OTAFUKU FOODS INC.
One of our customers, Otafuku Foods, Inc. was able to achieve business improvements in several of its departments using Kintone. Among the reasons that the company chose this solution was its suitability for a small-scale start.
Through consolidation and visualization of the company’s business data, Kintone enabled smoother internal communications and dramatically raised efficiency and productivity.
Introduced service
Issues solved by using Kintone
Hard to keep track of business deals
Locating information on deals for which time had passed was difficult, as it was spread out among different emails and their Excel or PDF attachments.
Problems when people in charge were unavailable
Sometimes the status of an order couldn’t be checked due to missing information or the person in charge of that order having taken a sudden break.
Difficult scheduling
Each salesperson was in charge of several deals, and keeping track of them all was not easy. Production scheduling by word-of-mouth or email sometimes led to mistakes.
Data and communications are consolidated per deal, making it easy to locate information, improving efficiency.
Discussions are held in comments sections, making it easy to see what conversations were had regarding deals.
Statuses are visually represented, making it easy to see when deals are stuck waiting for approval from someone and simplifying schedule management.
Additionally…
A benefit that Otafuku Foods discovered after they began using Kintone was that through Kintone user-to-user seminars, they can continuously acquire tips on new uses for the product. Kintone includes a variety of applications which can be chosen and added as needed. In its development of new products, Otafuku Foods referred to information gathered from other users to decide which applications to include in its usage.
Why Kintone?
The ability to start small while planning future expansion to multiple departments
We chose Kintone because we could see expanding its use in the future, to various systems such as quality assurance, HR, and invoice management. However, since we didn’t know if it would really, actually work, so we started its use in a small-scale, standard PO/invoice authorization flow. This ability to do a small start in business improvements without making a large initial investment is one more reason why we chose Kintone.
Gradually we expanded Kintone’s use to HR, adding applications for timecard management and time-off requests. Currently we are also using it for product information management and development.
Message from KDDI sales
KDDI America
Ms. Tsukada, salesperson for Otafuku deal
Otafuku was very proactive in using Kintone in order to improve work quality. I think they were able to do this because they attended seminars and events were they learned about various use cases and features at other companies, which allowed them to picture how to use Kintone in a way that was appropriate for them.
Kintone can be customized freely to meet the customer’s needs. We would like to continue giving our full support to Otafuku as they continue to improve their business quality and contribute to culinary culture.
Customer profile
OTAFUKU FOODS INC.
- Head office
- 13117 Molette St. Santa Fe Springs, CA
- Establishment
- 1998
The parent company, Otafuku Sauce Co., Ltd., is a Japanese company founded in 1923. Getting their start as a vinegar producer, they began to produce okonomiyaki sauce as well as a variety of other food seasonings. Their American subsidiary Otafuku Foods was founded in 1998 in Los Angeles. They have spread the use of okonomiyaki sauce and other seasonings in America, contributing widely to culinary culture.
