Four Companies Form Partnership to Jointly Drive KOBELCO Group’s DX Strategies

In February, 2022, Kobe Steel, Ltd. (President and CEO Mitsugu Yamaguchi), IBM Japan, Ltd. (General Manager Akio Yamaguchi), and Kyndryl Japan KK (President Takashi Uesaka) renewed the agreement for outsourcing the IT operations of the Kobe Steel Group (also known as the KOBELCO Group) until 2027.

In addition, the three parties and Kobelco Systems Corporation (President Fumihiro Segawa), a company jointly owned by Kobe Steel and IBM Japan, have agreed to form a new partnership to jointly drive the KOBELCO Group’s digital transformation (DX) strategies.

In 2001, Kobe Steel and IBM Japan started strategic outsourcing to reinforce Kobe Steel’s IT operations and reduce costs. Since then, the two companies have been renewing the agreement for 20 years and building a strong partnership.

Through the new partnership, the four parties will join forces to drive the KOBELCO Group’s DX for its operational reform and business development, as well as to ensure the long-term stability in the Group’s IT operations and continued optimization of costs, maintain advanced IT systems, and promote the development of human resources and technology exchanges for continued cooperation.

In fiscal 2021, the KOBELCO Group formulated a 3-year Medium-Term Management Plan, placing top priority on establishing a stable earnings base and taking on the challenge of realizing carbon neutrality. While reinforcing its business foundation to achieve these goals, the Group has set a basic policy for its DX strategies aimed at becoming a provider of products and solutions that help solve social issues together with customers, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Under the DX strategies, the Group will work on innovative productivity improvement through overarching digitalization (by means such as RPA, IoT, and AI) and new value creation utilizing its unique and distinctive assets that have been developed through the operations of a wide-ranging businesses.

Going forward, the four parties will promote the innovation of information systems and the sophistication of operational management, while building and operating high-quality systems with safety and security ensured and optimizing IT costs. The partnership will move forward with the KOBELCO Group’s DX strategies with the aim of bringing added value to customers.