Ms. Takigawa :

Noevir Group encompasses cosmetics, health food, and OTC pharmaceuticals businesses. Group companies include Noevir Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “Noevir”) that manufactures and sells cosmetics and OTC pharmaceuticals, TOKIWA Pharmaceutical Corporation, and TOKIWA Medical Service in which operates a placement medicine sale, a unique pharmaceuticals sales system in Japan. As an Information System Department Director, I oversee all affiliated companies’ information systems.

 

Ms. Munezane :

My responsibilities as the manager of the Information System Department include management of all affiliated companies’ ID, server, and network. Also, I take charge of the selection and operation of systems and applications.

 

Mr. Murakami :

I work with my manager, Ms. Munezane, on server operation, and network management. I am also responsible for implementing various services, including LINE WORKS and its operational practices.

Ms. Takigawa :

Noevir’s products reach customers via corporate authorized selling agencies or housewife staff’s individual sales activities. Thus, Noevir’s sales representatives would oversee several distributors per branch and conduct sales support activities with phone calls and e-mails. However, the communication between distributors and sales representatives was often ineffective; many sales representatives were in dire need of a way to deliver information to several distributors at once. As a result, a request asking to authorize the use of LINE came to the Information System Department.

 

Sales staff provides the distributors with information on new product launch, training sessions, delivery dates, and inventory data. Conversely, distributors must report back their daily sales activities. With LINE, I could envision the seamless and more immediate communication. However, the risk of misdirecting messages that may contain confidential or personal information to the outsider was quite concerning.

Ms. Takigawa :

First, it began with a request from the salesperson of TOKIWA Medical Service. The salesperson asked the permission to make use of LINE to contact nationwide placement medicine sales customers. Hence, we adopted LINE WORKS for its chat interface that could safeguard our sensitive corporate data. Since LINE WORKS is easily accessible on PC, we can send long announcements from the head office at once too. Accordingly, TOKIWA Pharmaceuticals’ and Noevir sales employees began using LINE WORKS to contact distributors. Nowadays, more than 1000 people from the Sales, Information System and Management Department of the three aforementioned companies utilize LINE WORKS.

 

I think the advanced security and familiar user interface similar to LINE are the most appealing aspects of LINE WORKS. Indeed, getting rid of the need to train many midway sales team joiners is a great advantage. Moreover, we expected that even the partnered distributors with high age range could benefit from LINE WORKS’ external messenger connection feature. In fact, we believed that the distributors could experience improved communication with our sales representatives since they know how to utilize LINE already.

Ms. Munezane :

Initially, we used to write and distribute manuals or hold a briefing session when introducing a new tool – LINE WORKS never needed them. Even after the implementation, only a few employees had inquiries about usage. LINE WORKS is the first tool to integrate into our company system so seamlessly.

Ms. Takigawa :

We make sure to instruct sales representatives not to leak the personal information and that every conversation that took place via LINE connection will leave log data.

 

Mr. Murakami :

We can guarantee security by preventing employees from sending executable files with the LINE WORKS admin feature.

Ms. Takigawa :

Group chat feature became the inseparable communication tool to Noevir sales representatives. Initially, the function could not be interconnected with LINE, but over time it became available with updates. We are thankful for how it allows a number of our employees to exchange information at any time; this is crucial as sales representatives must interact with various distributors and groups, such as specific event participants. Previously, sales staff had to call or send e-mails to each distributor individually; only after connecting with LINE did LINE WORKS become the primary communication tool to sales representatives. Now sales employees can create group chats based on different purposes and invite the right people without any limitations. Furthermore, they can conveniently handle tasks with flexibility by sending information at once in the group chats.

 

Mr. Murakami :

Sales employees can send Excel, Word, and PDF files with LINE WORKS. Now sending various business data is easily accessible.

 

Ms. Takigawa :

In addition to cosmetics, Noevir runs apparel and underwear businesses. Therefore, we use LINE WORKS to inform new products to distributors and retailers by sending sample images or explanation videos made by sales representatives in group chats.

