Visions - Summer 2019 - 11

SCOA EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

How has Sumitomo Corporation of Americas stayed a step ahead of
change in the defense programs business?
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas has the capability to invest, to
acquire, and to bring our expertise of working with the Japanese
government, as well as the U.S. government, into a defense arena.
With all those things said, we always have to figure out just what
the customer is going to need next. As an example, over the last 10
years, Japan has been acquiring significant defense assets - platforms, aircraft, assault amphibious vehicles, and so on and so forth,
so they need to sustain those assets for the next twenty to thirty
years.

SILAS REED

Senior Director,
Defense Programs Unit,
Sumitomo Corporation
of Americas

Based on their procurement methodology, which is limited to a very
small budget, holding inventory is a problem for them. When they are
supporting maintenance, repair and overhaul of this vast amount of
purchased assets, they don't necessarily have the capacity to purchase things in advance, so what can Sumitomo do to assist them? And
maybe not just the government of Japan, but also other nations? What
can Sumitomo do to assist them in being able to sustain these necessary defense assets? We have the capacity to stand up maintenance,
repair and overhaul environments. We have the financial capability
to invest in purchasing items, and sparing them to Japan and other
nations to be sure that they don't face obsolescence problems where
these assets wind up being out of operation.
How does SCOA add new value while contributing broadly to society?
We do that by helping our customers be prepared for natural disasters, and in civilian needs associated with either Japan or even
other nations. Again, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas can add value
to that equation by lining up opportunities for either government
agencies or even industry agencies so as not to have to invest their
own capital by sustaining assets or extending the life of assets.
When we are investing in the environment, we can assist. Defense
budgets are set, and the other needs will take a backseat to defense
requirements. Foremost, you have to protect the country, so that you
can protect the people. But we can invest in the arenas that assist
governments or civilian agencies that need assets to protect the
people, and we can fill that void where budgets may be limited.
How does that bring value? Just look at any country that has had a
natural disaster and doesn't have the assets to support it. When the
U.S. assisted Japan and they saw that the Global Hawk had the necessary capability to collect visual evidence of their 2011 disaster
aftermath, they saw what they needed right in front of them.
Why are longstanding relationships particularly important in
the defense industry?
It's part of the landscape of the defense arena. Everybody thinks
that when you look at how much money goes into defense, you would
think there is this real vast array of companies, and so on. However, when you look at who the major players are, there are probably
less than ten major defense contractors that really make a difference
in the defense arena. Then you have second and third-tier companies
that all contribute to those major ten players. It takes a lot of
hard work and energy to build a relationship with a major defense
conglomerate. It's not easy to penetrate that market and establish
those types of relationships with contractors, so it has taken years
for us to build trust with our core partners, which allows them to
expand on our relationship.
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Visions - Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Visions - Summer 2019