Weathernews--Turning Weather into Gold
Lin Hsin-ching / photos Jimmy Lin / tr. by Geof Aberhart
July 2007
Japanese company Weathernews In-formation Company (WNI) is the world's largest multinational meteorological consulting firm, with branches in 38 cities in 17 countries worldwide. They provide services to over 30 different industries, including airlines, shipping, electricity supply, logistics, transportation, travel, sports, health, and cellular communications.
Weathernews boasts a client list of over 3000 companies and over 1.5 million individuals, and makes an annual turnover of as much as ¥11.2 billion.
As well as generous investments into cutting-edge observation equipment and technologies, Weathernews strives to live up to the Japanese dedication to customer service through their B2S (business to supporter) business model, developed to replace the traditional B2C (business to consumer) model. This new model places more emphasis on the role of clients as supporters of the business, and on the fact that as supporters, they deserve the best quality service possible.
Walking into Weathernews Information Company's Taipei office, situated in the Taipei World Trade Center, the facilities look like those of any other business. The conference room, though, sports the latest in audiovisual communications technology, enabling instantaneous communications and exchange of information with their head office in Japan or WNI branches in other locations around the world. It was through this piece of high-tech equipment that Taiwan Panorama conducted an interview with Yohji Morishita, WNI's supporting relation group leader, at the company's Japanese head office.
Tricks of the trade
1. Go door to door, offer trials
"It's not an easy thing to market, weather, since at first virtually everyone's unwilling to pay for weather forecasting information. And so we go door to door visiting companies, letting them know the strengths of our services and offering a three- to six-month trial period."
Morishita says, "Once they realize how useful our weather information is, they end up becoming long-term clients."
2. Focused services create demand
The other secret of WNI's success is that they offer specialized services covering shipping, air travel, land transport, disaster preparedness, and factories, improving the forecasting technologies available to these industries, and offering more comprehensive weather reports and decision-making information.
Take the service the company is most proud of, their marine forecasting, for example: at present, WNI employs an internally developed Total Fleet Management Service (TFMS), which can offer shipping clients the means to obtain comprehensive information on ship position, traveling time, ship speed, safety, and any critical changes.
"In the winter the waves at sea can be especially large, and in summer the likelihood of typhoons increases. If clients can provide us with the departure and arrival ports and scheduled arrival time, we can use this data and collect all the relevant weather information for them, helping them find routes that avoid the worst of the weather and save time for their ships," explains Christine Lu, director of sales and business development for WNI's Taiwan branch.
Currently over 70% of shipping firms worldwide make use of WNI's services, including Taiwanese firms such as Yang Ming Group, Evergreen Marine, and Wan Hai Lines. "We've even developed a service we call 'fuel routing.' For this, all we need is information on the ship design and engine specifications and we can, after analyzing factors like weather, wind direction, and ocean currents, determine the most fuel-efficient route for our clients," Morishita proudly notes.
Japanese company Weathernews In-formation Company (WNI) is the world's largest multinational meteorological consulting firm, with branches in 38 cities in 17 countries worldwide. They provide services to over 30 different industries, including airlines, shipping, electricity supply, logistics, transportation, travel, sports, health, and cellular communications.
Weathernews boasts a client list of over 3000 companies and over 1.5 million individuals, and makes an annual turnover of as much as ¥11.2 billion.
As well as generous investments into cutting-edge observation equipment and technologies, Weathernews strives to live up to the Japanese dedication to customer service through their B2S (business to supporter) business model, developed to replace the traditional B2C (business to consumer) model. This new model places more emphasis on the role of clients as supporters of the business, and on the fact that as supporters, they deserve the best quality service possible.
Walking into Weathernews Information Company's Taipei office, situated in the Taipei World Trade Center, the facilities look like those of any other business. The conference room, though, sports the latest in audiovisual communications technology, enabling instantaneous communications and exchange of information with their head office in Japan or WNI branches in other locations around the world. It was through this piece of high-tech equipment that Taiwan Panorama conducted an interview with Yohji Morishita, WNI's supporting relation group leader, at the company's Japanese head office.
The Taiwan branch of Japan's Weathernews might not be particularly large, but it is home to advanced videoconferencing facilities which the exchange of the latest weather information with head office in Japan at any time. On the far left is former head of the Central Weather Bureau Kenneth Chen.
Tricks of the trade
1. Go door to door, offer trials
"It's not an easy thing to market, weather, since at first virtually everyone's unwilling to pay for weather forecasting information. And so we go door to door visiting companies, letting them know the strengths of our services and offering a three- to six-month trial period."
Morishita says, "Once they realize how useful our weather information is, they end up becoming long-term clients."
2. Focused services create demand
The other secret of WNI's success is that they offer specialized services covering shipping, air travel, land transport, disaster preparedness, and factories, improving the forecasting technologies available to these industries, and offering more comprehensive weather reports and decision-making information.
Take the service the company is most proud of, their marine forecasting, for example: at present, WNI employs an internally developed Total Fleet Management Service (TFMS), which can offer shipping clients the means to obtain comprehensive information on ship position, traveling time, ship speed, safety, and any critical changes.