 

Ms. Munezane :

In the past, the Information Systems Department used to deliver system failure or update notices to all group companies via e-mail. After implementing LINE WORKS, we post such information on home boards. Most of the employees check home postings faster than e-mails; hence, we make announcements that need to be delivered swiftly and surely on home boards.

Ms. Takigawa :

Initially, LINE WORKS was selected primarily as a means for the sales force to communicate closely with customers and distributors. However, now it functions as a convenient platform that bridges communication among all affiliated companies even more so than the existing groupware.

Mr. Murakami

The Information System Department needs to manage all accounts of affiliated companies. We use the LINE WORKS API and ETL tool’s DataSpider※ to acquire HR info in the form of CSV data automatically. The system deletes the LINE WORKS accounts of retirees and members on leave by itself; it also sends issued accounts to new employees through e-mail. As there is no need to manage each account manually, it helps to streamline work procedures effectively.

Ms. Takigawa :

Currently, we are using LINE WORKS in combination with the existing groupware. However, in the future, we plan to use it as the primary communication tool to support busy sales staff by connecting with various systems and better take advantage of its convenience. We are reviewing whether we can communicate and check work-related info immediately and securely only using LINE WORKS all over the group companies.

 

One of the attempts is to implement a Help Desk Chatbot related to PCs utilized in the office. Sales representatives frequently work outside and cannot contact the helpdesk in case of desk absence. As a result, I would like to establish an automatic response Chatbot for simple inquiries. In the future, I want to develop a hub to connect to various applications. If we can consolidate different systems’ UI into LINE WORKS as a single platform, it would boost the productivity of our sales teams.

 

Ms. Munezane :

Ms. Munezane: We are considering whether it would be possible to replace manual writing of daybook, using existing company groupware, with LINE WORKS voice input system outside the office. Though we are already supporting our employees by giving them access to connect with smartphones, we would like to significantly improve their work efficiency by facilitating more comfortable and faster ways to input info. LINE WORKS is equipped with various functions in addition to voice input, and therefore, we would like to increase the applied uses within all group companies.

 

※DataSpider…ETL tool that connects data between different systems without programming

 

 

※All details, affiliations, and positions specified were gathered at the time of interview.

Mr. Hiroi:

Our company operates ‘Atema Kogen Belnatio’ accommodating a hotel, a golf course, and various nature activities in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture. As a manager of the Management Department, I am in charge of general affairs and human resources, system operation, facility management, etc.

 

Mr. Kanazawa:

As the General Affairs·HR manager of the Management Department, I take care of system -related management such as salary, attendance check, and introduction and maintenance of PC. I am also involved in operating and managing LINE WORKS.

 

Mr. Saiki:

As a manager of the Guest Relations Department, I am in charge of overall customer service for resort facilities including hotel and restaurants.

Mr. Hiroi:

Our resort started getting more spotlight after winning Gold for the ‘Rakuten Travel Award 2017,’ an award given to accommodations with exceptional user reviews. In order to provide and maintain quality service, employees need to communicate closely and share information seamlessly. Nevertheless, the risk of ‘shadow IT’—confidential information being leaked while employees share work-related information through mobile devices— has emerged as an important issue to be solved.

Mr. Kanazawa:

We used groupware technology to announce various kinds of information in the office, but checking them frequently was a challenge since information could only be accessed through a PC in your designated seat. As prompt sharing of information with employees in reception is a must to manage a resort, we had to consider an additional communication tool.

 

Mr. Saiki:

In the Guest Relations Department, we adjust the shift schedule of about 50 employees to match the number of customers each day. In order to do this, we contacted employees through phone or mail, but some staff off-duty could not be reached, and some employees who did not own company-provided mobile phones felt burdened to share their private phone numbers.

