Bringing flavors honed through "sound" to the world. Overcoming the barriers to overseas expansion through "acoustic maturation" and "trade support."Onkyo Corporation

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

Until now, our company has primarily focused on the domestic market, but we had a strong desire to seriously pursue overseas exports of alcoholic beverages as a future growth strategy. However, there were numerous challenges to overcome in order to expand overseas. The biggest obstacle was securing personnel to handle overseas sales. Establishing a system—determining who would conduct sales activities locally and how—was a major hurdle. In addition, the areas we needed to address were wide-ranging, including preparing product introduction tools, preparing contract documents, trade practices including transportation and logistics, and the risks associated with settlements. Our company did not have a dedicated trade department, and building such a system from scratch within the company would require hiring and training personnel, which we felt was a very high-risk upfront investment.

Reliability of payments is especially crucial when targeting emerging markets such as Southeast Asia. Securing advance payments (payment before goods are delivered in trade settlements) is often difficult, and managing the risk of not receiving payment after goods have been shipped has been a major challenge.

Against this backdrop, we came across "Omakase Trading," an option that comprehensively met our needs. While there were other services that allowed us to outsource parts of the process, the deciding factor was that they handled everything from sales to contracts and settlements in a seamless manner, which led us to decide to implement it.

What exactly did it entail?

What we value most is the support for our sales activities. STANDAGE actively engages in developing sales in the local market, and handles sales to local customers such as restaurants and hotels that would be difficult for us to approach on our own. In addition, they provide comprehensive support in trade operations, from drafting contracts and arranging logistics to proposing payment methods. We are especially grateful for their flexibility in handling phases that would normally be difficult to manage, such as initial small-volume exports and transactions based on cash transfers.

The design, which allows for a gradual expansion of the scope of outsourcing in the contract and trade operations phases, feels like a very realistic model for startup-type companies like ours expanding overseas.

What results have you achieved since implementing it?

Currently, we are focusing on developing overseas markets through sales activities, and we have not yet achieved any actual export results. However, we have already begun to make some concrete contacts through our overseas network, and we feel that we have taken a clear step forward.

The flexibility to gradually outsource only the necessary tasks, without having to hire and train sales personnel or trade operations staff from scratch, is a huge advantage. If we were to handle this entire process in-house, we would have needed to hire multiple specialists in each field: legal affairs, trade, sales, and management. However, now we have the peace of mind of being able to entrust everything to them, which would have been significantly more costly and time-consuming.

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

Going forward, the key will be how far we can progress in developing new clients within the two-year contract period. Once we see that progress, we plan to move on to the next phase, which will involve the full-scale implementation of contract procedures and trade operations. We have started our sales expansion mainly in Southeast Asia, but we also see the potential to further expand our market as business negotiations become more concrete. Ultimately, we are considering bringing trade operations in-house, with a target of five years from now, once a certain level of transaction structure has been established.

For companies like ours that don't have an overseas sales department, having a system that allows us to flexibly outsource this entire process is invaluable. We plan to gradually expand the scope of our "hands-off trading" services, consulting with you as needed while monitoring the progress of business negotiations and market reactions.

Comments from Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Yoshihara of Onkyo

I believe that "Omakase Trading" is an extremely effective service for companies looking to venture into international trade. In particular, the ability to entrust crucial areas of trade, such as sales and settlement, is an incredibly significant advantage. The fact that you can entrust only the necessary parts at each phase, rather than everything from the start, is also appealing, and I highly recommend it, especially for companies like ours that are just starting out in exports. It allows you to take the first step towards overseas expansion with confidence while minimizing risk.

Although our export track record is still in its early stages, we are already very satisfied with the extensive sales support, flexible response, and cost-effectiveness we have received. We see them as a partner with whom we can build future growth together, as they are helping us to pave the way for our trade.