Matsushita Communications Industry

"To align with the "drive-thru" shopping method, I decided to computerize the cash registers. Because traditional cash registers lacked efficiency and could not keep up with the times. Therefore, I entrusted the development of a new type of cash register to Matsushita Communications Industry of Japan. Matsushita Communications Industry agreed to take on the commission; however, they still asked me how many units I planned to order, as the cost would relatively increase if the quantity were too small. Around the year 1979, there were only about 200 McDonald's outlets in all of Japan, yet I boldly assured Matsushita Communications Industry that I was willing to order the new cash registers for 500 stores. My approach startled them. Once Matsushita Communications Industry received my commitment, they immediately began development and manufactured a new type of computer cash register system, called POS—Point of Sale. This computer cash register system, unlike traditional cash registers that make a lot of noise, and at the moment the money is inserted, the day's sales statistics appear, including the total sales amount and how many of each type of burger were sold. Moreover, the work hours of shift staff are also instantly displayed on the cash register system's screen. Thus, the head office could quickly grasp the sales conditions of stores nationwide. Before McDonald's adopted this computer cash register system, every morning from 10 a.m. to noon, ten female employees from the head office had to call each of the hundreds of stores across the country to inquire about the previous day's sales and then compile the statistics. When communicating by phone, it is often impossible to omit the pleasantries of greeting—employees would inevitably start the conversation with “Hello!" “Good morning,” or “How's the weather?” before getting to the point and reporting the previous day's sales. Such a method was not only a waste of time, but long-distance phone charges were also substantial. More critically, with telephone communication, mishearing or recording errors were inevitable. The head office would compare sales reports sent by the stores from the previous day with the numbers heard over the phone and often found discrepancies. However, since computerization, what used to take three hours of statistical work from 9 a.m. to noon is now completed from 9 a.m. to 9:05 a.m., with instantaneous delivery to the head office. This saves two hours and fifty-five minutes every day. Then, by laying off the ten employees who were making phone calls and saving on personnel expenses, and replacing the use of phones with computers entirely. This also saved 25 million yen in annual telephone expenses."

"Currently, a $12,000 computer cash register system is being exported from Japan to the US. It is reported that computer cash register orders from McDonald's USA could bring about 15 billion yen in sales for Matsushita Communications Industry in Japan. Mr. Komagata, the president of Matsushita Communications Industry, who had originally frowned at the investment due to the low quantity of orders and high costs, is now beaming with a stream of ongoing orders from the US, and hurriedly thanks me. At the same time, major Japanese newspapers are competing to report on the news of Matsushita Communications Industry's computer cash register systems being exported to the US, with detailed pictures and articles, effectively giving Matsushita Communications Industry excellent publicity. Previously, I imported American McDonald's burgers into Japan; now, I export Japanese-made machinery products to the US."