EXOTEC’s Skypod System Gives Japan’s Logistics a High-Speed Boost

One of the major issues that Japan has been experiencing is shrinking labor population over the past few decades. The situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led many blue-collar jobs to reduction or restructuring to limit crowded conditions in the workplace. To counter this trend, many companies have been looking to automation as a solution, allowing a smaller pool of workers to manage a larger number of tasks, and machines to take care of the jobs that are repetitious or dangerous. In response to this growing demand, a large number of companies worldwide have been working to develop robotic systems that can effectively and economically perform the same tasks as humans. The Japanese government, in turn, has been encouraging these efforts by promoting direct investment from abroad, as well as cooperative partnerships between Japanese firms and innovators from overseas.

Logistics, or the management of the flow of goods through an organization, is one of the fields that have benefitted the most from advances in automation, communication, and digitalization. Manufacturing and retail businesses implement a system of logistics that allows them to process goods as quickly as possible without errors especially for order fulfillment and warehouse management, and that is always able to keep an accurate account of items coming in, inventory sitting on warehouse shelves, orders from customers and finished goods going out.

Regarding logistics markets, Mr. Tatewaki notes that the Japanese market has some significant differences compared with France or other markets. “The Japanese market is still not as advanced as other developed countries in terms of automation of picking at warehouse. Because labor costs were lower here than in many other developed countries, many companies did not convert to warehouse automation, choosing instead to rely on human labor. Even in online supermarkets, apparel, and e-commerce, they had people going through warehouses on foot for picking. By 2015-16, however, the decline in the workforce began to create a real labor shortage, and more and more companies began to realize that they could not attract the people they needed. As e-commerce was growing, they needed to automate their warehouses in order to expand their business. For us, it was just the right opportunity to expand; we aggressively entered the market as it was a good fit for our solutions, and as a result, Japan is now the largest of EXOTEC’s overseas branches.”

Looking forward, EXOTEC is attracting a great deal of attention from other companies wanting to better automate their logistics. To keep pace, EXOTEC is ready for rapid growth in Japan. “We will need about 100 people next year to keep the business running,” explains Mr. Tatewaki. “We were able to win many projects this year, so the future of our business in Japan is bright. In fact, some projects are in process to be started for the next year and onward.”

Furthermore, the success in Japan has become a point of pride within the company. Romain Moulin, the CEO in France, has frequently been asked by local media how EXOTEC has been able to do business in a country that has been synonymous with robotics. “The Japanese market is indeed difficult,” says Mr. Tatewaki. “Japanese consumers and customers have unique demands and quality requirements that are very high. In addition, the state of automation technology and robotics here is very high. However, by adapting to and learning from the Japanese market, we will be able to incorporate those differences in our products and make the best use of them. It is often said that if a product sells well in Japan, it will sell well in other markets, so the fact that we are gaining recognition in this environment is very significant.” In fact, at a business briefing held in Tokyo on December 6, 2022, EXOTEC announced a new partnership with Yodobashi Camera, a major consumer electronics retailer in Japan. “Yodobashi Camera is a leading e-commerce retailer that enjoys strong consumer support not only in its brick-and-mortar stores but also in its online store for its ease of purchase and speedy delivery. I am confident that it will be able to take full advantage of the Skypod system, which is also powerful in complex omnichannel distribution.” says Mr. Tatewaki.

Coming to Japan posed a number of challenges for EXOTEC that were different from those they encountered when expanding into other parts of the EU. “Since time was limited and we had to start operations immediately, we contacted JETRO as the first point of contact in France and they provided us with information on regulations, taxation, where to set up our service center, etc.,” says Mr. Tatewaki. “They were very helpful even though there was no Japanese staff at the time. It was reassuring to have such an organization and a place to ask any questions when we wanted to start up a business as soon as possible.”

For this, JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) provided assistance, briefing the EXOTEC leaders on regulatory issues to be addressed, and factors likely to be seen as most important by Japanese partners. JETRO also introduced EXOTEC to appropriate trade shows and exhibitions, which were instrumental for EXOTEC in finding partners. JETRO had the flexibility to provide vital support even in unexpected circumstances, such as online support consultation for visas, which had become particularly challenging to arrange during the pandemic when immigration and international travel were much more strictly controlled.