Generated at: 2026-09-01 06:29:39

Reduction of Operational Man-Hours for Information Gathering

Contributing to an annual reduction of approximately 1,300 man-hours, as well as improved efficiency and precision in targeting.

uSonar / SideSonar integration with in-house developed systems achieved.

Nitori Co., Ltd.

Retail of Home Furnishings and Related Goods

INTERVIEWEE

    株式会社ニトリ
    法人＆リフォーム事業部
  • Yoshichika Matsuo, Business Reform Manager
  • Genki Tanaka, Business Reform Representative

Known for the slogan "A Cut Above the Rest," Nitori Co., Ltd. operates under a unique business model as a "Manufacturing, Logistics, and IT Retailer." The company maintains end-to-end control over its operations, spanning product planning, raw material procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and retail, with a primary focus on furniture and interior goods.

Beyond residential furniture, the company is actively expanding its B2B presence. Their services include the sale of office furniture, office renovation proposals, and interior coordination for medical and welfare facilities, commercial properties, schools, hotels, and student or employee dormitories.

  • Challenges Before Implementation

    • Significant man-hours were required to gather information on prospective client companies.
    • Sales activities were highly dependent on individual expertise.

  • Reasons for Implementation

    • Since the proprietary system under development required a mechanism leveraging a highly integrated corporate database, the overwhelming business location coverage provided by uSonar's LBC was essential.
    • uSonar was the only company that agreed to integrate with our proprietary system.

  • Results Achieved

    • We successfully reduced the time spent on corporate information gathering by approximately 375 hours per year and corporate registration tasks by approximately 1,000 hours per year.
    • Improved the efficiency of sales targeting, which had previously been dependent on individual expertise.

Thumbnail image for blog_banner_default.jpg

Challenges Before Implementation

Transitioning from individual-dependent targeting to an IT-driven, more strategic approach.

Nitori previously relied on individual sales representatives to collect target corporate information via the internet for B2B sales activities.

However, when sales representatives conduct individual research, it is time-consuming and often leads to information silos. Furthermore, the company faced challenges regarding sales efficiency, such as multiple representatives inadvertently approaching the same target.

Matsuo

To address this situation, a business process reform project was launched within the department in 2019. We began exploring ways to digitize internal operations and improve sales efficiency, including the potential overhaul of our systems, regardless of whether they were internal or external solutions.

Previously, sales representatives were responsible for manually entering corporate data into our database, which was not only time-consuming but also lacked high accuracy.

The executive in charge of the project at the time also faced challenges, noting that "too much time is being spent on customer research" and "we cannot deny the opportunity loss caused by individual-dependent sales methods, which prevents us from securing sufficient time to focus on the customers who truly require our attention."

Consequently, with the goal of strengthening our customer database, we decided to consider implementing a new service that could integrate with our in-house developed system.

Matsuo

We compared and evaluated services from uSonar and two other companies, but uSonar was the only one that agreed to our essential requirement of "integration with our in-house developed system."

uSonar's uSonar/SideSonar is a service with a proven track record of integrating with various SFA platforms, including Salesforce. However, this project involved integration with a proprietary system rather than a standard SFA. We were very pleased that they were willing to provide such a flexible response despite this.

NTR02.jpeg

Mr. Yoshichika Matsuo

Deciding Factors for Implementation

Successful Integration After Approximately Two Years of Preparation, Leading to a Smooth Launch

To achieve this integration, the process was carried out through careful and repeated discussions between both companies.

Matsuo

The business division developed the ideal system concept, which the business reform team then translated into a concrete project. While we proceeded with our internal system development, we initiated the integration as soon as the API for uSonar/SideSonar was ready. Through repeated testing and approximately six months of collaborative adjustments between both companies, we successfully achieved the integration.

While the integration process involved challenges, such as ensuring robust security, the system has received consistent praise from the field since it went live.

Matsuo

Sales representatives, in particular, have expressed their satisfaction, noting that the time previously spent on data entry and searching has been significantly reduced and that information is now much easier to locate. It appears to be highly effective for gathering information on prospective sales targets.

Previously, Nitori Co., Ltd. had to manually research corporate registration numbers when collecting company information for credit inquiries. However, since implementing uSonar and SideSonar, the time required for this information gathering has been drastically reduced.

