We interviewed Mr. Hamabata, Managing Director of Tsuchiyoshi Matec (Thailand), who installed the work platform system "kintone" through Material Automation (Thailand) (hereinafter abbreviated as MAT) and succeeded in improving our business processes brilliantly.

■ Introduction of Tsuchiyoshi Matec (Thailand)

Since its founding in 1950, its parent company in Japan, Tsuchiyoshi Matec, has contributed to solving customers' problems as a consultant in the foundry industry. In 2009, we established a local subsidiary in Thailand and started selling machinery such as auxiliary materials for casting, production equipment, and inspection equipment. We are expanding our business all over Japan and overseas by making proposals that make use of the know-how accumulated from many years of experience and expertise.

With the installation of "Kintone", internal management has become much more efficient.

Editor:
Please tell us the reason of deploying kintone.

Mr. Hamabata:
This is to systematize the communication work with the Japanese head office, which has been done by only Japanese staff, and transfer it to the Thai staff. By doing so, we thought that the work of managers and Thai staff could be visualized and work efficiency could be improved.

In particular
① Order status (import flow)
② Inventory
③ Cost accounting
④ Payment

Regarding such things, I wanted to change from email and Excel-based management to operations that use database software on the cloud.

Editor:
You had a solid goal from the beginning. Did the initial deployment go smoothly?

Mr. Hamabata:
It took time for us to judge the specifications and prepare the data, but MAT could proceed with the installation on our pace. The installation period was nearly on schedule. I am very satisfied with MAT's installation service.

Editor:
I heard that your goals are "transfer and visualization of work to Thai staff" and "improvement of work efficiency". How much have you achieved?

Mr. Hamabata:
I think I have almost achieved my goal. Especially in import control, it was very effective. Initially, we have created a system with inventory management in mind, but we felt that it was necessary to review the management items, and this will be an issue to be addressed in the future. We are considering expanding the system in addition to linking the accounting system for sales information.

Advantages and disadvantages of "Kintone"

Editor:
Please tell us the particularly good points about kintone this time.

Mr. Hamabata:
The number of e-mails with Japan head has decreased, and the exchanges between Japanese people between Thailand and Japan can now be done only with irregular projects. In addition, the centralized Excel data that was managed individually in Japan and Thailand has eliminated information gaps and discrepancies. In addition, the status of each project can be easily grasped, and I think that the productivity of the entire business has greatly improved.

Editor:
How about the cost matter?

Mr. Hamabata:
Excluding the initial installment cost, we use 10 users and the monthly fee is 5,000 baht. Considering purchasing an on-site server and developing an original system, I think it is very economical. Using a cloud server, there is no need for costs such as server rooms and air conditioning.

Editor:
On the contrary, are there any points that did not match the expected value after deploying the system?

Mr. Hamabata:
Since kintone is a general-purpose system, it may be inferior in terms of usability when compared to a completely individually developed system. Also, I think it's the same for any system, but not everything can be done.

Service to customers improved by upgraded business efficiency

Editor:
It is clear that systematization has improved the efficiency of internal operations. How about external effects such as improving service to customers?

Mr. Hamabata:
I think the response to inquiries regarding delivery dates and prices has become smoother. In addition, we created an app related to sales by ourselves using kintone so that customer information and product catalogs can be picked up immediately. As a matter of fact, I think it was really good to install kintone. If I become the person in charge of another country in the future, I'm sure I will install kintone again.

Editor:
I see, you are creating an app in-house as well. I have known about a service called kintone in TV commercials, but I think I was able to understand its convenience by listening to specific functions. Thank you for your valuable talk today.