America
Case study IMURAYA USA, INC.
Organized and centralized cluttered files using Kintone
Highlighted Service
Improving Work Efficiency with Kintone
Problems Faced Before Introduction of Kintone:
Imuraya was storing many Excel, Word and PDF files on their internal server.
In the development field, there were product lists, specification sheets for each product, raw material specification sheets, etc. These were managed by creating folders for each product or raw material supplier. However, as the number of products and raw materials increased, it was difficult to find necessary or related files without going back and forth between folders, increasing the time and effort required for searching. In addition, cost statement managed by the development department were also created in Excel, but they were not connected to the raw material specification sheets or product specification sheets and were managed as independent information.
In the quality assurance field, weekly self-inspections of factories, warehouses, and buildings were conducted, but in the past, each inspection was completed by taking pictures with a smartphone or other device, downloading the data, and later pasting it into an Excel report form, making report preparation time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, the procedure for checking the progress of corrective actions for past findings was complicated, and it was difficult to know which corrective actions had been completed. Many other quality assurance-related records were also stored on paper, and it was difficult to check the past history of these records as well.
In both development and quality assurance, work was also occurring to rewrite similar information into different information, and this also led to a deterioration in work efficiency.
Why IMURAYA USA, Inc. Chose Kintone:
As mentioned above, various files exist within their company, and many of them are connected. Therefore, they wanted to introduce a platform that would enable them to centrally manage all their files, make them easy to search, and link them together. In addition, as one of the requirements of the SQF (Safe Quality Food: an international certification standard for food safety) certification they have received is to maintain and manage records and materials in the areas of product and raw material specifications and quality assurance, they also wanted to consider efficient data management with this SQF measure in mind.
When they were considering their options, they also looked at data management platforms from other companies, but they couldn't find anything that would suit their needs in terms of versatility, for example, as the applications and fields were limited to food safety. On the other hand, they decided that Kintone was beneficial to them because they could set the applications and fields freely, for example, by using the Kintone space, and they could create the system by arranging it themselves, which led them to choose Kintone.
Application Sample Image
Kintone Deployment and Its Effect
With the use of Kintone, they were able to link their data and manage it centrally.
On the development side, it is now possible to link the raw materials used and their suppliers to the product specification sheets on Kintone, making it easier to search for information. Cost calculation sheets can also be checked immediately for the specifications of the relevant raw materials. They have also been able to reduce the amount of work involved in entering the same figures multiple times, and this has also reduced the number of mistakes.
On the quality assurance side, images can be uploaded from smartphones and tablets to the self-inspection app, and reports can be created easily and immediately on site. They also use the date and sort functions to manage progress, and schedule and manage areas that need to be fixed. By using the sort function, they have also improved their record-keeping to include positive observations, and they are using this not only for corrective action but also to share good practices, which was well received by the auditors during the SQF audit. During the SQF audit, they were able to show the auditors the product, raw material lists and records immediately, and it was easier to explain things.
The team at Imuraya intend to continue developing useful apps with their team members to improve work efficiency with their ongoing use of Kintone and its many functions.
Person in Charge for Kintone Deployment: Nakashima-san
Customer profile
Nippon Steel Trading Americas, Inc.
Head office |
2502 Barranca Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92606 |
Establishment |
2009 |
Established in April 2009 in Irvine, California, with the vision of "bringing Japanese and natural flavors of food and aiming to grow into a global company”. The company built a factory incorporating Imuraya's production and quality control technologies, and is currently expanding the Imuraya brand into the U.S. market by manufacturing and selling Japanese-style ice cream, frozen Japanese sweets, and other products centered on "azuki", which is Imuraya's major strength.
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