Online Supermarket Solutions Chapter 1: Yamato Group Business Optimization Solutions

Various supermarkets in Japan have begun to set up online supermarkets as a way to boost operating performance. However, though this expansion may be easy for major supermarkets with easy access to capital, it is difficult for mid-sized supermarkets due to the heavy burden imposed by the cost of developing an order booking system and operating delivery vehicles. The Yamato Group has launched its "Online Supermarket Support Services" that provide integrated operational support to client companies from system development through to product delivery. These solutions can be used not only by supermarkets but also home improvement stores, drugstores and shopping streets.
(Reporting and editing by Nikkei BP Consulting Inc.)

Hirotaka Ise
Net Super Support Service Business Promotion Department
General Manager
Division of Business Development
YAMATO TRANSPORT CO., LTD.

Online supermarket businesses receive orders online and deliver products directly to consumers. At present, more and more supermarkets (especially major supermarkets) are becoming involved in the business. However, when mid-sized supermarkets have tried to launch their own online supermarket, they have faced the challenge of the large initial investment required for order booking system development, delivery network arrangement, and the like. An investment of several million yen is required for a company to independently develop an order booking system. A fixed cost is generated regardless of the delivering quantity if a company independently prepares delivery vehicles and staff.
Furthermore, limitations to the number of goods deliverable by the company's vehicles result in the loss of sales opportunities.

In response to this, the Yamato Group is developing one stop online supermarket support solutions called the "Online Supermarket Support Services". The service provides an order booking system from Yamato Systems Development via an Application Service Provider (ASP) and offers delivery by Yamato Transport using its TA-Q-BIN infrastructure.
General Manager Hirotaka Ise of the Net Super Support Service Business Promotion Department, Yamato Transport Co., Ltd. introduces the services as follows: "By consulting with the Yamato Group, the amount of the initial system investment required for opening an online supermarket can be limited to about 1,250,000 yen. Also, only about 2 or 3 months are required for the preparation period. There are other companies that provide order booking systems, but only the Yamato Group can help out with even the most difficult deliveries. The basic running costs consist of only a monthly ASP utilization fee of about 150,000 yen, plus a delivery fee corresponding to the amount shipped. Of course there is no upper limit to the amount of items that can be delivered." As is indicated by his introduction, the ability to provide support from all group companies is another advantage of the Yamato Group.

The Yamato Group includes the following companies: Yamato Transport Co., Ltd., which has developed an express delivery network nationwide; Yamato System Development Co., Ltd., which develops and operates diverse IT solutions including data centers; Yamato Home Convenience Co., Ltd., which transports and sets up consumer electronics, household goods, and machinery that cannot be transported via express delivery; Yamato Logistics Co., Ltd., which specializes in domestic and overseas logistics outsourcing; Yamato Financial Co., Ltd., which provides settlement services; and others. These companies pool their talents, which encompass "information, logistics, and settlement", to provide optimal solutions from a comprehensive perspective to the problems of client companies.

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