DX
System Development for DX Promotion and Process Improvement
In DX, what matters more than introducing a new system is that people on site keep using it. Here are cases that replaced applications, inquiries, and reservations once handled by paper, phone calls, and personal LINE accounts with something that works entirely on a smartphone.
Related Service: DX Promotion Support
CONSULTATIONS
Common Requests About Process Improvement and DX
Work that runs on paper, phone calls, and personal LINE accounts depends on the hard work of the people in charge. What matters when you replace it with a system is that the people on site can keep using it. Here are the requests we receive most often, along with how we approach them.
Current Workflows
Applications and communication are scattered across paper, email, and personal LINE accounts
Our Approach
When information is kept separately by each person in charge, sharing it takes effort, and how quickly replies go out varies from person to person. If the person in charge is out, work can come to a halt.
In the youth soccer club case study, we replaced nine steps that had been split across paper, email, and personal LINE accounts with a flow that parents can complete entirely on a smartphone. Information on trial participants is compiled into a record shared by all staff.
Inquiries handled by phone leave no record
Our Approach
Phone conversations leave no record, so the same questions are asked again every time the person in charge changes. The people involved also cannot share who is handling which inquiry.
In the case study that moved delivery inquiry handling from phone to chat, we combined a chat that accepts photo attachments with tracking of handling status. As a result, every exchange is now on record, and several inquiries can be handled at the same time.
Adoption and Results
Even after introducing a system, people on site go back to the old way of working
Our Approach
As soon as it feels slow or lacks a needed feature, people on site fall back on phone calls and paper. On sites where many people are unfamiliar with IT, the first experience of using the system decides whether it takes root.
For an app used by delivery staff, we built it so that data can be entered even where there is no signal and is sent automatically once the signal returns. After repeated load tests, it was first put into use in a limited scope. For users who are not used to IT, we support getting started with hands-on sessions in which we work through the screens together.
If everything has to be built first, we cannot tell when we can start using it
Our Approach
If you wait to start using it until every needed feature is in place, the work that troubles you most stays untouched the whole time.
For the business system of a testing and certification body, building everything at once was expected to take nine months to a year. We narrowed the scope to the review work with the heaviest burden and built that first, and began operations in about six months. Since then, we have been adding features one by one in response to feedback from manufacturers.
STRENGTHS
How We Can Help with Process Improvement and DX
We take charge of everything from sorting out your work, to developing the system, to making it stick on site. Below, we focus on what we actually did in our case studies.
Turning Manual Work into Something Users Can Complete on Their Own
A training management system that lets participants change or reschedule their own sessions replaced phone and email handling and cut the cost of operations by about 80%. In a service where customers search for and download data themselves, we eliminated the manual work of gathering customers’ requests and extracting the data.
Systems That Business Partners and Other External Users Can Use
In a business system that consolidated email communication with more than 100 people at about 20 manufacturers, nearly all business communication moved into the system. It separates the information each role can see and the actions each role can take, and its screens are easy for people outside the company to understand.
Unattended and Labor-Saving Operation for Workplaces with Limited Staff
For day-use bathing at a ryokan, we connected booking through LINE, self check-in with a QR code, and self-service payment, so that staff can spend their time serving guests without interrupting their work. It is designed on the premise that points of human contact remain.
Building the Foundation Fast and Finishing with Input from People on Site
In the youth soccer club case study, we assembled the basic framework, including the application flow and staff screens, in a few days. We then implemented requests from people on site with the support of AI agents, incorporating more than 20 of them in about one month.
SCOPE
Systems We Can Build for Process Improvement and DX
We combine the systems you need to fit the way work is done on site.
Applications and Reservations
Applications and reservations that can be completed from a smartphone or LINE, plus handling of changes and cancellations.
Inquiries and Communication
Chat that accepts photo attachments, tracking of handling status, and messages sent to everyone at once.
Document and Deadline Management
The flow of requesting, submitting, and returning documents, plus automatic reminders before and after deadlines.
Approval Workflows
Approvals from registration through review to publication, plus permissions by role.
Self-Service
Screens where users can change their schedules, search for data, and download it on their own.
Unattended Reception and Payment
Self check-in with a QR code, online payment in advance, and self-service payment on site.
Smartphone Apps
Apps that let users enter data even where there is no signal and send it once the signal returns.
Automatic data collection and visualisation
Screens that automatically gather data from external services, aggregate it by customer or country, and chart how it changes over time.
Secure Environment for Operations
Authentication, viewing restrictions, backups, monitoring, and connections only from approved devices.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Choosing Between Off-the-Shelf Tools and Custom-Built Systems
Off-the-shelf cloud services or no-code tools are enough for many kinds of work. Custom development suits situations like these.
| Situation | Suitable Approach |
|---|---|
| Standard work that can follow the procedures of an off-the-shelf tool | Off-the-shelf cloud services or no-code tools |
| Industry-specific procedures, or information shown differently by role | Custom development |
| Also used by people outside the company, such as business partners and users | Custom development |
| Using several tools together, with information that does not connect | Development that unifies them into one system |
| Want to keep current tools and fill only the gaps | Development of only the integrations and missing parts |
We compare the options, including cost and timeline, and recommend the one that fits.
