We start with the problem you described, in your words, before we propose any work.

Problem statement.Growth comes from existing automotive accounts. We are short of plan in new segments, especially data center power, where we have almost no pipeline. The market is moving and we do not know where to compete first.

Lessons learned, approaches to avoid.We ran trade show appearances and a generic email program in 2025. It produced activity but no qualified meetings, because the message was written for automotive buyers.

Case for a connected model.Market insight sits with Kaito Japan, marketing in the US works from old segment data, and sales keeps account knowledge in personal spreadsheets. Insight gets lost between Japan and the US team.

Routing to Market Intelligence, Campaign or AI in a Box.Knowing where to compete. The board also keeps asking about AI, and the campaign has to follow the market decision.

This section sets out the market as you see it today. Where your view needs testing, we say so and propose how to test it.

Market scope.We compete in electronic components manufacturing for automotive, industrial and consumer markets in Japan, Europe and the Americas. In three years we want a strong position in data center power in North America, then Europe.

Ideal customer profile starting point.Our best customers are global power supply makers who design us in early and buy across several product families. They value reliability data, local engineering support and stable supply.

Buying group and sales cycle.Engineers specify, purchasing negotiates and a quality team approves the supplier. A design win takes nine to eighteen months. Deals stall at qualification, when we cannot provide application data quickly enough in the US time zone.

Competitive position.We lose to two Japanese rivals and a US distributor led brand. Buyers say lead time and local support, but in our view they simply know the competitors better.

Positioning gap.Customers say our reliability data and long life ratings set us apart. The wider market in the US barely knows us outside automotive, so the difference is not visible where it matters.

End market mix.Automotive is our largest application by revenue. Industrial power is stable. Data center and AI server power is the application with the most potential, and consumer audio is declining.

Positioning.We compete on performance and reliability rather than price. We lose on price in commodity parts and on lead time where distributors hold stock.

Market pressures.Regional supply chain requirements are pushing US customers to ask for North American or dual sourcing. Tariffs raised landed cost on some parts last year.

Decision brief.Whether to commit investment to US data center power, which segments to target first, and which customers to go after. The decision is made by the Kaito Japan executive committee with the Americas president, at the March 2027 planning cycle.

Market scope.Hyperscale server power, colocation power infrastructure and AI accelerator boards, across Texas, Virginia, Arizona and Ohio. They are on the list because capacity investment is concentrated there.

Hypotheses to validate.We believe hyperscale buyers will dual source to reduce supply risk, and that our reliability data is a real advantage. We need both tested with buyers.

Competitive set.Two Japanese component rivals and a US distributor brand. We need their positioning with data center buyers and their qualification status.

Baseline, avoids duplicate research.Kaito Japan holds global market reports and our own shipment data. The gaps are US buyer behavior and segment sizes for colocation power, where our sources contradict each other.

Project or ongoing scope.Ongoing monitoring. The market moves every quarter, so the view has to stay current.

Go or no go criteria.A segment we can reach with existing product families, with a realistic share within three years and design win cycles under eighteen months. We would walk away if qualification needs a new US plant.

Primary research plan.Power architects at server makers, procurement leads at colocation operators and two independent industry analysts. Interviews would help, and we can introduce three customers.

Output format.Board paper, Dashboard. A board paper for March, then a live dashboard for the US team.

We map who decides, what each person values and how to reach them, then build one message with proof behind every claim.

Channel strategy.About 70 percent direct to OEMs and power supply makers, 30 percent through two national distributors. Distribution is growing for small accounts, with poor visibility of end customers.

Specification strategy.Power engineers search for parametric data and application notes, then request samples. We usually get involved after the architecture is set, which is too late to be designed in.

Ideal customer profile and account list size.Around 60 accounts are realistically in play: server makers, power supply makers and the largest colocation operators. There is no named list yet.

Messaging foundation.Buyers describe it as power density and thermal reliability at rack level. They talk about uptime, not components.

Value proposition.Long life ratings proven in automotive conditions, local application support and dual sourcing from Japan and North America.

Channel mix.Data center trade events and LinkedIn worked for awareness. Generic email did not. Technical webinars have not been tried.

Lead qualification and handoff.There is no shared definition today. Sales follows up leads from events within a week, but email leads are mostly ignored.

Campaign calendar.A major data center power event in March 2027 and a product launch for a new power module in the second quarter.