Mr. Kanazawa:

After considering various tools, we took note of LINE WORKS, a service that allows users to share real-time information through mobile phones regardless of location, and which is certified with a global security standard of SOC. There were also some customers wanting to use LINE messenger to communicate with the hotel. We were attracted to the fact that it is a tool that can be managed by the company and also be integrated with LINE, and also that it does not require additional training because it has the same interface with the widely-used messenger, LINE. After trial operation with the CEO and the General Manager included, we could feel its convenience and improvement in work speed. Consequently, we decided to officially introduce the service. We opened around 200 accounts including part-time employees to utilize it for managing work shifts. As there were only a few employees provided with mobile phones from the company, we introduced the service as a BYOD (bring your own device), asking employees to download the app in personal mobile phones.

 

Mr. Hiroi:

The Management Department established basic operational regulations, such as restricting file downloads to mobile phones because of security issues, and stipulating that work-related contacts should be made only through LINE WORKS.

Mr. Kanazawa:

We have naturally come to use LINE WORKS when making work-related personal contacts, and groupware when delivering information across the enterprise. It is a rule not to carry a mobile device in reception except for the staff in charge of emergency contacts, so we asked employees to use LINE WORKS in the back yard. As a result, we could feel that information we needed to share with reception employees was being communicated faster than before.

 

Mr. Hiroi:

Unlike groupware where you have to access it to check information, we can receive a LINE WORKS alarm anywhere in the resort. This has significantly reduced the time it takes for sharing information, and in turn sped up the general work process.

Mr. Saiki:

Every day, our resort runs five shuttle busses that connect hotels to various regions such as Tokyo and Niigata, and when the number of passengers increases due to sudden bookings, we also need to increase the number of customer service employees to prevent chaotic situations. After introducing LINE WORKS, it has become easier to ask night-duty personnel to come to work early, on bus arrival time. We can also contact employees with much ease and clarity when we urgently need to change work shifts, due to emergencies like sudden banquet reservations.

 

When we notice any damage in the facility and need to get approval for repair and changes in room layout, we send photos to our supervisor and ask for judgement. Before, we used to print out the photos or send them through groupware, so sometimes it took us two to three days for the supervisor to reply if he was on a business trip. After introducing LINE WORKS, we can get real-time instructions, as supervisors can immediately reply wherever they are.

 

Mr. Hiroi:

With LINE WORKS, you can call someone whom you don’t have the number of. Moreover, I believe that there is more communication now with the use of message rooms, and teamwork improved.

 

Before, employees used to make reports and ask for consultations mostly through phone calls, but after the introduction of LINE WORKS we are using phone calls only in times of emergency—most other issues are delivered through messages. As we receive less and less work-related calls on the holidays, we can sense quality improvement in personal time.

Mr. Saiki:

I think we might utilize the integration feature for external conversations. Then we will be able to use the service for contacting buyers in the beverage sector. At the moment we are making contacts mostly through the phone, but if we could keep such conversations in record, we would be able to manage the order-to-delivery process more efficiently.

 

Mr. Hiroi:

I would like to use ‘Form’ and build a system where we can check employee status in case of emergency.

 

Moreover, every week, the management staff get together to report on what happened during the week— I would like to utilize voice and video call feature so that even employees in the Tokyo branch can take part and share information face-to-face. I believe that the risk of ‘shadow IT’ that has been a big challenge has decreased, but since it hasn’t been long since the introduction of the service, we plan to continue in our efforts to establish regulations to use LINE WORKS more safely, and to utilize its various features.

※ All details, affiliations, and positions specified were gathered at the time of interview.

Mr. Sato:

As the Director of Work Style Reform Division in the Civil Engineering Headquarters, I support boosting work efficiency and reforming the way we work in construction sites across Japan.

 

Mr. Miyaji:

I am the Operation Manager of the Yokohama Branch, and I’m in charge of project management on site for the road shield tunnel construction.

