Francfranc's Endeavor to Engage in Business Innovation Utilizing IT

AI (Artificial Intelligence) Workshop

to integrating our ideas in order to achieve realistic output, we decided it

was best to hold a workshop in cooperation with experienced facilitators."

Why Did They Choose Fujitsu?

In addition to introducing the latest technologies, Fujitsu helps customers

who don't know where to start with regard to AI deployment by providing

expert advice to discuss AI utilization.

We asked Kuwata why they chose Fujitsu.

Kuwata: "Workshops offered by other companies tend to cater more toward

technology experts. Since we're not a company where many technological

experts gather, we felt that the workshops offered by Fujitsu were more

suited for a retail business company like us."

Kuwata decided that the objectives of the workshop were to study and gain

an understanding of what AI is, and to develop specific solutions on how it

can be utilized in each department.

Kuwata: "Even if we understand that we have to keep up with the latest

technologies, we do not know where to start, and what our real require-

ments in our everyday tasks are. We wanted the workshops to address

these concerns. What we wanted to accomplish was to develop a common

understanding of how significant a result or achievement can be expected

by integrating AI in the tasks of each department."

Okamoto: "It was a great opportunity for us to expand our horizons. I was

reminded that AI is not perfect, but had to be developed and improved

upon. Furthermore, we were helped greatly by the techniques of the

facilitators who led the participants, whose understanding of AI, fields of

expertise, and age were completely different, and steered them in the same

direction. We used Fujitsu's proprietary card, but since we lacked knowledge

regarding AI to begin with, it really helped us expand our thinking."

Increasing the Motivation for Utilizing Technology and Promoting Idea Creation

Through the workshops, it seems the participants from Francfranc

underwent a change in their way of thinking with regard to the deployment

of technology.

Okamoto: "When we compared the labor-intensive, mostly analog tasks

conducted onsite with the potential that the new technology yielded, we

were confronted with a sense of urgency to make greater use of the newly

deployed technology. We felt that in order to do this, we had to clarify the

goals of deployment and share them with everyone involved. We also

realized that if we can reduce workloads by utilizing technology, we can

focus more on what's most important - allocating more time to spend with

our customers."

Furthermore, Kuwata commented on his satisfaction with the results as

follows.

Kuwata: "By having the participants understand what AI is, we were able to

affirm the prioritization of AI deployment as a company."

As part of Francfranc's Tech Challenge, they've already begun implementing

trials for their AI chatbot, RPA*, and an internal business application, Magic

Mobile.

Ongoing Co-Creation Between Fujitsu and Our Customers

Finally, we asked Francfranc about their future expectations toward Fujitsu

Digital Transformation Center.

Okamoto: "We're excited to see what kind of ideas emerge at workshops

where other companies in the same industry gather. I think it would also be

very interesting to see what would happen if we mix in people from

different industries and discuss the same topics."

Kuwata: "In order to create an optimal customer experience, I also want the

E-Commerce Division that I'm currently overseeing to participate in another

workshop."

As we listen to these valuable opinions, we at Fujitsu are committed to

pursuing co-creation to help our customers achieve their future goals. We

offer Fujitsu Human Centric AI Zinrai, a collaborative, human-centric

solution. If you are interested, please reach out to us at Fujitsu Digital

Transformation Center.

Executive OfficerDeputy Executive General Manager, Sales HeadquartersFrancfranc Corporation

Kenji OkamotoExecutive OfficerGeneral Manager, Information Systems DepartmentFrancfranc Corporation

Kazunori Kuwata

Francfranc's Efforts to Drive Business Innovation Forward Through “Tech Challenge”

As a home furnishing retail business, Francfranc has expanded its brand

into 133 stores across Japan, as well as into seven stores in Hong Kong (as

of April 2018). They also run the "Francfranc Online Shop."

Based on their mission of "VALUE by DESIGN - We create designs that make

your everyday life more fun," which they deliver through the products sold

at their stores, they aim to create a new market by offering a fresh lifestyle

to consumers based on modern trends.

Since consolidating their company name and brand name by changing their

company name from BALS Corporation to their current name in September

2017, they've focused on the further growth of their flagship brand

Francfranc, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

In February 2018, they began their IT mid-term plan, which is titled "Tech

Challenge" and is an effort to engage in business innovation utilizing

technology in order to further drive their rapid business expansion.

Increasing the Amount of Time Spent with Customers

Kazunori Kuwata, executive officer and general manager of the Information

Systems Department, describes the aims of Tech Challenge as follows.

Kuwata: "The foremost mission of our business is to deliver excitement and

inspiration to our customers. To achieve this, it is important for us to focus

on the time we spend with our customers. We also need to pursue a startup

mindset, strengthen the unity between people and organizations, and

create customer satisfaction that is well-designed. We are working on

deploying technologies that will help us achieve these objectives."

However, simply deploying a system is not enough to optimize a business.

Kenji Okamoto, executive officer and deputy executive general manager of

the Sales Headquarters recalls the steps they took to deploy their IT

solutions as follows.

Okamoto: "I didn't feel that the deployment itself was later than other

companies, but I did feel that the progress and advancement moved

slowly."

Kuwata has been working on deploying cloud, AI, and mobile technologies

for office tasks for about three and a half years. He recalls the circumstances

that led to participating in the workshop as follows.

