Company Introduction

Iwai Co., Ltd. is a specialist office solutions company that has been supporting the business infrastructure of the Ishikawa and Toyama areas since its founding in 1946. Starting with the sale of typewriters, the company has adapted to changing times and now handles a wide range of services, from multifunction printers and PCs to network construction and, more recently, cybersecurity measures, which are a pressing issue.

Based on the philosophy of "aiming for the happiness of individuals, companies, and society," we provide a one-stop service ranging from equipment maintenance to office design and mail-order services. Armed with the trust we have cultivated over many years and the latest IT expertise, we are a "reliable business partner" that stands by local companies, and we are strongly supporting the promotion of DX in the Hokuriku region.

Issues before introducing generative AI

As an office equipment trading company with nearly 80 years of history in the Hokuriku area, we have always delivered "cutting-edge business equipment" to our customers. However, we needed a major turning point in terms of improving our own internal productivity.

While there were members within the company who had long been interested in AI, its application remained largely a matter of "individual trial and error." There was no unified policy or roadmap for "how to approach it" as a company, and its use was left to the initiative of individuals.

Rather than simply introducing AI as a tool, the biggest challenge when implementing Digirise's training program was how to take the "first step" to fundamentally improve organizational productivity.

Effects after generative AI introduction training

The biggest achievement gained from the training was the clarification of a "strategy for effectively utilizing AI within an organization," and in particular, the ability to define employee roles by dividing them into three layers.

"People who use AI in their daily work"

"Someone who connects real-world business challenges with AI to devise solutions."

"The person who actually constructs sophisticated prompts (instructions)"

Instead of expecting everyone to acquire advanced skills, defining how each person should contribute according to their role established an effective organizational implementation process.

In practical terms, we are increasingly internalizing tasks that require specialized knowledge. Even for issues that previously required consultation with external experts, we can now quickly compile proposed answers independently by partnering with AI to create preliminary drafts. This has improved the speed of handling complex tasks that could not be managed with existing systems alone.

An even bigger discovery was that "assetizing knowledge," which we had previously thought required specialized knowledge and expensive systems, could be achieved surprisingly easily simply by inputting data into a chatbot. We truly appreciate the value of AI in its overwhelming ease of use, allowing us to quickly build our own "knowledge box" without needing AI experts.

Future outlook

Iwai Co., Ltd. aims to go beyond simply using AI as a "time-saving tool" and instead instill a proactive attitude towards embracing new technologies as part of the organization's culture.

Going forward, we will develop a system to objectively verify the productivity improvements achieved through AI using numerical data and to properly link that to employee compensation and evaluation. Our aim is to create a positive cycle where those who achieve results using AI are fairly evaluated, and this is made visible, directly leading to improvements in the work environment and increased employee well-being.

As a leading partner in DX in the Hokuriku region, we will continue to cultivate talent that can effectively utilize AI and deliver value that exceeds customer expectations.