Tanaka

Previously, it took about three minutes per company to collect corporate information. However, because uSonar and SideSonar contain registered corporate numbers, it now takes only about one minute—a reduction to one-third of the time required before implementation. Since our company performs information gathering for approximately 15,000 companies annually, this translates to 375 hours saved per year.

Furthermore, there have been notable changes in the company registration tasks performed by sales representatives. Previously, they had to meticulously research and input details such as company names, addresses, phone numbers, capital, and sales figures, but uSonar and SideSonar have significantly reduced the burden on staff.

Tanaka

By utilizing the Quick Search and Information Integration API features of uSonar and SideSonar, detailed information for each company can be automatically retrieved with ease. Integrating these features with our internal systems has allowed us to dramatically reduce the time spent on company registration tasks. Sales representatives can now simply review the search results and click the register button to complete the process. In terms of time, what previously took five minutes now takes about one minute, resulting in approximately 1,000 hours saved annually.

In light of these results, the executive in charge noted that this has provided an opportunity to re-examine the theme of how to best utilize the finite resource of time, adding that efficiency has improved, allowing more time to be dedicated to sales and service. The entire division is now experiencing the benefits of the implementation.


NTR03.jpeg

Mr. Genki Tanaka

Results Achieved

Contributing to More Efficient Targeting Through Extensive Data and Diverse Features

The implementation of uSonar/SideSonar has reportedly improved the efficiency of sales targeting, which was previously dependent on individual intuition.

Matsuo

Following the implementation of uSonar/SideSonar, we shifted the responsibility of targeting from individual sales representatives to managers in each zone. These managers possess extensive sales experience and a deep understanding of the customers who truly value our unique strengths: low pricing, quality and functionality, and total coordination.

uSonar/SideSonar is equipped with a wealth of features that allow these managers to fully leverage their expertise and experience, and we feel that it has become much easier to achieve success in our targeting efforts.

Zone managers are said to utilize various features of uSonar/SideSonar when conducting their targeting.

Matsuo

By using the Story feature, we can identify customers with relocation information who might be interested in our office products, or those with employee dormitories where we can leverage our strength in total coordination proposals.

Additionally, we use the Live Access feature to narrow down customers who have visited our website or viewed our catalogs. The fact that customers have shown interest in Nitori on their own is extremely valuable information, so we make it a priority to secure appointments as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, we also pick up and map the companies we have targeted. We have become significantly more efficient in terms of both time and expenses.
Moving forward, we aim to build a system that allows us to analyze attributes and develop strategies by matching data from uSonar's corporate database, LBC, with our internal system data.

By successfully integrating their internal system development with uSonar, Nitori is implementing major business reforms. Through the use of uSonar/SideSonar, they have also gained a clearer vision of the business style they aim to achieve.

Matsuo

The executive in charge at the time stated, "In business, there are areas that should be thoroughly streamlined through IT and digitalization, and areas where it is better to take time and use an analog approach."

Therefore, regarding our sales activity framework, we have thoroughly streamlined operations using our in-house system integrated with uSonar and SideSonar. Furthermore, we remain committed to meeting our customers directly to listen to their feedback, developing products that they will choose, and providing proposals that not only satisfy them but also inspire them.

Reflecting on this initiative, the executive in charge says, "I believe this experience and know-how have become a significant asset for both companies. We have begun to see the answer to 'Digital × Analog = Optimization'." They also have high expectations for our future developments.NTR04.jpeg

*Our service and feature names are current as of the time of the interview.

*New subscriptions for SideSonar ended in February 2025. Analysis and list creation functions have been integrated into PLANSonar, and CRM/SFA enhancement functions have been integrated into GuideSonar.

Article Published: June 30, 2022

Consult with uSonar

You may unsubscribe from information regarding our services and events at any time. Please review our Privacy Statement for details on our company policies.

Other Case Studies

View All Case Studies

For Urgent Inquiries, Please Call Us03-5388-7000Reception Hours: 10:00 - 17:00 (Closed on Weekends and Holidays)

The Definitive Solution for Sales DX Through Data Utilization

Service Brochure

Understand uSonar in 5 Minutes

uSonar in 5 Minutes

Download Brochure