Knowledge The process of establishing, relocating, and renovating offices overseas

The general process for establishing, relocating, and renovating overseas offices is as follows. We will introduce the necessary work at each step.

The first necessity when establishing or relocating an office is to find a property. You will need to consider location, the number of employees, budget, and find an office that suits your company. If hiring local employees, the convenience and transportation options for those employees, as well as the property area’s reputation, are also important.

Companies that have operated locally for a while may have less trouble, but those establishing or relocating overseas offices for the first time may find it challenging to choose a suitable property. Some buildings may have offices with poor network connectivity, so it is worth considering support from companies familiar with the local area.

Based on the available space and the number of employees, consider the layout of the office. The comfort of the office can lead to increased motivation for the employees who work there. It's essential to create an office environment that is conducive to work and collaboration to enhance employee creativity and productivity.

Recently, Activity Based Working (ABW) has become popular as a new way of working. ABW allows employees to autonomously design their way of working to enhance motivation and efficiency. Consider incorporating ABW principles and providing various spaces such as café areas, sofa seats, private rooms, and teleconferencing booths to facilitate video conferencing.

*Related article: What is ABW, a new way of working? Introducing its merits and the necessary initiatives for its implementation

Once the layout is designed, procure the necessary equipment and devices according to the design. Typically, these items are sourced from local companies. You will need to procure not only furniture such as desks, chairs, and cabinets but also IT equipment like PCs, phones, and monitors. If you are reusing equipment or office devices, they may require maintenance.

If you have little experience with overseas locations, it's recommended to source from companies with well-established support and inquiry response systems. 

To make the office usable, arrangements for interior and electrical installations are required. In addition to electrical and air conditioning work, IT environment setup is crucial for office work. Line construction and equipment installation are necessary to establish telephone environments and networks. Smooth progress requires enlisting communication companies familiar with the local area.

For security reasons, attention should also be paid to entrance and exit management. Options include card readers, PIN codes, and advanced biometric authentication methods such as facial or fingerprint recognition.

The following article organizes the information security measures you should be aware of when constructing an office environment.

*Related article:  Key information security measures when smart-office enabling overseas locations

If you are unfamiliar with the local area or have little experience in establishing or renovating overseas offices, you may feel anxious. Here, we explain common challenges in establishing, relocating, and renovating overseas offices.

As we have introduced so far, establishing, relocating, or renovating an office requires selecting and contracting with various companies, such as furniture and equipment providers, interior and electrical contractors, and IT vendors. It can be challenging to find reliable contractors, especially if you are new to the area.

Furthermore, to proceed smoothly with the arrangements, coordination with each contractor is necessary to consider the content and schedule of the work. These management and coordination tasks can be very time-consuming and place a significant burden on the person in charge.

A common issue when entrusting work to local businesses is that they do not adhere to delivery dates. Depending on the country, there may be problems with schedule adherence and work quality compared to contractors in Japan.

When entrusting work to multiple companies, a delay from one can affect the others. For example, if interior or electrical work is delayed, it becomes necessary to re-coordinate schedules with the other contractors, resulting in a lot of extra work.

For many company offices, setting up wireless LAN networks, laying telephone lines, and introducing and configuring PCs and servers are necessary. When performing these settings, security considerations are essential. For instance, if wireless LAN settings are not appropriate, they may become a security vulnerability, putting the company at risk of having confidential information stolen from outside.

However, at overseas locations where work is often done with limited personnel, there may not be dedicated IT staff. If someone not knowledgeable in IT performs the setup work, it can be both time-consuming and potentially lead to issues.

As such, preparing the interior of an office, including the procurement and setup of IT equipment, can be challenging at overseas offices. One solution to consider is the use of companies that provide one-stop support for office interior preparation. By using a one-stop service, you can gain benefits such as:

• Receiving comprehensive management and quality control for office design, interior construction, furniture procurement, IT equipment introduction, and more.
• Avoiding the need to interact with multiple contractors and reducing the chances of issues with local businesses.
• Receiving support from companies well-versed in local office situations.

Here we discuss what you should consider when choosing a contractor for the interior preparation of an overseas office.

Interior preparation of an office involves many tasks, such as procurement of equipment, interior work, electrical work, and IT device setup. When entrusting one-stop interior preparation services, it's important to choose a company well-connected with local businesses in various fields. If choosing a Japanese company, check whether they have a legal entity in the local area, what their track record is, and how much local knowledge and expertise they have.

When it comes to the unfamiliar task of establishing an overseas office, how much support you can receive is crucial in choosing a contractor. Choose companies that offer robust support, such as advice in areas where your company lacks knowledge or experience, and responses to inquiries about unclear points.

Additionally, rather than just being order takers, it's essential that the contractor is proficient in the latest technologies, such as smart office design. With the changing nature of offices today, the standard for office environments that employees expect is also rising. To adapt to these changes, it's recommended to choose a company that is up-to-date with the latest technological trends and can make long-term proposals.

IT support is inseparable from office operations. When using one-stop services, it's also key to choose a company strong in IT, capable of handling internet and VPN lines, telephone work, server installations, and more.

If you entrust IT device setup to local businesses, it is impossible to judge whether the work is appropriate without IT knowledge. In the event of inadequate settings or security flaws, it would be difficult to respond without the necessary skills. With a strong IT company involved, you can prevent problems by having them check the work content.

KDDI offers services that comprehensively support everything from interior to IT environment design, construction, and setup when establishing a new office or during office relocation and renovation. We provide one-stop support for concept proposals and consulting tailored to customer needs, new office design, procurement of furniture and equipment, and coordination of interior construction. Customers can achieve the preparation of the office environment using KDDI as their sole point of contact.

Moreover, leveraging our strengths as a telecommunications provider with years of service to customers, we also provide solid support in the IT area, such as network environment construction and PC and server setup.

KDDI will also undertake project management related to the establishment, relocation, or renovation of offices and coordinate with various local businesses. If you are considering office renovation at an overseas location, please contact us.

*Related article: New Offices and Office Relocation

This article introduced the workflow for establishing, relocating, and renovating overseas offices, as well as how to choose a contractor. Various tasks are necessary to prepare an office, and particularly at overseas locations, problems occur frequently. It is often the case that overseas locations, with limited personnel, cannot allocate sufficient time to new entries or renovation work.

One-stop services can address such concerns. By utilizing one-stop services, you can achieve smooth office environment preparation.

For more details on establishing, relocating, and renovating overseas offices, please download the white paper below. It explains the points to keep in mind for your first overseas office renovation.