Shinpei Iida

Become Indispensable to Customers

As a semiconductor product FAE (Field Application Engineer), I provide technical support to major electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers that develop servers, storage, etc. Technical support covers a wide range of areas, from responding to technical inquiries regarding semiconductor products to verifying products provided by the Company on behalf of our customers. Many of the semiconductor products the Company handle are not able to be used to the fullest by simply providing them to customers. Therefore, we as FAEs are required to be close to our customers, provide high-quality technical support, and support their development. When a customer undertakes large-scale development, the number of inquiries may exceed 200 in total, but we respond to each one promptly and carefully. We work every day with the goal of making our customers say, ``We can't develop without Macnica 's technical support.''

In the first place, what led me to join Macnica was the technical internship I participated in during my third year of university. I participated in the internship out of curiosity, wondering what an engineer at a trading company would do, but the senior employees and work I saw were vastly different from what I had vaguely imagined at the beginning. I had a preconceived notion that the business model of a trading company was simply ``purchasing things and selling them as-is'' or ``flowing things from right to left,'' but at Macnica, the relationship between customers and suppliers goes beyond what I imagined. I still remember being impressed by the technical added value they provided.

There Are Things We Can Do Because We Are a Trading Company FAE

In the summer of my second year at the company, an event occurred that made me reaffirm the significance of FAE's existence. When exchanging data within the server of a customer who was using the product I was in charge of, a problem arose in which only certain data could not be sent. At that time, I had only been in charge of the customer for about half a year, and I had no experience dealing with problems.

I was encouraged by my boss's words, "Just do what you can do," and decided to do everything I could. The first thing we did was interview our customers. We would like you to share the details of what kind of events are occurring and under what circumstances. I did everything I could think of, such as reading books and doing research. After 3 weeks of steady efforts, we were able to identify the root cause and solve the problem.

Through this experience, I was able to re-understand the significance of FAE's existence as an intermediary between customers and suppliers. If you want to simply solve the problem, it may be faster for the customer to communicate directly with the supplier manufacturer's engineer who has a wealth of knowledge. Then why do we, FAE, need to be between the customer and the supplier manufacturer? This is because we can correctly understand the needs and positions of both sides and propose solutions. Because it is not a product developed in-house, we are able to make objective judgments from a standpoint that is a step back in a good way. In addition, there are language barriers and gaps in business customs between Japanese customers and overseas suppliers, so we believe that FAE is necessary to promote smooth communication between the two. think.

Realize Daily Growth as an Engineer

Servers and storage, which are rarely conscious of in our daily lives, have become one of the indispensable social infrastructures in the modern age of IT. Seeing a product that I was involved in developing in mass production and being introduced on a customer's website makes me really happy, and I can feel that my efforts have paid off. Participating in development that has a high social contribution gives me great motivation.

Also, one of the real pleasures is that I can feel that my level as an engineer is increasing day by day. When I first started providing technical support to customers, it was very difficult because there were more "things I didn't understand" than "what I understood." I feel that I was able to acquire knowledge about and grow dramatically. In particular, I was able to have technical conversations with suppliers and customers on an equal level and lead to solutions. It would have been unthinkable for me when I first joined the company. I would like to acquire various skills and knowledge for self-growth without being satisfied with the current situation.