With its advanced scalable solutions, PositiveONE is proud to be part of the success of IoT & AI Global Brand ODM
Original Design Maker (ODM) is a company that designs and manufactures products. Nestled among them, PositiveONE is a unique company that can perform and participate in any development phase from specification definition, design implementation and prototype testing from both hardware and software manufacturing.
The company has various aspects, from requirement definition to design, development, test, and operation. The company also takes a strong initiative in the customer’s new product and new service, and allows you to draw a fitting schedule and budget within your project.
The hardest thing about customer product development and a new service is creating specifications. In other words, different business models will change the product specifications. PositiveONE strives to be the customer’s wall and pursue specifications and technical realization.
ODM’s developmental services add significant value to the resellers too. The company will be involved in new customer projects early on, providing POC (PRODUCT OF CONCEPT) design consulting and prototype development. Therefore, the company receives the schedule and budget early. In order to reduce the time, general-purpose products may be used. They are a global value reseller of semiconductor-related technology products and have collaborations with more than 100 leading companies around the world.
For general companies, when the purpose changes, the business model changes, so the business scope also changes. PositiveONE has a wide range of knowledge and a wide network that contributes to flexibility and problem-solving. Solving many tasks and challenges in one place is important in launching new products and services for customers. There are not many companies that can provide a single point of consulting, development, manufacturing, and reliability testing. The company is also recommended by many semiconductor manufacturers and friends alike because it specializes in semiconductor-related trading too. The company cooperates with device vendors, OS vendors, and other middleware vendors on designing, developing, and manufacturing specifications for smartphones, TVs, automobiles, OA equipment, home appliances and medical equipment.
Interestingly, certain firms are working endlessly to pilot innovation, and PositiveONE is a relevant firm that is focused on delivering IoT cutting-edge solutions for wired and wireless technologies. The company has been working on a number of cutting-edge technologies for a variety of multifunctional products, including industrial equipment. With the global shift of the IoT (Internet of Things) era, in which all devices are connected to the Internet, The company will create new value with mobile solutions centered on 5G and 6G, leveraging the specifications of creation, development, and manufacturing know-how that it has accumulated over the years. PositiveONE is shifting to the method of providing services by fusing networks and is also supporting customers by building a development scheme that ensures quality and reliability while streamlining the development and testing process of increasingly complex software.
PositiveONE was founded in 2004, and it is based in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
In conversation with Shoichi Kudo, Founder and CEO of PositiveONE
‘How do you understand the market needs for creating reality-based solutions?’
‘Semiconductor companies play a major role in the development of new technology products. The life cycle of many products incorporating semiconductor devices is often very short. Therefore, there is a constant need to adapt to the pace of rapid market changes. It requires a high degree of flexibility and innovation. At the same time, the constant price-performance improvement rate in the semiconductor industry is amazing. Semiconductor behavior has a new market. PositiveONE can understand the current and future trends of the world’s semiconductor industry. However, manufacturers are not looking for market trends. We would like to develop products that match services and use cases to quickly introduce products to the market. New technology confidence raises various issues in testing, development, quality, and manufacturing. In order to prevent this problem from occurring, we will carefully perform prototype manufacturing and hardware design. The cause of failure is often a problem in the design of potential hardware. We will supplement it later with software, but the point where stability and reliability are required is often at the foundation. Experience has shown that power-supply design problems dominate most defects. We are focusing on phases such as substrate development, manufacturing, and reliability testing that match current trends. Companies with significant driving forces and technologies across the electronics value chain see value-added.’
‘There are other major players in this segment. How does your service stand out compared to other services?’
‘A huge e-shopping mall sells semiconductor parts and semiconductor-related products such as Digi-Key, Mouser, and Arrow. They are strengthening the trading company function while increasing the added value of manufacturing. Customers choose PositiveONE, not Digi-Key, Mouser, Arrow because it is recognized as an expert company that can consult, develop, and manufacture by abstracting all the necessary things. Because it makes specifications and researches and tests, whilst forecasting for niche and highly difficult technologies, it is useful as a company that reaches the itch. The more fundamental needs are that there are proposals that suit all business models, use cases, and budgets’.
‘Please tell us about your trajectory for the next five years.’
‘The strength of my company is its ability to research and make proposals with the presence of a technical background. We can find evolving technologies, potential problems and solutions. For example, when we sell and develop the same as our competitors, our customers make choices, they seek peace of mind and speed found in our problem-solving. PositiveONE contributes to customers’ competitive advantage by focusing on the early introduction of new products and technologies and helping to shorten their time to market. We will take advantage of the networks we have accumulated to expand the manufacturing ecosystem. There are many examples of manufacturing at PositiveONE, but we will behave more aggressively. The patent acquired by PositiveONE will revolutionize 5G and 6G mobile services from the next-generation IoT and edge computing platforms. Security, data collection, analytics, connectivity, and hardware integration are of particular concern to the IoT. I think that the IoT platform will be integrated into the service and incorporated into the subscription. Monozukuri companies will enter the age of being incorporated into these services. The new era of service companies will have an R & D section where they can carry out all developments. R & D needs to be in the middle of service and manufacturing as it requires a lot of experience and flexibility to become one of those departments. It is to build a SaaS service that includes reference circuits and processing programs developed by experts. From concept making to continuous KAIZEN after release, we continue to create value through “development + customer success.’
Meet the leader behind the success of PositiveONE
Shoichi Kudo is the Founder and CEO of PostiveONE. He believes that taking on challenges in the world can help him grow. He has always wanted to work with his colleagues to grow and contribute to the development of the world. Now he has created a corporate culture where employees can respect each other’s skills and utilize their abilities.
He has experience of both a martial arts and educational background, learning Japanese traditional martial arts from an early age. He has studied Karate, Japanese bow, kendo, judo, aikido, iaido, and old Japanese martial arts, and is qualified for multiple black belts. Currently, He is “Kancho” of YOSHIN-KAN (Karate-do 7th Dan/Grand Master), Karate and kickboxing school. Furthermore, he is licensed to teach at junior high and high schools approved by the Japanese government’s ministry of education.
Kudo entered the embedded industry as a place to increase his potential in the new world. After World War II, Japan has been referred to as ‘new technology’ taking over from the USA companies like Motorola and Intel. The embedded industry developed and sold Japanese original processors and Japanese original OS (uiTRON) in many electronics companies. He had a chance to develop business for the system integration of Hitachi’s processor (e.g. SH1/2/3/4) during the growth period of the industry. Kudo then joined global leading companies such as; WindRiver, QNX, and ENEA. By doing this he has achieved expertise in hardware and software production and system integration.
Recently investors are focusing their investment on services such as SaaS, compared to the days when investment in hardware such as semiconductors flourished. However, IoT business includes cloud and next-generation mobile networks such as 5G and 6G with their hardware. The knowledge of hardware therefore needs the legacy knowledge of IoT literacy. Kudo is certain that his company will be a strong weapon for the development surrounding IoT.
He’s currently looking for a partner to scale his business.
“I am delighted and encouraged to work as a member of society while being involved in product releases and services of new ODM style.”