-making speed.

The outline of the reorganization is as below.

1. Strategic reorganization of IT businesses

   A new in-house company, 'e-Solution Company,' integrates four IT-related business units: the e-NET Business Division from the Information and Industrial Systems & Services Company; the Computer & Network Platform Division from the Digital Media Network Company; the Media & Content Division of the iValue Creation Company; and the digital broadcasting business of Broadcasting Business Development Project Team. Bringing the IT business units together in the new company reinforce an independent, agile organization in three areas: system integrations, including networks; services, including platform maintenance; and digital broadcasting, including media content, broadcasting equipment and e-platform.

2. Structural reform for enhancing mobile business

   The 'Mobile Communications Company,' another new in-house company, concentrates resources devoted to the rapidly growing mobile equipment business, including next-generation mobile phones and PDA. The new company is centered on the Mobile Communications & Computing Division, previously part of the Digital Media Network Company. A simple management structure promotes management speed and flexibility, which is reinforced by access to the management resources required for the highly competitive mobile business.

3. Others

   The 'Social Infrastructure Systems Company' takes over the instrumentation and control systems businesses of the Information and Industrial Systems & Services Company.

In-house Company Organization