Global E-Commerce Platform Development & Expansion Support

Introduction

Developing platforms and advancing digital marketing initiatives for global markets present significant challenges for companies, requiring coordination across numerous stakeholders, languages, and cultural contexts.
In this interview, we speak with Mr. Junji Murakami of the Global Marketing Division at Panasonic Corporation to explore how complex global projects are successfully driven forward, and how our company, serving as a Project Management Office (PMO), provides hands-on, partnership-based support to navigate these challenges.

Interview

Speaker:
Junji Murakami, Global Marketing Division, Panasonic Corporation

Interviewers:
Kenta Goto, Copenh.DC Inc. (now NUJP Inc.)
Kotaro Matsumoto, Copenh.DC Inc. (now NUJP Inc.)

Matsumoto: Could you briefly describe your responsibilities?

Mr. Murakami: Within Panasonic’s Home Appliances Division, responsibility includes the development of digital marketing platforms for global markets outside Japan. The platform spans more than 50 countries and over 35 languages. Including both the Panasonic and Technics brands, it supports over 100 websites, delivering a consistent and high-quality service experience worldwide.

Matsumoto: Could you elaborate on the importance of digital marketing and platforms?

Mr. Murakami: Beyond the traditional retail-driven model of mass product distribution through large retailers, there is now a strong need to transform into a model that maintains continuous engagement with customers through digital touchpoints.

Recently, we have seen products focused on specific features or distinctive design gaining market share through direct-to-consumer digital channels, rather than relying solely on multifunctional, high-value-added offerings. This shift has further elevated the importance of owning and strengthening our digital platforms.

We are working to establish standardized frameworks that ensure consistent, high-quality customer experiences across all markets.

Matsumoto: What challenges did you face before introducing our PMO services?

Mr. Murakami: Our projects involve numerous stakeholders, including headquarters, local sales companies, and local IT development firms. Each country project typically includes more than 30 stakeholders, with additional complexities arising from language and time zone differences.
As a result, significant time and effort were required for internal alignment and consensus-building. Many initiatives were also first-time projects for our headquarters division, meaning there were areas where experience was limited.

Matsumoto: What impact did you experience after introducing the PMO service?

Mr. Murakami: The greatest value was in facilitating smooth coordination and consensus-building among stakeholders.
The Copenh.DC (now NUJP) team demonstrated strong capabilities in research, coordination, bilingual (Japanese–English) documentation, and hands-on partnership. Their support ensured that projects progressed smoothly.

Goto: Which strengths were particularly impactful?

Mr. Murakami: Four areas were especially valuable:

Hands-on Partnership (Accompanying Capability) Team members with experience in operating companies worked alongside us with empathy and understanding. Rather than imposing theory, they provided practical and highly effective support grounded in real business execution.

Coordination Capability They demonstrated a high-resolution understanding of each stakeholder’s position and perspective, enabling smooth communication and effective consensus-building.

Documentation Capability They delivered globally deployable, easy-to-understand materials aligned with our internal formats, in both Japanese and English.

Research Capability They quickly and accurately provided comparisons of external services and other necessary information.

Goto: How did our approach differ from other consulting firms?

Mr. Murakami: The level of hands-on engagement and empathy was fundamentally different.
Rather than focusing solely on frameworks or methodologies, the team leveraged real business experience to provide grounded, execution-oriented support. Their extensive experience in global business also enabled effective guidance across linguistic and cultural boundaries — a decisive differentiator.

Goto: How was communication with our consultants?

Mr. Murakami: Communication was always approachable and constructive. Discussions were practical and rooted in experience, rather than abstract theory.
They carefully understood our needs and circumstances and consistently provided concrete insights and direction.

Summary

In this multi-country, multi-language global initiative, the client faced significant challenges in stakeholder alignment and cross-border communication.

By serving as PMO, we provided partnership-based support that streamlined project execution. Leveraging deep operating experience, NUJP delivered empathetic, execution-focused assistance, enabled smooth stakeholder consensus-building, produced clear bilingual documentation, and provided timely, high-quality research.

We sincerely wish Panasonic Corporation continued success in its global growth journey.