#Digital Transformation #WalkMe #Ebara Corporation

Ebara Corporation Achieves Remarkable Digital Transformation Results

Ebara Corporation, a leading industrial machinery manufacturer in Japan, has recently announced significant advancements in its digital transformation initiatives, thanks to its collaboration with WalkMe, a global leader in Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP). By embracing a unique strategy centered on human-centered design, Ebara successfully completed the integration of WalkMe's DAP into 45 internal systems in just two years. This extraordinary implementation has not only garnered recognition but has also resulted in startling quantitative improvements.

In the recent Realizer Awards 2026, organized by WalkMe, Ebara was chosen as a finalist in the Transformational Business Impact category. The recognition is a testament to the effectiveness of Ebara's approach towards digital adoption, where they have moved from traditional user manuals to a streamlined system that eliminates the need for reading manuals altogether. The company's dedicated internal team has also established IT governance that helps in preventing shadow IT, enhancing both speed and control over their digital tools.

WalkMe's Realizer Awards celebrate organizations worldwide that are spearheading digital transformation, removing digital friction, and achieving outstanding business outcomes through WalkMe's platform. Ebara's efforts to go beyond traditional methods with its DAP utilization, along with the evident improvement in employee experience, have made it a standout example on a global scale.

The Evolution of Ebara Corporation

Founded in 1912, Ebara Corporation has played an integral role in supporting global social and industrial infrastructure primarily through its pump manufacturing. Over the years, it has expanded into diverse areas including cooling machinery, compressors, turbines, waste disposal systems, and even fields such as semiconductor manufacturing, hydrogen generation, and space technology. As part of its long-term vision, E-Vision 2035, Ebara is committed to enhancing its global presence and achieving further growth through extensive digital transformation strategies.

In 2023, Ebara began to intensify its digital adoption initiatives, focusing on enhancing the usage and permanence of systems like SAP Concur® for expense management. Ebara implemented WalkMe's DAP to facilitate a smoother adoption process across numerous departments including finance, procurement, HR, and production management. The collaborative effort from both management and frontline staff has ensured the successful deployment of 45 systems in a mere two years.

Ebara has also embraced the motto that “manuals should be eliminated rather than read.” This philosophy underpins their efforts to provide users with an engaging and intuitive experience without the traditional burden of having to navigate through lengthy manuals. By optimizing user experience (UX) design, Ebara aims to minimize stress and cognitive load on users during their system interactions.

In a significant breakthrough, what was originally estimated to be a 3 million yen cost for the upgrade of a document management system was entirely completed in-house using WalkMe, showcasing remarkable agility and cost-saving measures.

Measurable Benefits of Digital Transformation

The deployment of WalkMe has yielded impressive quantitative results. For instance, Ebara observed an 80% reduction in inquiries related to its employee management system, while the workflow management system achieved a 100% reduction, resulting in zero inquiries. Additionally, erroneous operations in their sales support system have been effectively eliminated, allowing employees to navigate their tasks with ease.

The time previously spent managing inquiries and recovering from errors has been greatly minimized, contributing to overall productivity improvements across Ebara's workforce. WalkMe does not merely serve as a tool for boosting operational efficiency; it also plays a crucial role in bridging the often-challenging gap between people and systems, facilitating true human-centered business practices.

Ebara's strategic implementation of DAP stands as an exemplary model of how addressing the distance between people and systems can lead to enhanced productivity and transformational success.

Expert Insights and Future Vision

Kazuyoshi Sato, Head of Business Acceleration at Ebara's Information Communication Department, emphasized, “At Ebara, we regard DX not merely as the implementation of systems but as a transformational journey for our operations and our people. Since introducing Concur in 2021, we have encountered the challenges of maximizing investment returns through system usability. In 2023, WalkMe emerged as a pivotal solution to overcome these obstacles. Our accomplishments in implementing WalkMe across 45 systems in such a short time can be credited to the unified commitment of our staff and management.