"In the winter the waves at sea can be especially large, and in summer the likelihood of typhoons increases. If clients can provide us with the departure and arrival ports and scheduled arrival time, we can use this data and collect all the relevant weather information for them, helping them find routes that avoid the worst of the weather and save time for their ships," explains Christine Lu, director of sales and business development for WNI's Taiwan branch.
Currently over 70% of shipping firms worldwide make use of WNI's services, including Taiwanese firms such as Yang Ming Group, Evergreen Marine, and Wan Hai Lines. "We've even developed a service we call 'fuel routing.' For this, all we need is information on the ship design and engine specifications and we can, after analyzing factors like weather, wind direction, and ocean currents, determine the most fuel-efficient route for our clients," Morishita proudly notes.
3. Local analysis reduces errors
Since its founding in 1986, Weathernews has set out to be a multinational meteorological consulting firm. In 1988 they established their first American branch, and since then have expanded into 38 cities worldwide. While each branch gets its data from head office in Japan, with the potential for local variation in weather patterns, the company has hired local meteorologists in order to reduce the potential for error.
Kenneth Chen, who spent ten years with the Central Weather Bureau, now serves as meteorological consultant for WNI's Taiwan branch. At 11 o'clock each morning--12 noon Japan time--he joins a videoconference with head office to provide his analysis of Taiwan's weather for the coming week.
The weather can change due to the influence of geography, and as such we need experienced local analysts to ensure more accurate forecasts," explains Chen.
4. Have cutting-edge facilities
"The facilities at the forecast center at Weathernews' head office are easily as good as those at Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau," says Chen, who visited head office himself before making the decision to join the company. WNI spares no expense on their facilities and has developed the most cutting-edge forecasting models, factors that have been crucial in the company's success.
"We use a forecasting model we call 'OWN,' which compares favorably with the WRF--Weather Research and Forecasting--model developed by the US Meteorological Service. This model enables us to calculate weather changes based on grid points as far apart as 100 or 200 kilometers apart down to as close as nine kilometers. As a result, we can offer small, localized forecasts suitable for businesses with clear, accurate data. We can also forecast rainfall levels on a per-hour basis," says Chen. "This kind of rainfall forecasting technology is something the Central Weather Bureau are still working on."
5. Your clients are your supporters
A "customer-first" attitude to customer service is the real strength of Japanese business. Morishita notes, "We at WNI consider our clients to be 'supporters' of the company's efforts for long-term sustainability, rather than simply consumers of our products. Such an attitude motivates us to provide the best quality service we possibly can."
Weathernews plans to build up their overseas presence in the next few years, connecting their branches in Asia, Europe, and North America to create a more complete analysis and service network. "Taiwan's important too, don't worry," jokes Morishita.
Weathernews' success in building a market for information from people with their heads in the clouds is no accident, and their experience offers a valuable example for Taiwan in its investment into the meteorological industry.
3. Local analysis reduces errors
Since its founding in 1986, Weathernews has set out to be a multinational meteorological consulting firm. In 1988 they established their first American branch, and since then have expanded into 38 cities worldwide. While each branch gets its data from head office in Japan, with the potential for local variation in weather patterns, the company has hired local meteorologists in order to reduce the potential for error.
Kenneth Chen, who spent ten years with the Central Weather Bureau, now serves as meteorological consultant for WNI's Taiwan branch. At 11 o'clock each morning--12 noon Japan time--he joins a videoconference with head office to provide his analysis of Taiwan's weather for the coming week.
The weather can change due to the influence of geography, and as such we need experienced local analysts to ensure more accurate forecasts," explains Chen.
4. Have cutting-edge facilities
"The facilities at the forecast center at Weathernews' head office are easily as good as those at Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau," says Chen, who visited head office himself before making the decision to join the company. WNI spares no expense on their facilities and has developed the most cutting-edge forecasting models, factors that have been crucial in the company's success.
"We use a forecasting model we call 'OWN,' which compares favorably with the WRF--Weather Research and Forecasting--model developed by the US Meteorological Service. This model enables us to calculate weather changes based on grid points as far apart as 100 or 200 kilometers apart down to as close as nine kilometers. As a result, we can offer small, localized forecasts suitable for businesses with clear, accurate data. We can also forecast rainfall levels on a per-hour basis," says Chen. "This kind of rainfall forecasting technology is something the Central Weather Bureau are still working on."
5. Your clients are your supporters
A "customer-first" attitude to customer service is the real strength of Japanese business. Morishita notes, "We at WNI consider our clients to be 'supporters' of the company's efforts for long-term sustainability, rather than simply consumers of our products. Such an attitude motivates us to provide the best quality service we possibly can."
Weathernews plans to build up their overseas presence in the next few years, connecting their branches in Asia, Europe, and North America to create a more complete analysis and service network. "Taiwan's important too, don't worry," jokes Morishita.
Weathernews' success in building a market for information from people with their heads in the clouds is no accident, and their experience offers a valuable example for Taiwan in its investment into the meteorological industry.
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