Young Interview

When I first joined in 2008, I was almost exclusively focused on sales for FLEXSCHE. Now, I handle other solutions as well, but FLEXSCHE is still the most involved.

Yes, I have. Although there was a period when I left for further studies, I returned to Joetsu when I started working.

Previously, I worked in a completely different field in sales, and it was only after joining this company that I got involved with IT.

Mr. Maruyama is quite serious about it. You even won a tournament, didn't you?

Last year's company trip was to a facility where we could play table tennis, and everyone was eager to "defeat Mr. Maruyama!" but we couldn't win at all.

In the past, my hobbies were cooking and going to the gym, but now I have a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, so I'm busy with childcare (laughs). My wife usually handles the cooking, so even when I want to cook, she says, "I've already bought the ingredients, and please watch the kids," so I rarely get to be in the kitchen. However, I do get to spend time with my kids, and playing with them is a great way to refresh myself.

Right after I joined, the Lehman Shock occurred, so it was indeed a tough time. As I mentioned earlier, I focused solely on FLEXSCHE and mainly worked on uncovering new customers, but it didn't lead to any orders at all.

FLEXSCHE itself was well-received. However, as everyone knows, the manufacturing industry as a whole wasn't in a mood to invest at that time.

Around 2013. Once we secured one project, we were able to consistently receive orders.

Firstly, the sales department began to understand how to sell FLEXSCHE, and the willingness to invest in the market started to recover. However, I now feel that the most significant factor was that we continued our activities even during the period when we couldn't sell, which increased our sales destinations and allowed us to build relationships with customers where we could quickly set up appointments and have business discussions. That was probably the period of sowing seeds necessary to secure orders for FLEXSCHE.

That's what we aim for. Now, we have many collaborative projects with other partners, so we want to maintain that balance while also increasing our own projects.

It's actually feedback from customers who have chosen FLEXSCHE, but the main point is "usability." Other production schedulers tend to be more for system administrators, and on-site personnel find FLEXSCHE easier to handle.

We receive evaluations that there is a significant performance difference compared to other production schedulers. As a salesperson, I can confidently promote it. However, there are cases where other products are chosen based on superficial pricing or political reasons without a thorough comparison.

Yes, I think so.

There are three of us, including myself, who are the main members, but we generally handle it as a manufacturing team.

Yes, we visit places like Niigata, Nagano, Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui by car. The farthest customer is in Fukui, and it takes three and a half hours one way by car.

With a round trip taking 7 hours and a business meeting lasting about an hour, 7 out of 8 working hours could end up being spent driving. So, we try to eliminate waste by staying overnight in Ishikawa and Fukui.

As a salesperson, it's definitely when we can't receive orders. If that continues for a long time, I sometimes wonder if I'm not suited for this. No matter how many years pass, as long as I'm in sales, I'll always be chasing numbers, so I'm constantly aware of that as I work.

It's thanks to my colleagues. There was a time when I was seriously considering quitting, and at a company party, I ended up crying and expressing my frustrations while sharing drinks. My colleagues gave me many words of encouragement and support, which helped me hold on. Even after that, they would talk to me during work, making me feel supported.

Indeed, I thought, "I can't quit when I have such great colleagues." When I finally secured an order after that, I always remembered my gratitude.

Mr. Maruyama, you seemed really busy during that time. I think you were always coming to the office even on weekends.

It's definitely the moment when an order is secured. About three years ago, purely by chance, I received order forms on two consecutive days, and I was so excited I wanted to shout.

Yes, both of those cases initially said they didn't need a production scheduler, but after spending a long time visiting them, I finally received the orders, which made me especially happy. Ideally, I should be producing results quickly one after another, but the orders obtained after extensive communication with the customers are all the more rewarding because of the effort involved.

FLEXSCHE is the software that has shaped my foundation as a salesperson since I joined the company. Now, FLEXSCHE has become a pillar of our company's solutions, and I feel proud to be involved in it. However, the current situation is not the goal, so I want to continue to grow myself and be involved in expanding our solution business, including FLEXSCHE.