DX INITIATIVES DX Initiatives
Management Message
President and Representative Director
Akihiro Matsuo
As digital technologies continue to progress and spread, the SUN-WA Technos Group market environment and the nature of our business are undergoing dramatic changes.Adapting to these changes will require more flexibility and creativity than ever before, and digital transformation (DX) will play a vital role.
In this environment, under our previous medium-term management plan, we advanced the visualization and streamlining of our existing businesses through DX, implementing a defensive DX approach. As part of the DX strategy in our newly launched medium-term management plan, SUN-WA Growth Plan 2027 (SGP2027), we are shifting from defensive DX to offensive DX, aiming to accelerate growth through data and technology, and will strengthen the value we provide to customers through this new approach. To realize this strategy, we have established a new company-wide DX Promotion Project Office to accelerate our digital transformation efforts.
The specific initiatives consist of the following five pillars.
- Prepare for the introduction of a next-generation core system to achieve greater operational efficiency, standardization, and streamlining
- Accelerate global management decision-making through the collection and utilization of domestic and international management and operational data
- Enhance sales strategies through AI and data analysis of sales and marketing information
- Improve customer satisfaction by optimizing logistics hubs and achieving high-precision operations through a smart logistics visualization system
- Strengthen organizational capabilities by fostering and leveraging DX talent equipped for cutting-edge technologies
These DX measures and implementation activities are collectively called SUN-WA Digital Transformation (SDX), a unified name for the unified actions we take as a company with the aim of increasing corporate value.
SDX - Specific Measures
Prepare for the introduction of a next-generation core system to achieve greater operational efficiency, standardization, and streamlining
- Identifying and organizing issues and underlying themes in the core system through operational standardization initiatives
- Streamlining operations by eliminating redundant tasks and unnecessary processes
- Redesigning management methods to align with the Company’s scale
- Establishing a policy for introducing the next-generation core system
Accelerate global management decision-making through the collection and utilization of domestic and international management and operational data
- Accelerating global deployment of core systems for overseas subsidiaries
- Improving data collection efficiency and visualization across all countries
- Analyzing and leveraging collected data to accelerate and enhance the precision of global management strategies
Enhance sales strategies through AI and data analysis of sales and marketing information
- Using AI to analyze SFA data and marketing information to enhance the identification of customer needs and target markets
- Incorporating data analysis results into sales strategies to optimize sales activities
Improve customer satisfaction by optimizing logistics hubs and achieving high-precision operations through a smart logistics visualization system
- Promoting the development of an efficient logistics network to enable fast, reliable delivery from locations closer to the customer
- Achieving efficient, high-quality warehouse operations by leveraging WMS and a smart logistics visualization system
- Providing high-value-added logistics functions through advanced information management and agile responsiveness to customer needs, in coordination with sales strategies
Strengthen organizational capabilities by fostering and leveraging DX talent equipped for cutting-edge technologies
- Recruiting and developing highly specialized personnel capable of utilizing the latest digital technologies, such an AI, cloud computing, and big data analytics
- Applying cutting-edge technologies to business operations and serving as a driver of innovation
- Reviewing and establishing an organizational structure to promote highly effective DX
Building an Environment to Achieve the DX Strategy
In the previous medium-term management plan, we set “improve operational efficiency and value provided through digital transformation (DX)” as our core policy and promoted defensive DX through the following four initiatives.
- Realize the swift visualization of key management indicators
- Enhance customer value by making data usage more sophisticated
- Improve operational efficiency
- Train and recruit DX talent
Specifically, we will work to maintain and operate a more robust digital environment by leveraging the IT infrastructure built through defensive DX, including the optimization of business management through dashboards for key performance indicators (KPIs), the streamlining of sales operations through advanced use of SFA, the automation of routine tasks through expanded use of RPA, and the enhancement of IT literacy through cloud-based e-learning. In the 12th Medium-Term Management Plan, we will shift to offensive DX and implement the following measures.
- Prepare for the introduction of a next-generation core system to achieve greater operational efficiency, standardization, and streamlining
- Accelerate global management decision-making through the collection and utilization of domestic and international management and operational data
- Enhance sales strategies through AI and data analysis of sales and marketing information
- Improve customer satisfaction by optimizing logistics hubs and achieving high-precision operations through a smart logistics visualization system
- Strengthen organizational capabilities by fostering and leveraging DX talent equipped for cutting-edge technologies
With regard to advancing our DX strategy, the DX Promotion Project Office is responsible for overseeing the implementation of initiatives in alignment with the DX strategy outlined in the 12th Medium-Term Management Plan, monitoring their progress, and appropriately managing related investment funds.
DX Implementation System
SUN-WA Technos is driving DX under the leadership of the President and Representative Director as the Chief DX Officer, with a Senior Executive Officer overseeing the DX Promotion Project Office.
Building on the robust digital foundation established through defensive DX, we will now shift our strategy to offensive DX by actively adopting advanced data analytics and cutting-edge technologies, accelerating growth across the entire organization.
We also position the development of DX talent as an important management issue. Under the SDX policy of “Strengthening organizational capabilities by fostering and leveraging DX talent equipped for cutting-edge technologies,” we will work to develop and secure the systems, organizational structure, and human resources necessary to advance our DX strategy. We are committed to accelerating the upskilling of every employee to strengthen our digital-era competitiveness, enhance the digital adaptability of the entire organization, and achieve sustainable growth.
DX Strategy Achievement Indicators
We aim to implement SDX measures and thereby achieve the target values laid out in the 12th Medium-Term Management plan.
Since each initiative contributes to increasing corporate income (net sales) and reducing SG&A (selling, general and administrative expenses), improving operating profit is ultimately a metric for the level of achievement of the DX strategy across the company.
Indicators used to measure initiatives’ achievement level such as the number of projects secured and internal system usage status are not public information, but progress on these matters is monitored within the DX Promotion Management Project Office.