Essay from Expatriate at KMEX

Essay
Essay from Expatriate at KMEXKAWAI Hiroshi

1. Introduction
I was assigned to work for KYB Mexico S.A. de C.V.
(hereinafter "KMEXDF") from May 2015 to April 2022.
KMEXDF is a sales center of commercially available SA(shock absorbers) for the Mexican market as well as forall other Latin American countries (except Brazil).
I have long been involved with Mexico personally aswell. My involvement with the country began withtravelling as a backpacker in my schooldays, followed byanother experience as an expatriate there. Theseexperiences are linked to this assignment at KMEXDF,
further leading to my current position. You never know
where you have a chance or a turning point in your life.
Through my residence in Mexico for seven years, mysoul and body have been completely Mexicanized. I hadvery valuable experiences in my public and private life,
some of which will be introduced in the following:

one of the attractions of the country to be able to experiencesuch a variety of food and culture in this city.
Mexican people are generous, kind, and cheerful. With
the amigo spirit, they are very friendly and welcoming offoreigners.
I have talked only about the good things about living inMexico so far, but I have to point out the issues of traffic
jams and security which gave me such a hard time.
A major cause for concern was traffic jams (Photo 1).
The public transport in Mexico is where many incidentsof pickpocketing or robbery may occur. During my stay inthe city, I basically moved by car. It was a 15-minute walkfrom my home to the office, but in the mornings andevenings it often took nearly one hour to drive there.

2. Living in Mexico
Mexico (United Mexican States) is a huge country ofunited states located between North America and Latin
America. The country has a population of 130 million(almost equivalent to that of Japan) and a total area of 1.96
million square kilometers (five times that of Japan).
Mexico City, where I stayed as an expatriate, is locatedalmost at the center of the country and has a population of
about 21.58 million (1.5 times that of Tokyo) and an areaof 1,479 square kilometers (in contrast only around 70%of that of Tokyo). These figures can easily make you
imagine that Mexico City is a densely populated,commercially important place.
Mexico City is located on a highland at an altitude ofabout 2,300 meters. In contrast to the typical image that
Mexico is a very hot country, Mexico City has a
comfortable climate with an annual mean temperature of25°C and low humidity which makes life easy, similar tothe spring or autumn seasons in Japan.
Mexico has the geographical advantage of linking
North America with Latin America and has a very
youthful workforce with an average age of 29. From thesereasons, many foreign-owned companies, including
Japanese ones, have branched out into Mexico, along with
their own cuisine and culture from all over the world. It isPhoto 1

Traffic jam during rush hour

As pointed out by a previous expatriate, it is very easy
to obtain a driver's license in Mexico because there is no
examination system. The traffic is always exceeding thecapacity of the roads. Jams occurring somewhere in thecity will cause gridlock in the entire city partly because
there are numerous complex roads and many one-way
traffic streets.
The maintenance of vehicles depends on their owners,
although they have to pass the national inspection more orless. On the road, you can always find faulty cars stuckwith their hood open as often seen in a movie. This is oneof the major causes of traffic jams.
Naturally, roadways cannot bear such heavy traffic,
resulting in road surfaces with potholes and deteriorated
pavement here and there. This convinced me that thecountry had a high demand for shock absorber replacement.

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I carried out marketing activity while directly experiencing
this situation.
Security is another issue as you know. I had a hard time
initially during my residence there. Until you are familiar
with the local circumstances to some extent, you need todeliberately search for safe places and safe time frames
before being able to go out freely.

2), which is located 400 kilometers northwest ofKMEXDF. I had valuable experiences there including
warehouse arrangement, consideration for physicaldistribution, and completion of initial inventory. It isneedless to say that these experiences drove mymotivation for working in Marketing for the Latin
American market later.

3. Working in Mexico
I was in charge of purchasing for the initial three yearsof my assignment. KMEX sells inventory to the Mexican
market and deals with a commercial flow called drop
shipment (trilateral distribution in which products are
directly delivered from plants to customers and billing is
made by KMEX) for the Latin American market.
While "purchasing" may sound rather easy, ourpurchasing operation actually covered a wide range ofjobs. I was engaged in a variety of jobs, from placing
orders for commercially available SA, following-up thedelivery date with suppliers, ensuring proper inventory
management, and taking measures for improved orderfulfillment, to developing new markets. I initially faced anuphill battle in accomplishing these jobs for which I had
little prior experience.
I had to estimate demand and determine the amount oforders while striking a balance between inventories andorder fulfilment. To accomplish this job, it is indispensable
to monitor the target markets by collecting informationfrom customers and internal sales personnel and to acquire
information from and work together with plants and otherdepartments.
In fact, many delays in delivery occurred, not only due
to poor demand estimation and other internal factors
attributable to KYB, but also due to the global situationand various other external factors specific to the country.
These included demonstrations by longshoremen's unions
and other labor unions as well as robbery and burglary. Aspurchasing manager, I was often called upon by andreceived complaints from customers about inventory
runout.
Still, in the course of such complaints and advice given
by customers, I was able to listen to voices in the markets
and seriously respond to customer demands. It was a great
achievement for me to have learned a lot of things andbuilt trustworthy relationships with them.
Besides this, there were various events and topics that
affected me during my stay in Mexico. They included theU.S. government's immigration and trade policies toMexico launched upon inauguration of the new U.S.
President in 2016, a big drop in Mexican peso, andCOVID-19 issues. Still, Mexico endured the COVID-19
pandemic without suspending activities of its majorindustries, which allowed KYB to steadily drive sales
promotion.
During the assignment, I also took part in an SA
production start-up project in KMEX Silao Plant (PhotoPhoto 2

