United Kingdom

Details

  • Type: Business and industry issue
  • Date: 18/07/2011

Reorganisation of European Operations 

Blue marker pen

Many Japanese manufacturing companies have established multiple operating companies in Europe. Historically this was regarded as the right approach, but changes in tax regulations, markets, products and customers now mean that these structures are increasingly inefficient, incurring higher costs and not able to rapidly respond to local market and customer needs.

 

As a result, many organisations are reviewing their European operating structures in order to achieve focus on sales together with cost and tax efficiency and improve local innovation and service.

KPMG firms have worked with a number of businesses to help them reorganise their European operations in response to the changing market. In our experience a holistic approach considering tax efficiencies alongside back office design and a review of the go-to-market strategy can deliver immediate savings as well as long term efficiency and growth.

 

KPMG’s European cross-functional teams can assist our firms’ clients with these transformations:

 

Efficient back office operations:

 

  • advice on the design and implementation of new target operating models, development of simplified and standardised business processes supported by integrated systems, shared services strategy and implementation, and cost optimisation across all back office functions.

 

Effective go to market strategy:

 

  • advice on sales channel strategy and revenue enhancement, helping clients to focus front office operations on profitable growth and sales force effectiveness.

 

Tax efficiency:

 

  • advice on supply chain and business locations to optimise tax efficiency across the European business, as well as advice on the design of legal entity structures to reduce statutory and fiscal reporting requirements. Recent changes to the tax systems in Japan and UK have prompted the need to review existing structures.

 

Transfer pricing:

 

  • advice on the use of optimised transfer pricing models to reduce tax costs across the business and secure benefit from any tax losses or other beneficial tax attributes.

 

For a discussion on Reorganisation of European Operations, please contact Ged Fox or Hiroshi Miura.

 

Recommended reading

A Japanese language publication Succeeding in a Changing World - A guide to strategic positioning for Global Japanese Companies is now available. The publication raises a number of important issues that many Japanese companies may want to consider as a priority in the current climate in Europe.