Yamaha Motor Group to Integrate and Strengthen IT Operational Functions in a Single Company Alpha Information Systems Co., Ltd. to change name to Yamaha Motor Solutions Corp.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that as of January 1, 2006, it will transfer the operations of its IT Division (Process & IT Division) to Alpha Information Systems Co., Ltd. (President: Yasuharu Terai), a group company involved in the development, operation, and maintenance of IT systems, and will change the name of Alpha Information Systems to Yamaha Motor Solutions Corp. The main purpose of this move is to refine the IT operational functions of the Yamaha Motor Group.
At the same time, the IT Division of YEC Co., Ltd. (President: Takashi Kanamori), also a group company, will be integrated with the new Yamaha Motor Solutions. The budget plan for the first fiscal year at Yamaha Motor Solutions (fiscal year 2006) calls for net sales of six billion yen.

As part of the basic strategies of the medium-term 3-year management plan “Next 50 – Phase II,” which was implemented this year, Yamaha Motor is promoting activities under the banner of “SMART Innovations,” aimed at refining the functions of the corporate divisions (indirect management divisions), and at increasing the productivity of the Yamaha Group’s staff and organizations. The upcoming transfer and integration of the Group’s IT functions represent just one stage of these innovations.
In the past, the Head Office IT Division of the Yamaha Motor Group carried out tasks on many levels, from information system strategies and planning to system implementation and project operation, while the IT Divisions of the group companies Alpha Information Systems and YEC were responsible for actual system construction and other projects, as well as operational support.
Recently, however, with the globalization and diversification of Yamaha Motor’s business activities, it has become increasingly important to ensure that these information systems incorporate global IT governance structures, and operate with a high degree of reliability. At the same time, development projects must be undertaken with a highly competitive approach, for example in terms of speed and efficiency in global operation structures.

With the upcoming reorganization, the Yamaha Motor Head Office will focus on global IT strategies and planning, while Yamaha Motor Solutions will carry out the more hands-on functions of development and operation of the Group’s IT systems. This division of labor will also enable outsourcing, development, and operational functions – which in the past had been managed separately by the Head Office and the various Group companies – to be integrated into a single company. This in turn will facilitate the optimum placement of key IT staff, as well as one-stop services* based on a global network.

As a result of this reorganization, YEC will become specialized in development and engineering operations related mainly to Yamaha motorcycles, and in the development and sales of products based on vehicle and electrical equipment control technologies.