Greetings from the President

Thank you very much for your continued support of the Company. I am Ken Nakajima, President and CEO. Three years have passed since I took office in January 2022. I spent five formative years of my childhood in the great outdoors of South Africa, where my father was stationed, and later developed strong self-discipline as a university student, playing rugby at the collegiate athletic level. I take great pride in the fact that these experiences have shaped my adventurous spirit, enhanced my English language proficiency, and strengthened my ability to overcome challenges.

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 while in charge of partnership operations with IT venture companies. I joined the Company in 2010, drawn by Mr. Murakami's philosophy of 'making a real difference in the world' and his innovative business model. After joining the Company, while promoting the development of HR systems and the improvement of corporate sales, 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 Billing"). Since then, I have been dedicated to Japan's digital transformation (DX).

Infomart's business is inherently aligned with sustainability

Our business is built on the DtoD (Data to Data^*1) system, which directly supports CO₂ reduction efforts by converting large volumes of paper invoices, contracts, purchase orders, and other documents into digital data. Most common electronic invoice systems operate on the AtoD (Analog to Data^*2) model, which allows for integration even when business partners still rely on analog data. While this presents a low barrier to entry, it also limits the broader paperless transition of Japanese society, offering only a partial solution.

Our goal is for the adoption of the DtoD system to enable both ordering and receiving companies to reduce costs, leverage data, and simultaneously ease the workload of users while lowering the environmental impact. As a result, the development and sustainability of Japanese society will be strengthened - this is the unique value we are poised to provide.

In 2023, to mark the Company’s 25th anniversary, we refreshed our corporate logo, tagline, and website, and in January 2025, we launched a brand movie. The movie is designed to showcase our history and vision through animation, while also conveying to a broader audience the type of social contributions we strive to make.

1. *1

   Data to Data: A system for exchanging digital data between companies, such as orders, invoices, and quotations.

2. *2

   Analog to Data: Sending of documents via email or cloud tools. Emails and PDFs received are digitalized using AIOCR and stored electronically.

Progress of Mid-term Management Plan, and our new vision

The Mid-term Management Plan introduced at the time of his appointment as president sets a target of 20 billion yen in net sales and 5 billion yen in operating income by 2026. Performance figures for 2024 are on track, with results surpassing the initial plan.

In the Food business, particularly, the market expanded significantly beyond the traditional food and beverage sector to include the wholesale industry, where digitization had previously lagged, contributing to strong results. On the other hand, in the ES business, the response to the special demand triggered by the introduction of the invoice system was greater than anticipated, resulting in slightly lower-than-expected performance. However, the business continued to grow steadily at the same pace as the period prior to this special demand.

The forecast for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, is net sales of 19.4 billion yen and operating income of 2.3 billion yen, and we are currently on track to meet our net sales and operating income targets for 2026. We will continue to leverage social changes post-COVID as a tailwind to implement a more aggressive growth strategy.

DX in receiving and placing construction orders is revitalizing the entire industry

As part of this aggressive strategy, we have identified three key priorities for 2024. The first priority is the ‘promotion of industry-wide DtoD strategies.‘ We aim to expand our system for receiving and placing orders beyond the food industry and, in the future, replicate the success of the Food business across as many industries as possible.

We believe the Company is now entering its third phase of development. Phase 1 (1998-2014): The start-up period. We have developed a BtoB platform specialized for the food industry, which has been adopted by some 4,100 buyer companies and 46,000 seller companies by the end of 2024. Transaction volume has surpassed 2.5 trillion yen, securing the No. 1 market share in Japan's food industry. Phase 2 (2015-): Launch of electronic invoice service for all industries. Some 1.14 million companies have adopted the system as of the end of 2024. Phase 3 (2022-): Establishment of new industry standards for receiving and placing orders, with a broader expansion into industries beyond the food sector. As of 2024, the Company has fully integrated DX in the receiving and placing of orders within the construction industry, driving the digitalization of the entire sector. We will intensify our efforts to establish industry standards within the construction sector and expand into additional industries.

The municipal business also expanded through the strengthening of regional bases

The second priority is to ‘strengthen regional bases.’ In 2024, we opened new offices in Sapporo, Nagoya, and Okinawa. In addition to acquiring new customers, we will enhance our support for existing medium-sized and large regional companies to drive further expansion of implementation.

The Company also places a strong emphasis on digital government solutions for municipalities. Although implementing a system for a municipality is both costly and time-consuming, the outcome has been the establishment of a dominant market share, where we are the sole provider. We view the introduction of this service to local governments not only as a means to increase revenue, but also as a key strategy for building trust within the local community.

Pricing revisions help drive sales

The third priority revolves around ‘BtoB platform revisions.’ The Company's priority has been to reduce costs and offer competitive prices, and a review of the pricing structure has been carried out to ensure it is appropriate. This has been a significant positive driver for sales.

Efforts to curtail negative environmental impacts

As a company whose operations are closely tied to CO₂ reduction, our commitment to sustainability remains a top priority. In terms of information disclosure in line with TCFD recommendations, the latest data from 2023 shows that our supply chain emits approximately 11,000 tons of greenhouse gases under Scope 3. Seventy to eighty percent of this is primarily due to server operations for processing large amounts of data. This estimate predicts a reduction in emissions to 7,000 tons by 2025, as we transition from an on-premise data center ownership model to the cloud.

Conversely, CO₂ emissions reduced by our system exceeded 5,000 tons in 2024. This is due to the increasing adoption of the ‘BtoB platform.’ The paperless use of purchase orders, invoices, contracts, and other documents through the BtoB platform will continue, and in the coming years, the reduction in CO₂ emissions will surpass the emissions generated.

Approaches to issues in Japanese society

As for the current situation in Japan, we believe that sustainability and DX are not effectively integrated, and that environmental initiatives, such as the transition to a paperless office, are not progressing significantly within small and medium-sized enterprises. DX in Japan has seen significant progress, largely driven by the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many systems adopted by large companies remain on-premise and come with substantial cost burdens, keeping the benefits of DX out of reach for small and medium-sized enterprises. Our DtoD method, which leverages the cloud, offers a solution to address the cost challenges associated with digital transformation. In terms of integrating sustainability with DX, we currently display the total CO₂ emissions reductions across our entire supply chain on our website. However, we plan to develop a system that will enhance motivation by showcasing this data for each individual company, making it more visible and accessible.

Challenges to business development and future prospects

Future challenges include optimizing knowledge management and accelerating development speed. With regard to knowledge management, the challenge lies in formalizing the methods developed within the food industry and adapting them for widespread application across other industries. For example, there is an urgent need to establish a mechanism to broaden our industry knowledge beyond the food sector. This could involve providing opportunities for information exchange and collaboration among companies that have adopted our products and services, and leveraging the accumulated know-how from each company to benefit others in the same network. We believe that this initiative goes beyond merely improving operational efficiency and will contribute to the overall revitalization of Japan.

As to the speed of development, we are already in the process of transformation. Where waterfall development once required significant time for even minor modifications, we have transitioned to agile development, a method that enables detailed adjustments and development for each function. Once this transformation is complete, the speed of development will increase significantly, enabling a more precise and responsive approach.

Message to Stakeholders

Our business model, focused on expanding the adoption of DtoD systems, is grounded in the principle of ‘making Japanese society better.‘ Even today, with over 1.15 million companies having adopted the system and annual commercial transactions surpassing 60 trillion yen, the demand for commercial distribution DX continues to grow.

Looking ahead, we will remain committed to maximizing corporate value. We sincerely request the continued support and encouragement of all our stakeholders.