Information is the key to distribution innovation. We are conditioning our IT infrastructure to accelerate the Kokubu Group business and optimize the product flow.

We adapt to all sorts of distribution change with the latest information infrastructure.

Kokubu made an across-the-board shift to a highly extensible open system for its information systems in 2005, ahead of other companies. Similarly, it placed a business and accounting system developed over a period of three years by an extended number of 3,200 personnel into operation in 2006. As this indicates, we have an information infrastruc- ture linked to innovation of the business process and expansion of the business scope. In the logistics field, we also constructed a next-generation general-purpose logistics information system that has the flexibility to adapt to all styles of physical distribution and the dependability to continue operating around the clock 365 days a year. We intend to keep bolstering our IT infrastructure based on the latest technologies and business models.

We pursue a total optimization of distribution through creative information-sharing.

To maximize the value furnished to consumers, we offer more efficient replenishing, more accurate demand forecasting, and more enriched stores. We also collect information from the three stages (manufacture, distribution, and retailing), and use it to optimize the supply chain. In the area of product information, we constructed an environment enabling instantaneous retrieval at any time from a product data base encompassing more than 1.5 million items, and use it to cope with all wants and needs. In addition, we are taking active approaches to intercorporate data exchange using XML and sophisticated utilization of information applying radio frequency identification (RFID), for a wider sharing of information in distribution networks.

Information systems in the Kokubu Group