Mr. Miyaji:

In constructing a shield tunnel that easily covers several kilometers in length, about 20 employees are stationed on site, and about 50 other contractors work on a site-by-site basis. As the operation manager, I am in charge of overall management—I check up with the people in charge to grasp the progress in field. However, I felt it quite cumbersome to check up on each individual through a phone call or an email, and again deliver the information to other employees. I thought we needed a safe and more convenient tool for communication.

 

Mr. Sato:

With the number of employees decreasing due to a shortage of workers, and with the recent situation of reducing overtime work and providing holiday leaves, the construction industry is striving to reform the way we work. In order to drive for the same results as before, we need to increase work efficiency to improve the overall productivity.

Do you have any tips for using LINE WORKS in construction sites?

How exactly is LINE WORKS being used?

As we can now deliver information through group message rooms at once, I can deliver the project’s progress to the employees or relevant personnel much faster than before. Thankfully, I no longer need to explain the project’s progress in detail during morning and evening assemblies when everyone gets together. Now day time workers transfer their duties to night time workers through LINE WORKS, instead of paper transition documents. LINE WORKS is easier to read than the paper document, and we can also check for the ‘read‘ notification. This has enabled employees to be clearer in the transition process. Furthermore, another big strength of LINE WORKS is that you can gather members and create message rooms to share information with only members who need them. Sparing the cost of delivering information to irrelevant workforce has contributed to improving work efficiency.

 

At sites where various companies work together, each company has to share where and what they are doing everyday with blueprints and progress schedules. Before, these documents were delivered in paper during morning assemblies; yet now, even employees who missed an assembly can access the information because we deliver them to everyone through attached files. It has even become possible to distinguish who has checked the information and who has not, so there is much less anxiety about whether the information is being delivered.

Mr. Sato:

Before, evening assemblies usually took around an hour, but now it only takes five to ten minutes. We estimated that this would enable each employee shorten about one working hour each day. Since one out of eight working hours can now be redistributed to the project, this led to an improvement in construction speed and quality, and a decrease in overtime costs. I believe that this is contributing greatly to the overall improvement in productivity.

 

Mr. Miyaji:

Sometimes scheduled projects suddenly undergo changes due to various circumstances. In these kinds of situations, an unexpected accident might occur if relevant information is not shared to every relevant employee fast and accurately. As we can now make immediate announcements about project schedule changes through LINE WORKS, it also helps strengthening safety measures in the field.

Mr. Miyaji:

Up until now, we have announced the field schedule like safety inspections and meeting dates by writing them on a whiteboard, but now anyone can share their schedule anytime on their phone with the Calendar feature.

 

In addition, we are utilizing Form when nominating a candidate for safety awards or when checking attendance for social gatherings. We just send the information at once to everyone in the field (around 70 people), and in the blink of an eye we get replies back—it’s so convenient.

Mr. Miyaji:

I would like to try its various features and further streamline the entire field communication, improving work efficiency and productivity.

 

Mr. Sato:

In order to utilize LINE WORKS more effectively, I believe that it is important for the headquarters to regularly exchange feedback with each work station, and listen to actual use cases and feedback. After hearing feedback, we will encourage employees to utilize LINE WORKS according to the size and characteristics of each field.

Mr. Kohara：

Our company mainly deals with remodeling and maintenance of the houses. We had converted into a corporation in 2004, and next year will be our 50th anniversary if we sum up the individual business years. We have total of 14 employees, 10 from sales-construction staffs and 4 from office workers. Since we are remodeling company, in which mainly focuses on construction, it is general that employees who form an estimation are also in charge of construction. Although I am the Representative Director of this company, I am also involved in overall working processes, from Sales to Construction works.

 

Ms. Kunihiro：

I am in charge of Sales business. Specifically, I am in charge of re-writing the estimates, which are initially written by other Sales employees or writing various documents down on PC.

