MOL Reveals Massive Restructuring

Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) plans to undertake a number of changes as part of an organizational restructuring, effective April 1, 2018.

The company’s Head Office organization, which is made up of divisions and offices, will be unified into divisions, to restructure and organize the organizational system and allow divisions to more effectively allocate their resources.

MOL will establish the Corporate Marketing Division to succeed operations of the One MOL Business Strategy Execution Office in the current Corporate Planning Division. The move would more effectively promote group-wide business activities across regions and organizations and build a system to move ahead assertively.

The company said that it will divide its Tanker Division into Tanker Division (A) and Tanker Division (B) to create a more customer-focused approach. The Tanker Division (A) will take responsibility mainly for the crude oil tanker business and the Tanker Division (B) will focus on petroleum product tanker and methanol tanker businesses.

The shipping major will also establish an independent business division aimed at more effective investment of management resources for the ferry business.

MOL will transfer operations of the Environment and Emission Free Business, which was positioned as a business for future development in “Rolling Plan 2017,” from the Corporate Planning Division to the New Business Creation and Group Business Division, with the aim of accelerating the business.

Furthermore, a Liner Business Management Division will be set up to fulfill the company’s management role as one of the major investors in Ocean Network Express (ONE), into which the Liner Division is being integrated.

The company said that a Corporate Audit Division would be formed to oversee the Internal Audit Office, an organization that serves to assess management quality and suggest improvements, in addition to operations related to internal audit and internal control and management, which are currently handled by the Internal Audit Office.

Other measures included in the restructuring are the establishment of a Technology Innovation Unit, the position of Chief Technical Officer to supervise operations as a representative of the unit.