ABSTRACT
Film and Rank Xerox, was established to sell photocopiers and related products and services to the Japanese market, as well as to some Asian countries. While initially rebuffed by the Japanese government, Fuji Xerox eventually emerged from a local organization into a global partner for Xerox, despite some resistance from Japanese firms such as Canon and Ricoh. Its strategy included a number of initiatives, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and new product development for small photocopiers that solidified the market position of this joint venture against the likes of Canon. As of 2001, the joint venture has been a global partner of Xerox and has been involved in R&D and the manufacturing of products and services throughout Asia. On one occasion, the alliance aided Xerox when Japanese competitors chipped away at Xerox’s copier empire in Japan. With the assistance of Fuji Xerox’s design, manufacturing capacity, and management ideas, Xerox was able to overcome the onslaught of low-end copiers from Canon, Ricoh, and Minolta, and a high-end attack from Kodak and IBM. What made Fuji Xerox so successful? Management professor and analyst Ben Gomes-Casseres attributes such stability to good management, proper levels of specialization, a long-term focus, learning, and partner flexibility.1