Mr. Kohara：

Starting from one specific period, the core idea of construction within industry has changed from constructing new building to remodeling. Unlike constructing new building, remodeling requires considerable experience. As major companies are also taking part in remodeling industry, it has become impossible to survive from the industry with its similar tactic. In order to survive under such circumstance, it was important mission for us to enhance our work performance by working efficiently while providing quality service.

 

Even within the industry, the response rate has become faster than before. Take construction fee as an example, what used to be changed every five-year is now change each year. This indicates that we cannot survive this year with the same way as last year.

 

Meantime, there were issues with sharing information since the salesperson could not stay in the same construction site all day and could only visit maximum of five construction sites if needed. Customers often had to wait for the salesperson, who were not reachable while working at the construction site. Although the customers make phone calls, they still had to wait quite amount of time to be connected to the salesperson. Even with the note like ‘I want someone to come as soon as possible’, there were times when salesperson could not answer the message in a prompt manner. In order to find the salesperson who is available for immediate contact or the salesperson who can visit the place right away, we had to call each of them whenever needed. Because it was impossible to find out where each salesperson was located, we had to call each individual.

Ms. Kunihiro：

The most used situation is when we make responses to emergencies, such as water leakage and drain clogging. Especially, we receive a lot of inquiries about frozen pipes during winter time. Before introducing LINE WORKS, the employee who answered the customer phone call had to desperately find a Salesperson who can solve the emergency. After the introduction, however, we can now send customer address along with detailed situation explanation to the group chatting room, where entire Salesperson have jointed. Just by sending messages like ‘Can anyone go?’, we can immediately find available Salesperson to handle the situation.

 

Mr. Kohara：

Up until now, we have delivered the information such as customer requests, shipping information, and event information through bylaws. After introducing LINE WORKS, however, it became very convenient to notify all the employees. Also, there are employees whom we get to encounter only once a week, but even in such situation, we can communicate with them in detail.

 

We are utilizing Calendar function when writing daily work log. There is no difference in terms of its function to manage overall schedules by posting construction or customer meeting dates in advance. We, furthermore, use to adjust the schedules, such as change the presumably written schedule hours to the hours that actually took, and add types of works that employees have done.

 

That is, what once was pre-conditioned schedule in the morning transformed into employees’ daily work log at night. It is easy to see the works done on that day and it is also convenient for future reference. Hand-written work log was often omitted within the day. But, it is now possible to check the log whenever and wherever needed.

 

Mr. Kohara：

LINE WORKS is very attractive tool in terms of allowing us to check the schedule everywhere. This applies to all the employees, but as we start utilizing LINE WORKS within our workplace, I believe that we all gained notion of time management. Everyone, including myself, can now use time efficiently. Schedule management function as well as Timer function also prevent works from being left out.

 

Ms. Kunihiro：

Before LINE WORKS was introduced, I wrote employees’ schedule simply on a paper chart in the office. By introducing LINE WORKS, we are also digitalized. It became possible to reduce the cost of ‘writing’ as well as paper. Also, it is possible to make immediate contact to the specific employee, as we can find out the current location of them in detail.

Mr. Kohara：

What I felt particularly effective in terms of communication is when confirming ‘finishing touches’ of the construction sites. Visiting all the construction sites is nearly impossible to do so. However, since site managers send photos through LINE WORKS chatting, it is now possible to acknowledge the details of the construction sites without making actual visits.

 

There were times when I could not make judgements on the situation and issue the work instructions accordingly if I was not present on the site. But, now I can instantly make judgements on the issue and deliver the instructions. Because I can also issue instructions immediately in case of any emergencies or problems, the overall working process became much favorable than before. It was impossible to do so in the past. As we reduced the amount of time wasted, we can now spend more time focusing on Sales activities, such as prospect customer development, consultation, and post-sales support. We can easily share messages through chatting room, and ‘completed’ message can now be sent after the work has done. We are deeply feeling that the style of work has changed.

