Creating a Sustainable Supply Chain: Advancing Environmental and Societal Benefits with Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks (Part 1)

Murata has steadily grown its business while addressing evolving societal needs, contributing to the advancement of an electronics-driven world. However, with expansion comes the critical need to actively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through ongoing energy-saving measures and the adoption of renewable energy. To tackle this, Murata implemented practical and impactful initiatives, including being the first in its industry to commit to RE100 and adopting internal carbon pricing.

The world is increasingly facing large-scale natural disasters linked to climate change, highlighting the urgent need for additional initiatives to reduce GHG emissions. Murata recognizes that it is essential to increase the adoption of renewable energy and broaden these efforts beyond its own operations to encompass the entire supply chain - from procurement and production to inventory management, logistics, and sales. As the Global No. 1 Component & Module Supplier, Murata feels a responsibility to strengthen partnerships with like-minded stakeholders and accelerate initiatives focused on achieving a decarbonized society worldwide.

Murata (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (MCI) is responsible for overseeing and managing Murata's marketing efforts in Greater China, as well as handling sales operations within the region. For this article, we interviewed Mr. Takazawa from the Logistics Department to discuss the company's initiatives aimed at creating a green supply chain, particularly through the use of hydrogen fuel cell trucks in logistics operations.

Murata operates 19 sales locations across Greater China, including in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, all of which are managed by MCI in Shanghai. In addition to these sales sites, there are numerous production plants with which MCI collaborates closely with on a daily basis to develop the company's supply chain. Mr. Takazawa, who has extensive international experience, noted that "The organizational structure has changed since January 2025 to enhance collaboration," acknowledging the challenges of working together across sales sites and plants with diverse histories and cultures.

Takazawa: "We've established the 'Pan-China Group,' a structure that encompasses multiple regions and sites, enabling Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to collaborate on shared goals and challenges. This allows us to deliver prompt support to business units in the mobility, mass market, computing, and communications sectors. MCI manages planning, information systems, human resources, and marketing across all sites, while I personally oversee logistics."

Mr. Takazawa is responsible for logistics throughout Greater China, as well as business operations related to procurement, inventory management, and customer product delivery.

Takazawa: "We used to handle logistics operations on a site-by-site basis, but are now trying to increase the performance of the entire organization by enhancing collaboration between organizations, sharing best practices, and standardizing processes. Collaboration can be challenging due to differences in historical and cultural backgrounds, but we are working to build a shared understanding of our goals and policies through active dialogue. We are currently in the midst of implementing these changes. At this stage, it's crucial to identify and address shared challenges, and I believe we have significantly strengthened our organizational capabilities by uniting around common issues and delivering practical solutions with measurable outcomes."

Mr. Takazawa emphasizes that, in addition to fostering collaboration within the organization, partnering with external stakeholders is essential for building a green supply chain.

Takazawa: "Our medium-term plan through 2024 establishes KPIs to reduce CO₂ emissions in the logistics sector by 5% each year, and we will be defining new metrics for the upcoming three-year plan. Murata is fully dedicated to accomplishing these goals by assessing and optimizing eco-friendly delivery routes and schedules, using electric vehicles for transportation, and reusing logistics pallets. However, it's crucial that we collaborate with other companies to successfully reach our targets."

Mr. Takazawa notes that the company is focused on enhancing relationships with forwarders - logistics specialists who facilitate transport arrangements and manage import/export procedures between shippers and transport operators. This focus is part of a broader strategy to strengthen collaboration with carriers, materials companies involved in logistics, and warehousing partners.

Takazawa: "The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant disruptions to logistics, shrinking operations and changing established norms. During this time, we also took steps to restructure our partnerships with forwarders. For example, we implemented performance reviews to clearly outline our expectations for business partners while providing constructive feedback. These expectations are rooted in our Shaze which emphasizes values such as 'building trust' and 'contributing to cultural development.' By aligning on these shared principles, our intent is to strengthen collaboration, deliver outstanding customer service, and make meaningful contributions to society."

Performance reviews have already been implemented at the Tianjin sales site and are now being rolled out as a standard initiative across the entire "Pan-China Group."

Takazawa: "We introduced these reviews to evaluate performance and drive improvements, aiming to raise employee awareness of the values and attitudes that reflect our Shaze. This approach has since been implemented across the 'Pan-China Group.' Yusen Logistics (China) Co., Ltd. ('Yusen Logistics'), the Chinese subsidiary of Yusen Logistics Co., LTD., has supported us from the very beginning. As a long-standing strategic forwarder, they have provided invaluable insights and suggestions, which played a key role in shaping our plan for adopting hydrogen fuel cell trucks."

In the second part of this article, we will cover how MCI and Yusen Logistics are collaborating on hydrogen fuel cell trucks.

*The information in this article is current as of February 2025.

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Creating a Sustainable Supply Chain: Advancing Environmental and Societal Benefits with Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks (Part 2)