KMEX Silao Plant

After that, I also served as Latin America Sales Manager
between 2018 and 2022. During that period I traveled
across 15 countries in the Central and South American
continent, trying to sell our products to local markets. InCentral and South America, people speak Spanish in all
the countries including Argentina in the south except forBrazil (and some English-speaking Caribbean countries).
People of various origins including Spain, Africa, andindigenous have different business practices and national
characteristics. I discussed business with local customers
while learning Spanish to gain a lot of experience,
although I actually had difficulty in negotiating with those
diverse people.
A big challenge during marketing was to protect (andexpand) the KYB share in the market from inexpensive
Chinese products that were quickly extending their reach.
Prioritizing commercially available products, I took
various actions.
In fact, inexpensive products were flooding most of theLatin American markets to drive down the market price.
At the time, our sales promotion had already reached aplateau several years earlier. To overcome the situation,
we put made-in-Mexico products in the market atcompetitive prices under the slogan of "local production
for local consumption". We also focused on sales
promotion of the K'lassic brand (low-priced products forolder-model cars).
One thing that was very difficult was that most markets
in Central and South America preferred made-in-Japan,
although it depends on the degree of price difference.
They had prejudice or even "allergy" against products
made in other countries, which posed barriers to sales
promotion of made-in-Mexico products.
As an incentive to overcome the barriers, we invited 14
customers from 10 countries to KMEX Plant for a plant
tour (Photo 3). We tried to make them understand that themade-in-Mexico products have the same quality as the― 37 ―

Essay from Expatriate at KMEX

made-in-Japan counterparts as both are produced in an
identical total manufacturing system including production
processes, materials used, and quality assurance. We also
continued our sales promotion campaign. However, I wasimpatient when these efforts hardly bore any fruit initially.

Photo 34. Mexican Food and Liquor
As I said earlier, a full lineup of food from all over theworld is available in Mexico City though not at reasonable
prices. I seldom had a hard time to find a good place to eat.
Mexican cuisine, which is registered in the UNESCO
Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage, provides a wide
choice of options and is very delicious even to theJapanese.
The staple food in Mexico is basically corn. Tacos(Photo 6) are a typical Mexican food consisting of a cornor wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling of meat, fish,vegetables, and salsa (sauce). Each region in the country
has its own way of enjoying tacos. Anyway it is common
practice for the Mexicans to finish off a night of drinking
with a taco just like Japanese do with ramen.

KMEX Silao Plant tour (Peruvian customers)

We also held an event called KYB Safety Day for whichan F1 circuit course in Mexico was rented out to invite
customers from 13 countries for testing of various vehicles
for comparison. We patiently continued trying to makecustomers directly feel and understand the KYB quality(Photo 4).
Unexpectedly, the customer demand during fiscal 2021
sharply rose in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic,
resulting in inventory runout at manufacturers andconfused physical distribution. Customers tended topurchase as much as available of any products regardlessof their origin. We eventually got the sales of made-inMexico products on track.
Sales of the low-priced K'lassic series were launched in2015. Initially, customers hesitated about introducing
them due to their rather streamlined specifications orappearance. We enhanced the product line up mainly for
low-priced models and gradually expanded the marketingarea through sales promotion activities. In fiscal 2021, weeventually expanded the marketing area to the total
KMEX territory.

Photo 5

Taco restaurant

Photo 6

Photo 4KYB Safety Day

Tacos

Mexican liquors are also abundant in type. Corona beer
is very famous in Japan too. Besides that, you can enjoy avariety of tasty beer from light ones to robust craft beer.
When you think of Mexico, the first thing that comes tomind may be tequila. Various types of tequila are sold by
various brands. There are different classes of tequila from"blanco" (white), and "reposado" to "añejo" (ultra-aged)
according to the maturation time, as in "junmai" (purerice), "ginjo" (special brew) and "daiginjo" (very specialbrew) of Japanese sake. It is interesting to try different
classes of tequila for comparison.
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Tequila originated in the colonial age in the 16thcentury. Tequila was born when a Spanish colonist tried
to make an alcoholic beverage using a local plant namedagave. The village of Tequila exists in the State of Jalisco
in Mexico. Only product produced around the village ofTequila can be called tequila.