Proof library and sign off gates.Two automotive case studies are approved. Northwind Colo agreed in principle to be a reference for data center reliability. Claims need Kaito Japan legal sign off, which takes about three weeks.

We look for value workflow by workflow and design governance before anything is deployed.

Pilot selection.The applications engineering team in Texas, for datasheet questions and RFQ responses. Leadership support is strongest there.

Use case shortlist.Applications engineers spend hours answering datasheet questions and building RFQ responses. Marketing rewrites the same product content for every region.

Value case.Speed, Growth. Faster responses to engineers, and growth without hiring.

Current use baseline.Some engineers use public chat tools unofficially. Microsoft Copilot is licensed for a pilot group in Kaito Japan.

Opportunity discovery.RFQ responses and datasheet questions depend on three senior applications engineers. When they travel, responses slow down.

Scale criteria.A pilot that halves RFQ response time without errors would justify scale. The Americas president makes that call with Kaito Japan IT.

We build inside your environment where your IT rules allow, connect read only to systems of record and hand over the controls with documentation.

Source inventory.Kaito Japan subscribes to two global market research services. The US team uses ZoomInfo and distributor point of sale reports.

Knowledge architecture.Reports sit in a Kaito Japan intranet the US team rarely opens. Nobody owns keeping it current.

Approved tools and providers.New data providers and AI tools need Kaito Japan IT approval. There is an approved supplier list.

Delivery platform.A live dashboard for the US leadership team, reviewed monthly, with alerts on competitor moves.

Internal data inputs.Salesforce opportunity history and two years of win and loss notes. Quality varies by region.

[Open item: ownership and handover, to be confirmed by the client]

Software inventory.Salesforce, HubSpot, a WordPress website, SAP in Kaito Japan, Microsoft 365 and SharePoint.

[Awaiting IO.02: platform ownership]

Integration map.Salesforce and HubSpot use the native connector. Everything else moves by manual export.

[Awaiting IO.04: master data status]

Manual workarounds.Monthly sales reports are rebuilt from exports by hand, about a day per month.

Closed loop reporting.No. Marketing cannot see the revenue its work produces.

[Awaiting IO.07: data sources beyond sales and marketing]

[Awaiting IO.08: integration constraints]

[Awaiting IO.09: change windows and timing]

[Awaiting IO.11: target architecture]

[Awaiting IO.12: identity and access]

[Awaiting MF.06: content and asset plan]

Stack audit.Salesforce for sales, HubSpot for marketing in the US. HubSpot is underused beyond newsletters.

Data enrichment scope.Contact data is incomplete for data center accounts. It was last cleansed in 2024.

Attribution and reporting.We cannot track a lead from first touch to revenue. The link between HubSpot and Salesforce breaks at handover.

Digital readiness.The US website is a translation of the Japanese site. Very little pipeline starts online.

[Awaiting CP.T.05: asset audit]

[Awaiting CP.T.07: access and ownership]

Data readiness.Quality records and the product database are in Kaito Japan systems. Application notes and RFQ history sit in SharePoint in the US.

Architecture fit.Microsoft 365 and Azure, with Salesforce and HubSpot. Product data in Kaito Japan systems.

Existing estate.Microsoft Copilot for a pilot group. No other AI tools are approved.

Data readiness.Datasheets and application notes are clean PDFs in SharePoint. RFQ history is mostly unstructured email.

Sovereignty and hosting model.Customer data must stay in approved Microsoft tenancy regions.

[Awaiting AI.T.05: grounding and retrieval design]

[Awaiting AI.T.06: approval path and timeline]

[Awaiting AI.T.07: operating model]

Training is part of every box, so your team can run the work after we step back.

[Awaiting MI.TR.01: training audience]

[Awaiting MI.TR.02: skills gap]

[Awaiting MI.TR.03: capability transfer scope]

[Awaiting MI.TR.04: champion nomination]

[Awaiting MF.07: partner enablement]

[Awaiting CP.TR.01: alignment needs]

[Awaiting CP.TR.02: skills baseline]

[Awaiting CP.TR.03: training audience]

[Awaiting CP.TR.04: training format]

[Awaiting CP.TR.05: adoption measures]

[Awaiting AI.TR.01: maturity baseline]

[Awaiting AI.TR.02: role based curriculum]

[Awaiting AI.TR.03: change management plan]

[Awaiting AI.TR.04: policy training]

[Awaiting AI.TR.05: champions network]

[Awaiting AI.TR.06: adoption kpis]

Team structure.Six people in US marketing reporting to the VP Marketing, Americas, with close links to Kaito Japan brand.

