Case Study | Nippon Liquor Co., Ltd.

The issue was that sales activities were treated as a black box

—Please tell us about your company's business. 

Mr. Sasajima: Nippon Liquor is a wine importer that imports and sells wine in Japan. In particular, we handle relatively high-end wines known as fine wines. We were founded in 1963 and celebrated our 60th anniversary two years ago. 

—Please tell us the background to the introduction of UPWARD. 

Sasajima: Previously, management had little understanding of where each of our nearly 30 sales representatives was visiting or what kind of business negotiations they were conducting. As a result, we were concerned that we would be slow to act and would continue to respond ad hoc without accumulating information. So we began looking into a system to visualize sales activities, and that's when we found out about UPWARD. The deciding factor in our final selection was ease of use. UPWARD is a mobile app The deciding factor was that it perfectly matched the route that our sales representatives took. 

Mobile daily report creation and business card scanning make on-site work more efficient

—How do you use UPWARD in your field work? 

Yoshihara: I mainly use it to create daily reports on my mobile. Until now, I had to input all my daily reports in Excel and work on my computer when I got back to the office or home, but with the introduction of UPWARD, I can now input my reports while I'm out or on the move, which has allowed me to make effective use of my spare time. I also use the function that automatically displays nearby customers, and visit other customers on the way to say hello before my appointment time. 

We also use the business card scanning function for new customers. After the visit, we can import the business card information onto our mobile phone on the spot, and register the company and person in charge at the same time, which is very helpful. 

The number of activity entries has doubled in just six months

- After the system was introduced, were there any difficulties you faced or things you came up with in order to promote its use? 

Fujiwara: Before the introduction, the rules for submitting daily reports were not clear, and the content and methods of reporting varied from person to person. It was not easy to improve this situation, and we held study sessions to convey the need for centralizing information, but the effect was limited. So we talked to the company and created a new award system to promote the use of Salesforce, and came up with ways to increase motivation for entering activities. As a result, the number of activity entries has roughly doubled in six months, and we feel that the centralization of information within the company is accelerating. 

Increased contact points have deepened relationships with customers

—Have there been any changes in your sales operations since the introduction of UPWARD? 

Yoshihara: From the perspective of a sales representative, I feel that the number of contacts with customers has definitely increased. For customers who have started doing business with us, we try to keep the time between our next visit as short as possible, and check the information of nearby customers on UPWARD to keep in touch with them frequently. This has increased the frequency of visits, which has also led to building trusting relationships with customers. For example, rather than visiting once every six months for 30 minutes or an hour to thoroughly negotiate, by showing up once a week or month for even just five minutes, customers are often pleased that we "care about them well." In fact, I feel that the increased number of visits has improved our relationships with customers.  

Strengthening cooperation between sales and office staff has stimulated internal communication

—Please tell us about any other positive changes that have occurred outside of the sales field. 

Fujiwara: We have also noticed a change in communication within the company. Sales client information and negotiation status are shared with office staff through automated emails, so there has been an increase in calls from office staff such as "I'll go and visit this client next time" or "This kind of proposal would be good," and cooperation between sales and office staff has been strengthened. Also, when a product is adopted, the order is entered immediately, so office staff can know what has been adopted, and brand managers can check the adoption status of their own brands in real time. In this way, the amount of communication within the company has increased and the dependency on individuals has been eliminated, making handovers, which was previously difficult, smoother. 

Sasajima: One of the changes we aimed for is that we can now clearly understand the activities of our sales representatives. By having sales representatives improve the content of their data input while referring to the situation around them, the quality of the input has improved and it has become easier to organize activities. Because UPWARD is a system based on Salesforce, we can now link the work that was previously done in PowerPoint or Excel on Salesforce, and we believe that this will further promote activities centered on our customers. 

We aim to create an environment in which we can achieve results overall, in order to improve the value of the brands we handle.

—What are your future prospects? 

Fujiwara: digital transformation By promoting this and centralizing information, we expect to be able to significantly improve the efficiency of both sales and office work, which will also lead to improved work-life balance. We want to create an environment where all employees, not just sales staff, can work positively. 

Mr. Sasajima: In sales activities, I think that an important role is how to make the value of the brands we handle shine. The strength of the current system is that it allows good examples and reactions from customers to be spread horizontally within the company. In the future, we aim to create an environment where each sales representative can reflect on their own sales results and daily activities and spontaneously change their behavior, thereby achieving results overall.