Greetings from the President
- TOP
- Sustainability
- Greetings from the President
We aim to address social issues and advance
environmental measures through the digital
transformation (DX) of Japanese society by
promoting the penetration of Data-to-Data systems.
President and CEO:
Ken Nakajima
We aim to address social issues and advance environmental measures through the digital transformation (DX) of
Japanese society by promoting the penetration of Data-to-Data systems.
President and CEO:
Ken Nakajima
Thank you very much for your continued support of the Company. I am Ken Nakajima, President and CEO. Two years
have passed since I took office in January 2022.
After joining Sanwa Bank (now MUFG Bank) as a new graduate, I had the opportunity to meet the late founder of Infomart,
Katsuteru Murakami, in 2000 as part of the business development activities we were running in partnership with
IT venture companies. While I still had things I hope to achieve as a banker, the Company’s innovative business
model and Mr. Murakami's philosophy of "seriously changing the world" resonated with me. This inspired me to change
careers in pursuit of the sense of accomplishment promised with opportunity to change the world together.
After joining the Company, I took on the role of executive in charge and was involved in the launch and expansion
of the ASP billing system (now, "BtoB Platform Invoicing"). Since then, I have been dedicated to promoting Japan's
digital transformation (DX) to a world-class level.
Infomart's BtoB Platform Directly Addresses ESG Initiatives
Our Company engages in CO2 reduction initiatives by digitalizing a vast amount of paper invoices, contracts,
and other documents.
Another key feature of our business is the DtoD (Data to Data*1) system. Many electronic billing systems use the
AtoD (Analog to Data*2) approach, where trading partners send paper invoices to be converted into digital data
and accepted by the system operator. In contrast, our system requires both the system operator and its trading
partners to convert the data into digital format, requiring a consensus among business partners, while promoting
DX across Japan as a whole. Although Japan is often referred to as an IT laggard, we believe that the development
of our business contributes to the advancement and sustainability of Japanese society.
*1
Data to Data: A system for exchanging digital data between companies, such as orders, invoices, and quotations.
*2
Analog to Data: Sending of documents via email or cloud tools. Emails and PDFs received are digitalized using AIOCR and stored electronically.
Positive Turnaround from the COVID-19 Pandemic to 2023 Results
The food business made two significant achievements in 2023. The first is the expansion of system adopters
through the discovery of new markets. Since our founding in 1998, we have provided BtoB platforms for the
foodservice industry, particularly our "BtoB Platform Ordering", which has been adopted by about half of the
nationwide restaurant chains since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we viewed this FOOD business as a
mature sector. However, the unexpected circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years have
provided a tailwind, allowing us to explore new markets. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food
industry was significant, and around 2021, it had an adverse effect on the Company performance. However, we
expanded our sales channels beyond restaurants to include hotels, inns, and catering services, while also
reaching out to regional areas beyond the Tokyo metropolitan center. Undertaking this challenge led us to
discover a significant market, resulting in an increase in companies adopting our services.
The second achievement is our "BtoB Platform," which includes the "BtoB Platform Ordering Light" designed to digitalize
orders for wholesalers. However, this was an area that had still not seen as much widespread adoption. However,
due to the widespread adoption of remote work during the pandemic, there has been a surge in the momentum for digitalization
among wholesalers, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of adopters.
Service Adoption Across Industries Exceeds One Million
At the same time, our "BtoB Platform Invoicing" service, launched in 2015, has continued to grow as a new
pillar for our Company that transcends industry boundaries, surpassing the milestone of one million adopting
companies in 2023. The invoice system introduced in October 2023 has acted as a tailwind, significantly
increasing the demand for invoice digitalization and leading to a substantial rise in adopting companies.
Furthermore, as companies experience the convenience of invoice digitalization, more are adopting our comprehensive
order and delivery system, "BtoB Platform TRADE", to digitalize their entire business flow, including purchase
orders, estimates, and delivery slips. Fully digitalizing the entire business flow requires a Data to Data (DtoD)
approach rather than an Analog to Data (AtoD) one. We believe this is where our strengths can be most effectively
leveraged, and we anticipate a bright future for further development in this area.
Business Expansion Serves as a Breeding Ground for New Development
There are three new topics for 2023.
The first is the establishment of the Digital Government Division, marking the beginning of our focus on municipal
business. As part of this initiative, we launched a proof of concept using the "BtoB Platform" in Nishinomiya City,
Hyogo Prefecture, which has driven progress in platform adoption among companies related to local governments.
This has also led to increased trust from local businesses in our Company, providing a significant positive impact.
The second topic is the launch of the new service "Credit Sales Payment" (credit settlement) in collaboration with
Money Forward Kessai, a Money Forward group company. As an option for "BtoB Platform Invoicing" users, this service
has been well received, and covers everything from credit checks on trading partners to payment collection, payment
reconciliation, reminder notifications, and accounts receivable guarantees.
And third, the "BtoB Platform Invoicing" has led the domestic invoice cloud service sector now for three consecutive
years.
