A shift from a passive to an offensive move in global expansion.Kita Machinery Industry Co., Ltd.

Could you tell us what led you to introduce STANDAGE's automated trading service this time?

For some time now, our company has conducted some overseas transactions in parallel with our domestic business. However, most of these were reactive, simply responding to requests, and we had not yet achieved full-scale overseas expansion. Furthermore, because we lacked personnel with expertise in trade operations, we had to proceed with export procedures and foreign language communication entirely by trial and error, which required a great deal of effort and time. Realizing that "it would be difficult to make overseas business viable under these circumstances," we decided to seek support from an external partner with specialized knowledge and experience.

I learned about STANDAGE's "Omakase Trade" service through a referral from a bank representative I regularly do business with. I remember hearing about the service during a casual conversation and immediately saying, "I'd like to hear more about it." I was strongly attracted to the fact that, as the name suggests, it allows you to "leave" all of your complicated trade operations to them, and I decided to implement it right away.

What exactly did it entail?

There are two main aspects that we find most valuable since implementing their services. First, they strategically support our efforts to develop sales channels overseas. Second, they handle all aspects of trade operations for us from start to finish. Previously, we approached markets based on our own perspective, thinking, "This product will sell in this market." However, through repeated discussions with the STANDAGE representative, we received suggestions such as, "This product might actually have opportunities in other regions," which opened up new market possibilities that we hadn't considered.

Regarding trade operations, we have a great sense of security because we can entrust all the complicated paperwork and coordination related to imports and exports to them. All the difficulties we previously faced internally have been completely eliminated, creating an environment where we can concentrate on our core business.

What effects have you seen since implementing it?

We currently have regular online meetings with the STANDAGE representative, and their understanding of our products and the market is exceptionally high; they're practically like our own sales team. In fact, they often create sales materials that are even better than those prepared by our internal staff, and we're always impressed by the level of effort they put in. To us, they're not just a business outsourcing partner, but truly a "business partner."

What kind of support do you expect from Omakase Trading in the future?

Ultimately, our goal is to reach a point where we can handle everything from market development to trade operations entirely in-house, without relying on STANDAGE's services. Complete "in-house" production is our ideal goal.

To achieve this, it is crucial to accumulate expertise in trade practices and approaches to overseas markets through the projects we are currently working on with STANDAGE. We intend to continue building our own knowledge while receiving support from STANDAGE.

Comment from Mr. Kita of Kita Machinery Industry

In regional cities like Tokushima, many companies still believe that overseas expansion is irrelevant to them. Many companies even hesitate to expand outside their prefecture, so it's understandable that they feel overseas expansion is simply impossible. However, in reality, overseas business is simply about "crossing national borders." Having a trustworthy professional like STANDAGE act as an intermediary dramatically lowers that hurdle.

As we took our first steps, STANDAGE's support was incredibly reassuring. The initial meeting was particularly impressive. Despite our insufficient explanation, the representative accurately grasped our intentions, and everyone in our company immediately became convinced that "we can entrust this to this company," leading us to decide to implement their services. We truly feel that they are a small, elite team of professionals. That's why we hope that more companies will turn their attention to overseas markets and bring excellent Japanese products to the world.