Casio’s product development concept involves “going from 0 to 1.” Since its inception, the company has consistently sought to improve people’s lifestyles by providing products that did not exist before, and thereby supporting social progress. Casio’s aim is always to develop products that generate their own demand. Casio has been relentlessly pursuing its own advancement by building the outstanding product planning abilities, ideas, and creativity it needs to achieve this aim.
Nevertheless, the creation of products with new value based on latent customer needs cannot be achieved by armchair thinkers. Sometimes product development engineers need to experience challenging product usage environments, and actually assess for themselves the true value of their products.

While maintaining a global perspective, Casio is also developing and providing products that precisely target particular national and regional needs. Casio’s calculator with selectable Indian number display was the fi rst to adopt the traditional Indian method of inserting a comma after the thousand position, and then after every subsequent two digits (i.e. hundred thousand, ten million, etc.). The company also launched an oriental electronic keyboard featuring the 54 tones and 83 rhythms characteristic of the major musical regions of the Middle and Near East, namely, the Arab / Maghreb, Khaleeji, Iran, and Oriental regions. Thousands of different products have been launched by Casio the world over, including dynamic product proposals for high-growth newly emerging markets.

In order to translate unique product concepts like these into competitive products, a high level of technical expertise is needed. Only a technology leader can overcome the various hurdles involved. This is why Casio constantly works to develop advanced technologies and is taking on the challenge of pioneering new fields.

Casio works to develop products using human-centered design (HCD) in conformity with ISO 13407 processes, with the objective of improving product ease of use as part of the product’s overall quality. In the HCD process, Casio seeks optimal ease of use by determining important issues from customer feedback and observation of product use in real-world situations. Through repeated evaluation and verification, Casio works to develop highly desirable products.

In developing the DT-X8, a handheld scanner terminal that is widely used at logistics and retail sites, Casio focused on a shock-resistant design to achieve ease of use in the tough working conditions in the real world of distribution. In addition to 3-meter drop resistance, the DT-X8 is also IP67 dust-proof and splash-proof and functions at -20°C, making it ready for the most challenging real-world conditions—in dusty sites, in the rain, and in cold storage.
The DT-X8 also features highly ergonomic operation; the shape of the key tops and the pitch of the keys is finely crafted to make it easy to identify the keys by feel even when wearing work gloves, which facilitates reliable input.

Casio products are all designed in 3D using computer software, and are stored as digital data. These files are centrally managed along with circuit diagrams, component data, specifications, and production schedules, and are shared via network with production sites and logistics facilities. This system was established to enable Casio to flexibly adapt to changing conditions, such as changes in user needs and the economic environment.
By sharing this data throughout the company, Casio can ensure that circuits and parts that work the same way, even if used in different product areas, are standardized, achieving lower procurement costs and greater efficiency in assembly. If any problems arise in relation to quality or the environment, Casio can efficiently go through its past product lineup to determine if there is a need to replace a certain part, or can work across departmental lines to examine the total environmental impact, for instance, calculating the amount of designated chemical substances contained in products.
Design data is also used in the creation of catalogs and instruction manuals. Since design data can be used to create 3D diagrams and cross-section diagrams, there is no need to start drawing new diagrams from scratch. This accelerates the production process and keeps costs down.

Casio's electronic dictionaries come in a variety of models and in a wide array of colors to meet the needs of today's diverse users. To efficiently produce product lineups that span a wide range of configurations, Casio integrates all the common parts of each product to create a single "platform unit." This allows Casio to keep costs down by ordering parts in large quantities, and to improve manufacturing efficiency by standardizing production processes.

Casio determines how many of each product to ship by looking at the market conditions immediately before shipment, inserting different types of content into the platform units, assembling the exterior, and then packaging the products. This allows Casio to supply only the number of models necessary in the shortest period of time.

Use of platform unit in electronic dictionary

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