This versatility has driven adoption at many companies across various industries and business types, regardless
of the scope of sales. As of the end of December 2023, the number of companies using the service has surpassed
the million mark, with an approximately 96%* usage rate among companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime
Market.
* According to a survey by TOKYO SHOKO RESEARCH, LTD.
Human Capital and Governance
With increased attention being directed to the mandatory disclosure of information related to human capital in
securities reports, the Company is actively addressing human capital from both quantitative and qualitative
perspectives.
In terms of quantifiable metrics, we are enhancing diversity and increasing the ratio of women in the workplace.
Additionally, the uptake of maternity and paternity leave has improved, with women achieving a 100% uptake and
an average of 1.5 years, while over 60% of men take an average of 2 months. Moreover, we are committed to creating
an environment where both men and women can pursue their careers without setbacks or interruptions. We are working
to establish a system that facilitates employees taking leave and returning to work.
We believe that enhancing employee motivation and engagement is crucial, even for aspects that cannot be quantified.
In 2023, I utilized tools to gather employee evaluations and candid feedback as my "report card". As a result,
the overall evaluation was fairly positive, but I also received some critical feedback. I shared these results
with employees, and made a commitment to address the negative aspects, and am actively working on implementing
improvements based on their input.
At the same time, we are actively working to enhance corporate governance, namely the effectiveness of the Board
of Directors, Executive Committee, and the Nomination and Compensation Committee.
Efforts to Curtail Negative Environmental Impacts
In terms of information disclosure in line with TCFD recommendations, the latest data from 2022 shows that our
supply chain emits approximately 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide under Scope 3. This is primarily due to server
operations for processing large amounts of data. On the other hand, the carbon dioxide reduced through the
paperless initiatives at client companies is approximately 4,000 tons, meaning that our emissions currently
stand at around double the amount reduced.
Starting in 2024, we plan to gradually transition from our current on-premises data center model to a cloud-based
system, which is expected to reverse the relationship between emissions and reductions in the future. Previously,
we maintained multiple servers, including backups, for disaster recovery and other downtime. However, advancements
in technology now allow us to transition to the cloud without compromising safety, enabling us to reduce our environmental
impact moving forward.
Contribution to Japanese Social Issues
I believe we can offer solutions for issues Japan faces, such as food loss and food mileage problems.
Currently, we have started providing an automatic ordering system in partnership with AI companies, which
helps reduce food waste by improving order accuracy. Regarding food mileage, we anticipate that we will be
able to identify inefficiencies in the future by comprehensively analyzing our ordering data.
Additionally, in celebration of our 25th anniversary, we invited employees to submit business ideas, and we received
various solution proposals addressing social issues. We plan to evaluate these ideas as appropriate in the future.
Progress of Medium-term Management Plan, New Vision, and Future Development
The Company is on track to achieve the 2026 goals of the Medium-term Management Plan set forth at the time of
my inauguration: 20 billion yen in net sales, 5 billion yen in operating income, and 25% operating income
margin on net sales. Results for 2023 are trending ahead of initial targets. Steady progress is being made on
implementing our policy to advance system integration with other companies. On the other hand, profits have
continued to decline due to the adoption of aggressive investment measures to achieve significant future sales
growth taken through to 2022.
Therefore, from 2023 through to 2026, we will shift our focus for the latter half of the Medium-term Management
Plan to prioritize profits and aim at maintaining a trend of increased earnings.
Furthermore, in consideration of the changes brought about over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
we have established a new direction for our business looking forward. This involves "rapidly spreading DtoD in
an industry-specific manner, aiming to achieve DX at a level seen in the food business across as many industries
as possible".
In the food industry, we not only sell systems but also provide a platform for information exchange and matching
among client companies, accumulating know-how across companies and sharing it with other adopting companies, all
while offering this support at no cost.
Although this will not yield immediate revenue, it fosters the overall development of the industry and will lead
to future profits. Expanding this beyond the food industry not only enhances efficiency across sectors, but also
contributes significantly to Japanese society as a whole.
Challenges and Approaches to Business Expansion
There are two challenges to be addressed in the future. The first is to strengthen customer success. We believe in the need to further enhance customer satisfaction across all sectors, including the food industry. The second challenge is that of knowledge management. We aim to organize and build a system for sharing know-how with the companies that have adopted our solutions, striving to become a company that lasts for 100 years.
Message to Stakeholders
Promoting the DtoD system in society can be cumbersome and challenging for companies that rely on analog
methods, as it requires them to change established practices. However, it is essential for Japan to break free
from being an IT laggard and to achieve sustainable growth.
This is something only a company with a clear DtoD strategy can achieve, and I always encourage our employees to
take pride in the work they do, emphasizing their contribution to society.
The number of companies using our platform has surpassed one million, with transaction flows exceeding 40 trillion
yen. In addition, we anticipate that the demand for DX across Japan's entire commerce flow will continue to rise,
and this marks just the beginning of this journey. Looking forward, we will continue to strive to maximize corporate
value. We kindly ask for the ongoing support and encouragement of all our stakeholders.