 

It may sound exaggerated, but I believe that with the help of LINE WORKS, we could survive from the hardships that we faced at the end of the last year. Starting from the end of the last year, the entire construction industry became relatively busy. Specifically, the work has increased 125% more in December than the last year. Thanks to LINE WORKS, we could successfully handle all the chances given by reducing the wasted time. After the introduction, our achievement record has definitely improved than last year.

Mr. Ono：

Located in Kanagawa, our company operates the visiting rehabilitation massage business by a masseur who owns national certificate. We also operate stress-relieving salon that lessens daily tiredness or muscle stiffness using five senses and other related business. We are operating 8 visiting rehabilitation massage stores and 5 stress-relieving salon stores.

 

Mr. Takeuchi：

I am part of the General Affairs Department, and responsible for managing the company’s vehicle, PCs, and company borrowed cellular phones.

 

Mr. Hasegawa：

I am in charge of visiting rehabilitation massage business. In addition, I visit customer’s house as a masseur and I manage the schedule of staff members as head of the office, simultaneously.

Mr. Ono：

The number of employees who were only a few at the company’s foundation year in 2000 has now grown up to 130 employees. As the company’s size grew year after year, we believed that the speed of communication would become more important than before. Also, we value people as we put a company’s fundamental policy. Especially, in hopes of improving capacity and becoming outstanding individuals, we actively have been conducting the training workshop for executive staffs.

 

We all felt that, in order to work faster, it is important to make quick responses to the contacts. We think that there are limitations to enhance response rates using communication tools like email or telephone. Until now, the employees have used bulletin boards on the company’s website installed by each Department manager. Field employees, those who have hard time to meet each other due to different work time, used company’s SNS to contact each other. We thought that introducing a convenient communication tool may enhance communication speed than before.

 

Mr. Hasegawa：

It was only morning hours that I can physically meet the employees. For this reason, I basically contacted them through company mobile phone or personal mobile phone. However, I often felt uncomfortable with this due to time limitation.

 

Mr. Takeuchi：

We have used SMS since we rented out 2G phones to our employees up until now. However, I felt that SMS as well as 2G phones were inconvenient to use because contacts need to be re-registered every time when device changes.

Mr. Takeuchi：

In the fall of 2017, the company introduced LINE WORKS as we changed the company rental mobile phone from 2G phone to smartphone. LINE WORKS, an application available both on the PC and smartphone, was very attractive because we wanted to create an environment where office employees can easily communicate with field employees. I looked over several different tools. However, I gave up on introducing them because employees were unable to get used to them in the trial and there was a need for the training session in order to make every employee member be proficient.

 

Mr. Hasegawa：

LINE WORKS provides video call feature, and it has been a crucial factor to introduce it since Mr. Ono wanted to hold a video conference. LINE WORKS, unlike other traditional communication tools, was also very attractive because it provides Read notification feature to find out whether a message has been read or not.

 

Mr. Ono：

When we introduce LINE WORKS, the internal IT Department set up rules such as ‘Messages that arrive after 8 p.m. can be answered the next morning’ or ‘No need to use closing remarks at the end of the message’ to make LINE WORKS usage pleasant. In addition, each business unit came up with different ideas to make a variety of uses of LINE WORKS.

Mr. Ono：

Currently, a total of 32 employees in administrative positions like senior executives, director of each sales office, and store manager are using LINE WORKS. we can send opinions to the executives easily as well as accommodate with executives’ opinion better than before. Also, there are executives who exchange personal information like ‘My baby has born’ or upload company PR videos via LINE WORKS to share information actively. Our company values ‘A well-communicated environment’ as the most important measure and we think that LINE WORKS is making a huge contribution to create such environment. Up until now, we have been hearing from employees through face to face interviews or written survey. However, I think we will be able to take advantage of LINE WORKS Form functions near in the future.

Mr. Hasegawa：

If the customer is in bad condition and cancel the visiting schedule on that day, we need to make contact immediately to field employees, who are assigned to visit the customer’s house. We can make contacts faster through LINE WORKS than by phone or email. Also, if the sent messages are notified as read, we can assure that ‘the recipients have read the message’, even if there is no reply.

