THE real problem isn’t bad strategy, it’s bad execution. This is what First Philec Solar Corporation (FPSC) president and CEO Dan Lachica said at the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI) summit at SMX Convention Center on June 2 as he gave an overview of the Balanced Scorecard and how it is used as a tool for successful strategy execution.

 
“It is easy to come up with an exotic, comprehensive strategy, vision and mission, but what does the employee, operator or janitor know about how that strategy or vision relates to him as an employee? Most of the time they don’t have a clue. Being able to cascade to the grassroots level is critical to execution,” said Lachica.

Camille Gargantiel of FPSC’s Office of Strategy Management shared proof of how the tool works through the unprecedented success that FPSC experienced from its adoption of the BSC and Strategy Management Process for premium execution. The company mastered alignment in 2009 and is implementing its Strategy Management Process this year.

In just two years of operation, FPSC exceeded expectations with more than 65% improvement rate for 2009 in revenue, net income, capacity and volume. It also increased market share by 33% in one year of operations.

Other benefits include increased business opportunities and investors, improved operations through implemented innovations, heightened understanding of company objectives and individual contributions, an integrated and motivated organization, and maturing performance measures and initiatives.

Meanwhile, still at the SEIPI, Lachica also shared the best practices of First Sumiden Circuits Inc. (FSCI) in implementing the Balanced Scorecard since 2003.

Lachica, who is the former president of FSCI, presented an overview in two of the convention’s learning sessions: High Tech Industry Forum on Supply Chain Management and Transforming HR Management as a Key to Business Success. FSCI strategy manager Aleth Pablo presented the company’s Balanced Scorecard implementation during the Supply Chain Forum for Purchasing, Finance and Traffic Managers, while FSCI assistant vice president for Human Resource Jun Mayo highlighted its Learning and Growth perspective in the forum for HR practitioners.

The parent of both companies is First Philippine Electric Corporation, with Sumitomo Electric Inc. as partner for FSCI and SunPower Philippines Manufacturing, Ltd. for FPSC.

FSCI is a pioneer manufacturer of flexible printed circuits— small, lightweight wiring components with electronic circuits printed on a flexible film used in electronic items like videocams, digicams, printers, mobile phones and iPods. FPSC is the first large-scale silicon wafer slicing company in the Philippines. It is envisioned to have 100 multi-wire saws producing 240 million wafers annually, which will support approximately 750 megawatts of solar energy.

Over the years, FSCI and now FPSC have aligned their performance evaluation, reward system and performance reviews with the principles of the BSC. As BSc provided the needed framework to mobilize all resources and activities to align with the organization’s strategies, both companies were able to achieve breakthrough results including a business turnaround in 2009 for FSCI and record-breaking profit in the midst of the global financial crisis.