Kanematsu Corporation (hereinafter “Kanematsu”) is pleased to announce the full-scale launch of Hay Portal, an industry-first information sharing platform dedicated to hay importing, which was jointly developed by Kanematsu and Nippon Office Systems Ltd., a group company. Hay Portal centrally manages information on orders placed and received, shipping, transportation, and other steps to achieve operational streamlining and accurate real-time management. By digitalizing hay distribution-related information that was previously managed manually, the new system helps create an environment where livestock farmers and livestock companies can concentrate on their core business.
■Background & Goal
Kanematsu has imported hay for several decades and is an industry leader in transaction volume. The hay industry still predominantly manages distribution using manual methods such as fax, phone, and email, which poses various major challenges to the industry as a whole, such as delays and errors in information transmission, as well as the considerable administrative workload. Developed based on extensive field feedback and rolled out after empirical testing, Hay Portal is designed to leverage the power of information technology to minimize such burden that occurs in the field. Our ultimate goal is to build a “hay eco-system” that integrates information and functions across the entire hay supply chain.
■Effects of Hay Portal introduction
１．Operational streamlining and reduction of administrative workload
- Reduces the administrative tasks by 240 hours a year per customer company(*based on internal estimates)
- Eliminates the current information time lag of up to seven days, offers real-time transmission
- Significantly reduces errors due to manual input, oral communication, etc.
２．Management support and concentration on core business
- Visualizes shipping, transportation, and delivery statuses, allowing swifter management decision-making
- Optimizes cost and quality control by planned order placement and management
- Relieves customers from cumbersome administrative tasks and inquiry response operations, allowing them to concentrate on their core business (management, breeding)
■Outlook
Toward building the hay eco-system, we will expand the scope of the service to customs information and pick up information in cooperation with livestock farmers and related companies. We ultimately aim to evolve Hay Portal into an advanced digital supply chain platform that can provide demand forecasts and optimized logistics proposals by analyzing the accumulated data on order placement/receiving patterns and seasonal variations using AI.
Kanematsu sets DX as one of the key areas under its medium-term management plan, “integration 1.1.” Positioning Hay Portal as a DX initiative in action that contributes to the transformation of supply chains, we will continue to integrate our field-driven problem-solving capabilities with digital technology to co-create new value with our partners.
【Contact】
Public Relations Section, Kanematsu Corporation TEL: +81-3-6747-5000 https://www.kanematsu.co.jp/en/inquiry/