 

There are times when we care for customers with a team of external physical therapists or occupational therapists whom are contracted by care managers. And we are mostly using LINE WORKS to make connection to their LINE account and exchange information in real time. Up to this point, the telephone calls have been central to our communication. But, there was a limited amount of time to receive the call and communicate through the phone. Therefore, we often had to call several times to find the most suitable time for communication. After the introduction of LINE WORKS, communication became smoother.Also, we can share customer’s health status and family situations on team’s group chatting room, which enables to achieve care system with better customer satisfaction measurement.

 

Mr. Takeuchi：

Because LINE WORKS enables us to find out whether the message has been read or not, we can make decisions faster than before. If an emergency situation occurs at the field we visit, we have to contact our boss about the issue and ask for the solution. When doing so, if we find out the message is not read by the boss, we can immediately make judgement to contact another boss and ask for the resolution. And this is very convenient.

Mr. Takeuchi：

LINE WORKS made company’s overall communication more active than before because it is easier to express an opinion than email or telephone. In order to confirm each other’s opinion, we use LINE WORKS, which has fast response speed and we can use the appropriate tool for purpose with the contact that needs searching or accumulation can be done by email.

Mr. Hasegawa：

We have discussed various company-level agendas such as new plans and responses through face-to-face meetings. But, now we are actively using LINE WORKS Message function to do so. As a result, face-to-face meetings have turned from a discussion to decision making and final confirmation, allowing more time to spend efficiently. The introduction of LINE WORKS created an atmosphere for the new director to express their opinion freely.

 

Mr. Ono：

We believe that the adoption of LINE WORKS enabled us to achieve a ‘well-communicated environment = better working environment’ and strengthened the connection between our executives. As more and more employees are now expressing their opinions, I think I can hear about them more when compared with past years. Communication and decision-making procedures are certainly faster than before, and we expect that these changes can lead us to better performance in the future.

We are using LINE WORKS for daily communication with store staffs, area manager, headquarters, and customers.

 

We are checking consulting reviews with the store staffs in real time

 

For example, when customer visits our store and asks about the cars or asking for a consultation, the assigned staff often contact via LINE WORKS and ask questions like ‘the client requested this, how should I do?’. We also use LINE WORKS when we visit the actual site to purchase the used cars. Once we visit our customers house, we can take photos of the car and immediately send them to the office. This enables both field and office workers to check the condition of the car together in real time. This way, the customer no longer have to wait. As a manager, it has become easier for me to take control of the works since I can check the condition of the consulting in real time.

 

What changed the most is that we can make response to the requests from the clients faster than before. When customers send messages like ‘Can we do this?’ or ‘I want to do this part as this’ via LINE, we can immediately check the message and send the response. It is definitely faster than phone call or email. For email, we can only send the response after we come back to our own house and turn on the computer. For this reason, we could only provide the customer service only during the time frame we assigned. With LINE and LINE WORKS, we could both check and response immediately to the messages, and therefore, we could solve the issue on the day it has occurred.

 

Close connection with our customers has speeded up the time taken for problem resolution and the time it takes to sign the contract has also been reduced.

Communicating with headquarters or interoffice communication has become much more convenient than before. Previously, when we want to contact someone in our company, we first had to check the profile and find detailed contact information and either send email or make phone call to them after. And, this was extremely inconvenient. With LINE WORKS, however, we can simply look up the contacts information on the application and send message immediately. With this, it became convenient to make contacts to others.

 

Other than this, I am recently participating in an internal project at our office called ‘Sakura Project’, which pursues the greater environment for the women to work. The project is divided into several teams and where I am located is in charge of posting contents on the company blog. To make contents, I often have to make contacts to the employees whom I have never met before. Even under such circumstance, I use LINE WORKS group chatting room to contact those people conveniently.