Company Introduction

Royal Network Co., Ltd. is a long-established cleaning company founded 65 years ago, headquartered in Yamagata Prefecture. With over 500 stores mainly in the East Japan area, from Aomori to Kanagawa, the company is known by the brand name "Usachan Cleaning" in its stores, and its symbolic characters, "Ran-chan" and "Dolly-kun," are the brand's icons.

In addition to our core business of home cleaning services for households, we also provide corporate services such as linen supply. We have over 2,200 employees. Many female staff members are active in a wide range of roles, including reception and factory work, and we are promoting a work environment that supports work-life balance. While our services are based on a strong focus on the local community, we are also actively working to improve operational efficiency and utilize digital technologies.

Issues before introducing generative AI

Before implementing AI generation, a major challenge was the personalization of tasks due to differences in employees' IT skills. In particular, many employees were unfamiliar with computer operation and document creation, leading to a chronic imbalance in workload among specific individuals. Specifically, a significant amount of time was spent on tasks such as internal approvals, customer emails, and proposals, resulting in individual differences in accuracy and communication skills.

Furthermore, the time spent searching for templates online during document creation often led to inefficient and excessive creation time. In addition, a lack of knowledge of Excel functions resulted in delays in data aggregation work, which was another issue.

Effects after generative AI introduction training

The full-scale implementation of generation AI has significantly improved the speed and accuracy of our operations. In particular, by using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini appropriately depending on the application, we have been able to optimize their use for each purpose, contributing to a reduction in the workload of each employee.

For example, when composing emails, you simply input the key points you want to convey, and the AI instantly generates natural and appropriate text. Similarly, when creating formats for proposals and meeting materials, you only need to input the purpose and recipient, and high-quality templates will be completed in a short time. Particularly noteworthy is the automated spreadsheet aggregation linked with Google Apps Script (GAS). A task that previously took 16 hours has been reduced to just one hour, dramatically improving work efficiency.

Future outlook

Going forward, we aim to extend the use of our AI-generated content beyond management and headquarters departments to include field staff. By creating an environment where all employees can utilize AI on a daily basis, we aim to improve overall business efficiency throughout the company.

We are particularly focusing on introducing an internal chatbot. Currently, in some cases, one manager oversees more than 50 staff members, creating a structure where tasks and questions tend to concentrate on one person. By introducing a chatbot, staff members will be able to directly ask the AI questions and confirm things related to their work, and we plan to promote the distribution of tasks through AI and reduce the burden on managers.

Furthermore, we will build a system that actively facilitates the sharing of AI utilization knowledge gained both inside and outside the company, aiming for continuous skill improvement and expansion of its application scope. Our goal is to contribute to improving the productivity of all employees by providing "AI tools that everyone can use."