We pursue DX through measures to optimize and automate every division and corporate department, aiming to establish a foundation to achieve the ideal stated in JX Advanced Metals Group Long-Term Vision 2040 of becoming a technology-based company. We leverage new technologies in each department of the Technology Group that supports these efforts and engage in company-wide measures to achieve this technological transformation.

1. *1SCM (Supply Chain Management): A management method to optimize all processes through the central control of everything from raw materials procurement to manufacturing and sales.
2. *2IPL (Intellectual Property Landscape): Utilizing IP information analysis for management.
3. *3ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): A concept that aims to improve and optimize overall management efficiency through the integrated management of human, physical, and financial resources.

Since 2017, we have pursued an IoT & AI 5+1-Year Plan. In fiscal 2023, we formed a new IoT & AI 6-Year Plan to advance DX across the Group. This plan includes the digital input of information and processes to date (digitization) and the digital conversion of information and processes (digitalization). In addition, the plan calls for optimizing the entire supply chain in light of changes in our businesses, strengthening our competitive foundation, creating value for customers, and addressing ESG issues such as decarbonization, etc.

By leveraging and deploying production technology across the group, we aim to optimize production processes and improve associated cash flow. To this end, we established the Production Technology Office in June 2023 and have begun initiatives to enhance productivity at our production sites. In April 2024, we integrated the data analysis and automation technologies previously managed by the IT Department with the simulation technologies overseen by the Advanced Technology & Strategy Department to establish a new Manufacturing DX Promotion Department. This will allow our Group to centrally consolidate the technical resources developed across various businesses, further enhancing resilience and efficiency in each. In addition, an office DX promotion function will be established within the IT Department to drive improvements in productivity for sales and administrative operations, as well as to enhance business processes through the use of generative AI.

Using simulation technology, AI, and ultrasonic sensing technology, etc., we are continuously working to verify the latest technologies and consider their applicability to our operations.

Case 1

Materials Informatics Using Materials Simulation

By integrating experimental data, AI, and material simulations, materials with desired properties can be efficiently identified without the need for repeated experiments, as was the case in the past.

Case 2

Demonstration Test for Predictive Detection of Equipment Anomalies Using Ultrasonic Sensing Technology

Using ultrasonic microphones and edge terminals, sounds outside the audible range are processed using AI technology to detect equipment abnormalities at an early stage, reducing their impact on equipment and quality and improving productivity.

To protect our critical information assets from increasingly sophisticated and advanced cyber threats, our group is upgrading the group network based on the concept of zero trust. By utilizing state-of-the-art cloud-based security services and implementing two-factor authentication and device authentication, we are uniformly raising the security level across the entire Group and responding to security measure requests from business partners who are part of our supply chain.

Beginning in fiscal 2019, we have been working to enhance our digital resources and strengthen their training. In data scientist education, we have expanded our training programs according to the level of each employee, such as beginner programs for young employees and intermediate programs for mid-career employees. We began literacy training for all employees in fiscal 2022 and launched workshops at operating sites in fiscal 2023. Starting in fiscal 2024, we will add elective DX training and expand mandatory e-learning for new hires.
We are also working to improve the level of our DX education by strengthening collaboration with educational institutions, such as conducting joint research with Tohoku University and dispatching employees to the Shiga University Graduate School of Data Science.