Veteran Interview

First, JCS is an abbreviation for 'Joetsu Computer Service'.

The main business at the time of founding, contract calculation services, dwindled, and we shifted to selling office computers and personal computers, software development, etc. Now, the focus is on scratch development of systems for manufacturing, construction, service industries, etc. We also dispatch engineers and programmers to customers' sites.

Joetsu is at the western end of Niigata Prefecture and quite far from Niigata City. Rather, Nagano and Hokuriku are more accessible, so we expanded our sales area outside the prefecture, and now we have customers in a wide area centered within the prefecture. Since we started handling FLEXSCHE, it has become easier to approach manufacturing, but there are not many manufacturers in the prefecture, and there are far more in Nagano and Hokuriku. The farthest customer is in Fukui.

Yes, indeed. Fukui is as far as Tokyo, so we hope to find partners in each region to collaborate with in the future.

Actually, my wife worked in manufacturing and was responsible for production planning, raw material arrangements, and delivery date responses to customers. She often brought work home and seemed to be struggling quite a bit. Seeing that, I thought, "Isn't there something I can do to help?" That was the original trigger. After researching various options, I came across FLEXSCHE.

Initially, it was purely personal interest. Of course, I also felt the potential to connect it to business, so I made an inquiry.

When I first saw the demo, I was impressed by the visual impact. At that time, I had only dealt with text-based systems, and in contrast, FLEXSCHE used graphics abundantly in its interface, which alone heightened my expectations. Of course, I couldn't evaluate everything just from that opportunity, and I remember thinking that I needed to understand it well myself. However, I immediately mentioned in an internal meeting that it was an interesting system and that I wanted to try it.

Your company suggested that even if it didn't lead to orders, we could try it as a door-knock product, so I thought I might as well participate. Around that time, I received information from your company about a project in Niigata Prefecture and accompanied you to the presentation.

Yes, we did. We attracted customers through visits and direct mail, and first held seminars in Joetsu and Tsubame-Sanjo in the central part of the prefecture.

We had to create a plan that balanced production while using by-products generated during the production process in a way that their concentration did not fluctuate excessively. With your company's assistance, we were able to solve this through programming, which became an advantage and led to the decision to go with FLEXSCHE.

Projects that seemed close to being finalized were frozen one after another, and we ended up with no orders for about three years.

At that time, I was actively doing a lot of prototyping at sales destinations. I would aggressively promote, receive some factory data, take it back, model it, and show it to the customers. Then, I would be told things like "this model doesn't work" or "there are these conditions," and I would take it back again, doing this repeatedly for free. This led to a deeper understanding of the manufacturing industry and FLEXSCHE itself.

Yes, that's right. Our company considered FLEXSCHE to be an important solution in the future, but it was difficult to assign unpaid work to busy engineers, so I, who was at the center of the FLEXSCHE business, took charge. But it was interesting work for me. Although there were hardly any orders, I feel that the accumulation of that work is now paying off.

Since we don't always have a stable flow of our own projects, I believe it's important to accumulate know-how by continuously handling FLEXSCHE through collaboration. If there is work, the skills of the technicians will also be honed. Currently, we have six engineers involved with FLEXSCHE, but in the future, we want to increase that number, deepen our understanding of the manufacturing industry, and develop staff who can be entrusted with everything on their own.

Even when there is something to discuss, the response is quick, and I think it's excellent. For inquiries that have the potential to become competitive, you accompany us to the business meetings from an early stage, and such actions indeed increase the chances of securing orders.

It's a bit difficult to say directly in front of you (laughs), but I feel that it's a company where capable people gather. When I went to consult during 'OpenDay,' they could answer any concerns, which is very helpful. FLEXSCHE Corporation gives a strong impression of being a company that thrives on technical prowess, and it closely aligns with the kind of company we aspire to be. Although the work we do is different, as a package manufacturer and system integrator, the fundamental technology and values are common, and I hope our engineers can have more contact with your employees and be inspired. In that sense, I want to increase the number of FLEXSCHE engineers in the future.

I believe that what we create only generates value when it is properly used and is only evaluated when it produces results. As a company, we are committed to that, and we want to continue to work diligently to contribute to our customers. Personally, I have a desire to be a unique presence in this world. It's boring to just do what anyone can do and be done with it, so I want to work with the pride that 'this is a job only I can do.' I also want our employees to aim for that and hone their skills.