Kuwata: "Top management at our company had a general understanding of

IT deployment, but the challenge we faced was our failure to develop an

action plan for how to actually go about it. As far as coming up with ideas

for how to utilize technology, we could do that ourselves. But when it came

To the Front Lines ofDigital Transformation

to integrating our ideas in order to achieve realistic output, we decided it

was best to hold a workshop in cooperation with experienced facilitators."

Why Did They Choose Fujitsu?

In addition to introducing the latest technologies, Fujitsu helps customers

who don't know where to start with regard to AI deployment by providing

expert advice to discuss AI utilization.

We asked Kuwata why they chose Fujitsu.

Kuwata: "Workshops offered by other companies tend to cater more toward

technology experts. Since we're not a company where many technological

experts gather, we felt that the workshops offered by Fujitsu were more

suited for a retail business company like us."

Kuwata decided that the objectives of the workshop were to study and gain

an understanding of what AI is, and to develop specific solutions on how it

can be utilized in each department.

Kuwata: "Even if we understand that we have to keep up with the latest

technologies, we do not know where to start, and what our real require-

ments in our everyday tasks are. We wanted the workshops to address

these concerns. What we wanted to accomplish was to develop a common

understanding of how significant a result or achievement can be expected

by integrating AI in the tasks of each department."

Okamoto: "It was a great opportunity for us to expand our horizons. I was

reminded that AI is not perfect, but had to be developed and improved

upon. Furthermore, we were helped greatly by the techniques of the

facilitators who led the participants, whose understanding of AI, fields of

expertise, and age were completely different, and steered them in the same

direction. We used Fujitsu's proprietary card, but since we lacked knowledge

regarding AI to begin with, it really helped us expand our thinking."

Increasing the Motivation for Utilizing Technology and Promoting Idea Creation

Through the workshops, it seems the participants from Francfranc

underwent a change in their way of thinking with regard to the deployment

of technology.

Okamoto: "When we compared the labor-intensive, mostly analog tasks

conducted onsite with the potential that the new technology yielded, we

were confronted with a sense of urgency to make greater use of the newly

deployed technology. We felt that in order to do this, we had to clarify the

goals of deployment and share them with everyone involved. We also

realized that if we can reduce workloads by utilizing technology, we can

focus more on what's most important - allocating more time to spend with

our customers."

Furthermore, Kuwata commented on his satisfaction with the results as

follows.

Kuwata: "By having the participants understand what AI is, we were able to

affirm the prioritization of AI deployment as a company."

As part of Francfranc's Tech Challenge, they've already begun implementing

trials for their AI chatbot, RPA*, and an internal business application, Magic

Mobile.

Ongoing Co-Creation Between Fujitsu and Our Customers

Finally, we asked Francfranc about their future expectations toward Fujitsu

Digital Transformation Center.

Okamoto: "We're excited to see what kind of ideas emerge at workshops

where other companies in the same industry gather. I think it would also be

very interesting to see what would happen if we mix in people from

different industries and discuss the same topics."

Kuwata: "In order to create an optimal customer experience, I also want the

E-Commerce Division that I'm currently overseeing to participate in another

workshop."

As we listen to these valuable opinions, we at Fujitsu are committed to

pursuing co-creation to help our customers achieve their future goals. We

offer Fujitsu Human Centric AI Zinrai, a collaborative, human-centric

solution. If you are interested, please reach out to us at Fujitsu Digital

Transformation Center.

Francfranc's Efforts to Drive Business Innovation Forward Through “Tech Challenge”

As a home furnishing retail business, Francfranc has expanded its brand

into 133 stores across Japan, as well as into seven stores in Hong Kong (as

of April 2018). They also run the "Francfranc Online Shop."

Based on their mission of "VALUE by DESIGN - We create designs that make

your everyday life more fun," which they deliver through the products sold

at their stores, they aim to create a new market by offering a fresh lifestyle

to consumers based on modern trends.

Since consolidating their company name and brand name by changing their

company name from BALS Corporation to their current name in September

2017, they've focused on the further growth of their flagship brand

Francfranc, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

In February 2018, they began their IT mid-term plan, which is titled "Tech

Challenge" and is an effort to engage in business innovation utilizing

technology in order to further drive their rapid business expansion.

Increasing the Amount of Time Spent with Customers

Kazunori Kuwata, executive officer and general manager of the Information

Systems Department, describes the aims of Tech Challenge as follows.

Kuwata: "The foremost mission of our business is to deliver excitement and

inspiration to our customers. To achieve this, it is important for us to focus

on the time we spend with our customers. We also need to pursue a startup

mindset, strengthen the unity between people and organizations, and

create customer satisfaction that is well-designed. We are working on

deploying technologies that will help us achieve these objectives."

However, simply deploying a system is not enough to optimize a business.

Kenji Okamoto, executive officer and deputy executive general manager of

the Sales Headquarters recalls the steps they took to deploy their IT

solutions as follows.

Okamoto: "I didn't feel that the deployment itself was later than other

companies, but I did feel that the progress and advancement moved

slowly."

Kuwata has been working on deploying cloud, AI, and mobile technologies

for office tasks for about three and a half years. He recalls the circumstances

that led to participating in the workshop as follows.

Kuwata: "Top management at our company had a general understanding of

IT deployment, but the challenge we faced was our failure to develop an

action plan for how to actually go about it. As far as coming up with ideas

for how to utilize technology, we could do that ourselves. But when it came

*RPA : Robotic Process Automation: System of task optimization and automation utilizing rules engines, machine learning, and artificial intelligence

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