Photo 7year. The country is abundant in sightseeing spots frompyramids still reflecting the once prosperous ancient Maya
and Aztec civilizations (Photo 9), Cancun, which is aworld-famous beach facing the beautiful turquoise blue
ocean in the Caribbean Gulf (Photo 10), to Acapulco andLos Cabos on the Pacific coast. All these places are notto-be-missed spots for tourists travelling in Mexico.

Tequila and mescal

Another alcoholic beverage that is a little more special
is mescal. This liquor is produced from the same
ingredients as those of tequila but uses more types ofingredient and more production processes. Bulbs of agave(Photo 8) are buried under the ground and steamed forlong hours to give a smoky flavor, which is similar to thatof very peaty Scotch whisky.
The production processes of both tequila and mescal
have been traditionally passed down over several hundredsof years. You can spend precious time recalling the history
and tradition cultivated in each distiller.

Photo 9Pyramid of the Moon viewed from the top of
Pyramid of the Sun

To visit these tourist spots from Mexico City which islocated inland, you have to take a flight. Still, any of thesespots are easily accessible with just a two hour or sodomestic flight. I often travelled to Cancun and fully
enjoyed fishing and marine sports there.

Photo 10 Cancun

Photo 8

Agave - Raw material of tequila and mescal

5. World Heritage and Sightseeing in MexicoOne of the joys for expatriates is travelling in thecountry and its adjacent areas. In Mexico, the tourism
industry is the third biggest source of foreign earnings. It'sno exaggeration to say that tourism is an engine for theMexican economy.
That is why the Mexican government continued
accepting foreign tourists through borders kept open
without tightening immigration control even during theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Moreover, Mexico is positioned as an entry gate toLatin America and is teeming with tourists throughout theAnother popular tourist amusement in Mexico is winerytours (Photo 11). Wine making is carried out in 14 statesof Mexico. The largest producers are wineries inGuadalupe located in Baja California Peninsula. Thesewineries collectively produce 17 million bottles of wine
every year, which is 60% of the domestic production.
Speaking of wine in the American continent, Chile andArgentina are famous producers. In fact, Mexico has thelongest history of wine making throughout the continent.
The country has continued wine making for over 400years since the technique was introduced from Spain inthe 16th century.
Mexico is warm and dry in climate with a substantial
difference in temperature between day and night. This
climate is the best for grapes to grow. Consequently, the― 39 ―

Essay from Expatriate at KMEX

country produces many varieties of wine including
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz. So, a variety oftasty, high-cost performance wines are available in thecountry.

Baja California Peninsula, which is located south ofCalifornia State in the U.S., is a very popular tourist place
along with Cancun.
In this slender peninsula, sandwiched between thePacific Ocean to the west and the Gulf of California to theeast, cultivation of tuna and other marine products isactively conducted. You can eat fatty tuna, fresh sea
urchin, abalone, and other premium marine products withgreat relish.

6. In Closing
I finished my seven-year assignment in Mexico thanks
to warm-hearted support from my supervisors, otherexpatriates, local staff, and my family. I would like to takethis opportunity to express my appreciation and say thanks
to all these people. I believe that my experience andpersonal contacts accumulated during the assignment will
give me much sustenance and confidence to carry out myfuture work. I greatly appreciate that I was given thisvaluable opportunity.
Photo 11WineryGuadalupe has a famous wine road where a number ofwineries stand side by side. Tourists can visit thesewineries to join a winery tour to taste wine and learn theirwine making processes.
In addition, there are a lot of restaurants that serve
dishes of locally-produced cheese and local specialties.
You can join a tour to visit three or more such restaurants,spending a happy holiday.

Compañeros, gracias a sus amables apoyos que me hanbrindados durante 7 años, pude cumplir el reto que tenia
en Mexico exitosamente.
Era mi gran orgullo por haber trabajado con ustedes yesta experiencia sera mi gran confianza para seguir
trabajar en KYB ahora en adelante.
Muchas gracias!
Saludos,Author 
KAWAI Hiroshi
Joined the company in 2013.
Commercial Product Sales Sect.
No.1, Global Marketing Promotion
Dept., Marketing Div.
Took present post after working in
Product Planning Sect. ofCommercial Product Headquarters,
working in Commercial Product
Sales Div., and as expatriate at KYB
Mexico DF branch.

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