FLOW
Our Process for Building Process Improvement Systems
We start by putting into words, together with everyone involved, why you are doing this, and we finish the system while it is in use.
Sort Out the Purpose and the Current Workflows
Together with everyone involved, we put into words why you are making the change, and sort out the current workflow and its pain points.
Let People Experience It with a Prototype
We shape it step by step, from wireframes to design to an interactive prototype, and gather insights before development begins.
Working with a prototype brings out insights that did not surface at the requirements stage
Build for the Work That Troubles You First
We narrow the scope to the work that carries the heaviest burden and build for that first, so you can start using the system early.
Grow It on Site
We keep providing rollout support and taking in requests from people on site, until it becomes a system that continues to be used.
The business system for a testing and certification body focused on the work causing the most trouble and began operations in about six months
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Process Improvement and DX
Here are the questions we are asked most often before a consultation. Please feel free to ask about anything not covered here.
Can we commission you even if no one in-house is familiar with systems?
Yes. In the ryokan case study, we started by sorting out the purpose with a client that had never built a system before, and moved forward while checking with wireframes and an interactive prototype. The training management system was also the client’s first experience of system development.
Can we commission you if we are a small organization or a small or medium-sized business?
Yes. Our case studies include systems for organizations that find it hard to assign a dedicated person, such as the enrollment system for a youth soccer club (a nonprofit organization, or NPO). What works well is an approach in which we build the foundation quickly and finish the rest to suit the preferences of the people who use it.
Can we keep using LINE and the other communication methods we use now?
We can design it so that you can keep using them. In the ryokan case study, we set it up so that guests could book through LINE, the app they were already used to. You also do not need to move all urgent communication into chat.
We are worried that the people on site will not use a new system.
We put priority on quality from the start and on support during rollout. For an app used by delivery staff, we built it to work even where the signal is weak, repeated load tests, and expanded it in stages from a limited scope until it took root. For people who are not used to IT, we also hold hands-on sessions in which we work through the screens together.
How long does it take to see results?
By building first for the work that troubles you most, you can start using the system sooner. The business system for a testing and certification body began operations in about six months.
Can you work with companies that have strict security requirements?
We have obtained ISMS certification. In a case study for a large company, we added authentication that allows connections only from approved devices, and we submitted the results of load tests and vulnerability tests as records.
Can you pull scattered data together into something we can make decisions with?
Yes. For a company that licenses music, we built an analytics system that automatically collects playback data for the YouTube videos using its music and aggregates it by customer, channel and country so trends can be tracked. When a system relies on an external service's data, we confirm what can actually be retrieved at the proposal stage.
How is the cost determined?
The cost varies greatly depending on the scope of the work being replaced, the number of user roles, whether a smartphone app is needed, and integration with existing tools. Before preparing an estimate, we sort these out together with you.
Case Studies by Field
All Case Studies30
Cloud Services9
Core & Business Systems4
Construction DX2
E-commerce Development3
Inventory & Order Management4
AI Adoption10
DX Promotion8
New Ventures12
Case Studies (8)
AI Adoption
DX Promotion
Case Study: A Membership Management System That Lets a Youth Soccer Club Handle Trial Applications and Enrollment on a Smartphone
A youth soccer club (a nonprofit organization) that has been active in Yokohama for more than 20...
DX Promotion
A System That Runs a Ryokan's Day-Trip Bathing Unstaffed, From LINE Booking to QR Check-In and Payment
A ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) was taking bookings for day-trip bathing through LINE chat....
DX Promotion
Moving The Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters' Home Delivery Inquiries from Phone to Chat: Chat-YC, a Business App That Took Root in the Field
At The Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters, inquiries that arise every day with sales outlets and...
Cloud Services
Core & Business Systems
DX Promotion
Case Study: Systematizing Coaching Program Operations That Ran on Phone and Email, Cutting Operating Costs by About 80%
Coach Contribution Co., Ltd. runs a coaching business in which one coach guides multiple...
Core & Business Systems
DX Promotion
Case Study: Moving Nearly All Email with About 20 Manufacturers and 100+ Contacts into the Business System "J-Client+"
The Japan Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Testing Laboratory is an organization that...
DX Promotion
Replacing Email and Phone Data Requests with BizRiz, a Service Where Customers Search the Data Themselves
Nihon Direct Promotion Co., Ltd. holds a large corporate database and provides data to client...
Cloud Services
DX Promotion
Rebuilding Health Journey, an Infant and School Health Checkup App Municipalities Offer Residents, Starting from Usability
Real World Data Co., Ltd. is a company that has long worked on digitizing hospital medical records...
DX Promotion
Case Study: An Analytics Platform That Automatically Collects and Visualizes View Data for YouTube Videos Using Provided Music
Our client, a music company, provides music to artists and businesses. The music it provides is...
FREE ESTIMATE
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