Service

The initial role of the service was to work in conjunction with the traveling service of Toyota Motor Sales to repair defects directly at car dealerships nationwide. This service was welcomed everywhere it went and in addition to helping eliminate customer dissatisfaction, it also helped gain customer confidence in Nippondenso products. These activities led to the formation of the basic philosophy for service that, "it is only when service is added to a product that the commodity value of being able to use a product with peace of mind is created."

The company started establishing a network of designated SS as part of the DENSO after-sales service network, and this was the start for an after-sales service system consisting of 24 service dealers. By the time of the first general meeting of the service dealers in 1955, the number had expanded to 41 dealers. In the same year, the company also began providing training courses and publishing technical materials for the service dealers, thereby developing functions to strengthen the service network.

The first SS training course was held in 1955 for the purpose of car heater servicing. The company also began service technology education and document issues to strengthen the service network, such as with the issuing of the "DENSO Technique."

Nippondenso developed and produced test benches for electrical equipment and fuel injection pumps and put them on sale. It also began to develop and provide testers, which are a specialized tool necessary for repairs at SS, so the basic functions that support the service activities of today had been largely put in place.

The development of an overseas service network began in around 1976 with the establishment of a car-cooler service network in Southeast Asia. Later, the company was requested to set up a service network when it delivered injection pumps to the U.S. company John Deere, so a service network was also developed in earnest in the U.S. from 1977 onward. The next step was the establishment of an injection pump service network in Canada, and later, as the trend toward diesel use continued, an injection pump service network was set up worldwide.

A representative product for car electronics is the electronically controlled fuel injection equipment (EFI: Electric Fuel Injection) that was introduced in 1971. This was a time when the introduction of the world's most stringent emission regulations was accelerating the use of electronics, particularly for engine control.

In response to the increased use of car electronics, Nippondenso promoted measures to strengthen the technical capabilities of the service dealers, such as by starting car electronics education at the service training center. Furthermore, in 1978, a system to authorize stores to perform electronic fuel injection service was introduced and a system of service personnel qualification was established to improve the technical level of the service dealers.

Further technological innovation led to multilayered substrates and more integrated and compact integrated circuits (ICs). In order to respond to this, DENSO strengthened its electronics repair system by introducing sophisticated inspection benches and by opening two centralized repair centers for electronic system products (MARU-ESC). These centers in Yamagata and Nagoya were provided with high-precision repair technology.

The establishment of the MARU-E service dealer repair system also led to a great change from the structure of the service network up to that point. In the previous policy, all DENSO service dealers were expected to carry out the same functions individually and uniformly. However, with the MARU-E service dealer repair system, the new way of thinking introduced was that other service dealers could utilize the 64 MARU-E service dealers nationwide, so that this would make it possible to demonstrate a constant level of service as a service network. This way of thinking was later also adopted for various products. In particular, for the repair of products manufactured in small amounts and those requiring large investments, the company created a system of cooperation between the centralized repair centers, assorted goods center stores and other service dealers.

The company began building the foundations for a global service system and this meeting was attended by the people responsible for service at major bases around the world. Through these discussions, the world was divided into four regions (North America, Europe, Asia-Oceania, and China), and the system formulated included regional management that could cooperate globally (headquarters - core bases - sales/bases responsible for markets). There were also rules established for the consignment of work between bases and rules established for service system planning. Later, in 2002, the "Global Service Outline" was published to share the thinking, role and activity details of the global service system widely with all concerned parties, including the service staff in Japan and overseas.

A new car maintenance network called "PIT&GO" was developed in the Asian market under the instruction of DENSO. This was the development of stores that went beyond the conventional framework of just repairing items such as air conditioners and injection pumps. The aim was to perform vehicle maintenance that would solve the problems for cars overall and contribute to sales expansion. Based on the experience in Asia, DENSO is also now expanding this into the African market.