The Knowledge to Decide

On 5 September, Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) organized a seminar in Tokyo, attended by close to 300 Japan-based executives, to discuss the potential and pitfalls of cross-border Mergers & Acquistions (M&A). Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, joined the concluding panel together with Patrick Becker, MD of Shanghai-based M&A advisory firm Bexuco and Yukuo Takenaka, head of US-based consultancy Takenaka Partners. Leon and the other panelists discussed the experience of cross-border M&A transactions by Japanese firms. The panel shared their views on the effectiveness of Japanese corporations in identifying and executing M&A deals as well as running effective post-merger integration (PMI). The speakers gave insights on key factors to consider when going ahead with a deal. These included paying sufficient attention to human factors, not “over-researching” the target company and navigating the challenges of some M&A

On 15 June, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a seminar at The Japanese Association in Singapore to give insights on emerging trends for India’s economy. The seminar aimed to raise understanding of market opportunities in light of events such as the roll-out of GST in India and President Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S elections. Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager at Yamada Business Consulting Singapore, addressed the session to discuss current business trends in India in light of developments such as Trump’s victory in the U.S. election. Kita-san highlighted the impact on India’s economy of the recent Rupee demonetization of high-value currency notes, the introduction of a single Goods and Services Tax (GST) along with the Make In India initiative launched by the government to attract more investors. He also highlighted the Digital India Program, which aims to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society, nurturing startups and c

On 4 May, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to share ideas on how Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) can drive growth using smart market and industry research. Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting, discussed how market research decisions impact different operating functions within a typical SME and what kinds of research techniques are commonly used, together with the pitfalls associated with each. Singh highlighted how market research can go beyond customer analysis at manageable cost if the business objective is clear, although the analysis of internal data and business intelligence can only provide limited information. To maintain the accuracy of market research data, a few pitfalls should be avoided. It is crucial to avoid asking the wrong questions, targeting the wrong respondents and over-emphasizing sample size, to name a few. https://www.spireresearch.com/ne

On 20 January, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to explore the impact on India’s economy of the recent Rupee demonetization of high-value currency notes. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed the demonetization’s impact on different industry sectors, on e-commerce and on the outlook for doing business in India in 2017. The speakers talked about how demonetisation will spur growth in cashless transactions. Although the retail and car resale sector will suffer short-term damage, there is a visible shift towards modern trade and online transactions. Moreover, ease of doing business and transparency will rise, making India more investment-friendly. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-and-ybc-host-br

On 16 December 2016, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a seminar on Go-To-Market strategies for effective channel management. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting and Rajiv Seth, Senior Director (Go-To-Market Practice) at Spire, addressed the session. Rajiv shared his experience of executing disciplined channel and sales force management strategies to improve results. Seminar attendees asked questions and shared their own views on issues like designing incentive structures for channels, when to switch channel partners and how to demarcate sales territories among partners . YBC and Spire offer Go-to-Market Optimization consulting across the Asia-Pacific. . https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-and-ybc-host-breakfast-seminar-on-effective-channel-and-sales-force-management-in-asia/

On 28 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to discuss emerging business opportunities in Asia facing Japanese firms. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire; Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore) and Takuya Makimura, Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees, who were senior executives in Japanese, heard about how the Asian market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Japanese companies with regional headquarters in Singapore. The speakers talked about under-appreciated opportunities in Asia for Japanese companies. E-commerce will be an important pathway to access markets in Indonesia and India where complex channel structures have often proved forbidding to Japanese investors

On 23 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to shed light on business opportunities in today’s dynamic Japan. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Yamada Business Consulting recently acquired an 80% stake in the Spire Research and Consulting group. This acquisition gives Spire access to YBC’s extensive network of 5 offices and over 400 consultants in Japan to conduct research and advise clients on Japan market entry and growth. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees heard about how the Japan market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Singapore-based companies. The speakers talked about the macro-factors buoying Japan’s economic growth while also highlig

The Spire Research and Consulting Group is proud to announce its merger with   Yamada Business Consulting Co., Ltd.   or YBC – one of the five largest management consulting firms in Japan and a publicly listed firm on JASDAQ, the second board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. YBC is part of the Yamada Consulting group, which has over 1,200 staff across 12 offices in Japan. With this merger, YBC will use Spire as its global brand outside of Japan. On 15 April 2016, YBC acquired an 80 per cent stake in Spire Research and Consulting Pte Ltd, the Singapore parent company for the Spire Research and Consulting group of companies. Leon Perera, the co-founder of Spire, will continue to serve as the CEO of the group, retaining a 20 per cent stake. Equiteq has been the exclusive financial adviser to Spire in the completion of this transaction. The merger makes Spire part of a much larger and publicly listed corporate group, which is expected to create better access to new consulting solutio