[Awaiting MR.02: sourcing model]

[Awaiting MR.03: skills baseline]

[Awaiting MR.04: capacity profile]

Priority gaps.Account based marketing, data and analytics, and AI and automation matter most. The biggest gaps are account based marketing and analytics.

[Awaiting MR.06: build, buy or partner]

[Awaiting MR.07: performance framework]

[Awaiting MR.08: ai adoption baseline]

[Awaiting MR.09: training plan feasibility]

Individual skills profile.Yes, the five people in the US team will complete it before kickoff.

Skills matrix results.Self and manager ratings are summarized in the gap report, by person and by competency, against the priorities named in MR.05.

Governance runs through all nine boxes. Nothing reaches your market or your systems without the approvals you require.

Governance scope (see G questions).Export classification applies to some power products. Customer names and design wins are confidential under NDA. AI tools must be approved by Kaito Japan IT, and customer data cannot leave approved systems.

Governance owner.Kaito Japan IT and the global digital transformation office approve every AI use case. There is no steering group in the US yet.

Risk appetite.Accuracy, Data leakage. A wrong specification sent to a customer would be serious.

Assurance requirements.Customers would need to see that technical answers come from approved datasheets, with a person signing off.

[Awaiting CP.T.06: outreach compliance]

Compliance scope.Export controls on some power products, GDPR for European contacts and US privacy law for marketing.

[Awaiting G.02: approval workflow and timeline]

Data processing terms.Yes. Kaito Japan requires suppliers to sign its own data processing agreement.

[Awaiting G.04: team eligibility]

[Awaiting G.05: ai regulatory readiness]

[Awaiting G.06: procurement readiness]

[Awaiting G.07: sign off gates]

[Awaiting G.08: retention policy]

Scope is set box by box, so you invest where value is proven first and expand on evidence.

Focus and scope.Power modules and high capacitance components for server power supplies matter most. We are prepared to deprioritize legacy consumer audio accounts, which carry low margin and high service cost.

[Awaiting C.03: pricing tiers]

Delivery timeline.First results before the March 2027 planning cycle.

Phasing.Connected program across several boxes.

We plan the decision path with you, so the proposal reaches the right people in the right order.

Stakeholder map.Emi Tanaka sponsors in the US, with Kenji Mori from the Kaito Japan transformation office. The Americas president signs the budget.

[Awaiting C.02: close plan]

[Awaiting C.06: competitive context]

[Awaiting C.07: proposal content and emphasis]

[Awaiting C.08: engagement rhythm]

[Awaiting C.09: contract setup]

Open questions stay visible here until they are answered. Nothing in this proposal fills a gap with an assumption.

Risk register.If Kaito Japan and the US team are not aligned on the market choice, or if IT approval for AI tools takes longer than the engagement.

[Awaiting IO.10: delivery risks]

Open item.Name who maintains the intelligence after handover. Owner Emi Tanaka, due 2026-11-21.

Open item.Confirm which customer names and results may appear in outputs. Owner Kenji Mori, due 2026-11-18.

Open item.Share the budget range, or ask for options at three levels. Owner Emi Tanaka, due 2026-11-25.

Success measures are agreed with you before work begins, and tracked live in your hub.

Engagement objective.Grow Kaito Americas from a sales office into a full regional business, with data center and AI infrastructure customers reaching 30 percent of US revenue by 2029. That needs a clear market entry case, a recognised brand with hyperscale buyers and a marketing team that can run digital programs without Kaito Japan.

Urgency and timeline.AI infrastructure build out has changed demand for power and passive components faster than our plans. Kaito Japan has approved a global digital and AI transformation program this year, and the US team has been asked to lead it for the West. Competitors are already presenting at data center events we do not attend.

Success metrics (revenue, EBITDA, share, time to market).The board measures regional revenue growth, operating margin and new design wins. This work will be judged on design wins with data center customers and the share of US revenue from new segments.

Outcome statement and KPIs.A board approved go or no go on US data center entry, a running campaign with qualified meetings in target accounts, and two AI use cases live in the marketing and applications teams.

Campaign objective.Meetings, Pipeline. Qualified meetings with data center buying groups, then pipeline.

KPI framework.Meetings booked, Pipeline value.

Board result target. [Figure to confirm with the sponsor]