Becoming the Company We Want to Be
We believe that in order to constantly provide the highest level of convenience as a unique company, our priority
should be capability targets, which tell us the types of capabilities that we should possess as a company, rather
than to numerical targets such as sales and profit figures. In order to become a company that is needed by our customers and society during any era, we have set the following goals and will continue to work on achieving them.
To become a company that will be able to store one million items in inventory by 2030
We are working on expanding the number of items in our inventory and strengthening our distribution system to improve customer convenience. At Planet Aichi, which is planned for construction, we will build a state-of-the-art distribution system based on a different approach to distribution to establish a system which will allow us to store one million items in inventory by 2030.
To become a company capable of receiving orders 24 hours a day and shipping products 365 days a year
In anticipation of improving the convenience of retailers and increasing the number of products shipped in the future, we will establish a system that can accept orders 24 hours a day and ship 365 days a year. Planet Minami Kanto, which was rebuilt in August 2020, is equipped with an underground parking lot with a high ceiling that allows delivery trucks to enter. It is a facility that allows entry and exit even at night, and is designed to operate 24 hours a day.
To become a company where products are always in stock and never experiences order or shipping based errors
We think that the number one reason for delivery delays is that an item is out of stock. We will expand the number of different products in inventory and move forward with creating a system for appropriate stocking made possible through the use of AI to prevent shortages from occurring. In addition, the majority of order and shipping errors occur when people are involved in the process. Through the adoption of robotics and AI, we are moving forward with automation and labor reduction, creating a system that is free of order and shipping based errors.
To become a company that never has to take inventory
Currently, inventory work is carried out once a year, but due to the sophistication of our inventory management system, we have been able to reduce the inventory discrepancy rate to 0.34%. However, taking inventory of 600,000 items requires a huge amount of effort and time. For this reason, we have established an internal inventory-taking committee to eliminate the need for inventory-taking in the future, and are working to improve systems and operations to achieve this goal.
We want to make our Direct Delivery Service standard for distribution
In general, it is common sense in the industry for wholesalers to deliver products ordered by retailers to users via retailers. However, not only does it take a long time to deliver, but it also places a burden on the environment by carrying out shipping and packaging twice when delivering the product. In "user direct delivery", products are delivered directly to users, so it is possible to "halve delivery times, halve packaging materials, halve delivery charges, and halve environmental impact." We will make “direct delivery to users” a common sight and connect it to “environmental conservation”.
To become a company capable of quickly providing quotations
With the introduction of AI-based quotation system (January 2020), we are able to quickly respond to the 30,000 quotes we receive from retailers in as little as 5 seconds. As of the end of December 2023, Automated Estimate Ratio was 27.6%, and we are continuing to improve the system to improve it to 34.0% by 2025.
We want to become a company that can achieve the fastest, shortest, and best delivery in the industry.
Our company believes that "Immediate delivery is the greatest service," and has worked to strengthen our Distribution system. In the future, we will analyze the lead time from order receipt to delivery (as of the end of December 2023: average 19 hours, 13 minutes, 43 hours) on a case-by-case basis and aim to shorten it by 30 minutes. We will work on the issues that become apparent by visualizing "Quick Delivery" and create a system that can realize the industry's "fastest," "shortest," and "best" delivery.
To become a company with a minimal environmental burden
Offering an abundant line-up and inventory to select from has led to the realization of one-stop shopping, which results in lower consumption of energy and resources for procurement than purchasing products from multiple suppliers. In addition, by establishing a fixed cost based distribution system, delivery is made using a fixed amount of energy regardless of the delivery volume without incurring costs for each individual delivery as with express home delivery services. In addition, we are expanding our Direct Delivery Service, an environmentally-friendly approach which reduces shipping costs and associated work by half, and our MRO Stocker, a tool storage system that realizes zero delivery time. By gradually solving the issue of wastefulness hidden in distribution activities, we aim to become a company with a small environmental burden.
To become a company that is also actively involved in the recycling, reuse,
and return of tools and equipment
Our Naojiro Repair Workshops, which have been in operation since 1998, provide unique services designed to help reduce the environmental burden and cut costs by prolonging the use of familiar tools and equipment. In addition to re-grinding and calibration, Naojiro Repair Workshops offer a wide range of services, including tape processing.
To become a “platform holder” that supports manufacturing in Japan
In June 2021, we announced an industry-academia collaboration with Nagoya University and capital and business alliances with GROUND Inc. and Cinnamon Inc. Together with reliable partners in these rapidly changing times, we are working to build a new distribution platform with the desire to become a “platform holder” for the procurement of PRO TOOLs for manufacturing sites.
To become a company capable of rewriting the accepted practices, customs, accepted opinions, and conventions of the industry
As a latecomer to the industry, we have developed our business by thinking outside the box. The starting point that continues to generate corporate vitality and growth is the idea that choosing majority solutions results in ordinary results. We will continue to solve various problems with ideas that take common sense by surprise, capable of rewriting the customs, accepted opinions, and conventions of the industry.