#Japan #Tokyo #Nakano #eWeLL #Porter Prize

eWeLL CEO Nakano Takes Center Stage at 2025 Competitiveness Conference

On December 2, 2025, the prestigious Porter Prize ceremony took place at Hitotsubashi Auditorium in Tokyo, celebrating companies that have excelled in strategic competition. Among those honored was eWeLL, a company dedicated to enhancing home healthcare through digital transformation (DX), represented by its CEO, Norito Nakano.

The ceremony featured interviews conducted by Takeda Kusunoki, a special professor of international corporate strategy at Hitotsubashi ICS, with successful business leaders, including Nakano. These discussions focused on the key sources of competitive advantage. eWeLL's distinctive approach to electronic nursing record-keeping, a strategy first put forth in Kusunoki's book, “Competition Strategy as a Story,” was highlighted during the event. Nakano's commitment to transforming care records into electronic formats paved the way for various innovative services, including AI applications and claims management, thereby establishing eWeLL’s unique position in the healthcare market.

Key Insights from the Ceremony

• - Transforming Conventional Wisdom: eWeLL deliberately chose not to enter the typical realms of healthcare, such as claims systems, focusing instead on the digitization of daily nursing records. This innovative direction has allowed the company to pioneer a “new area” in healthcare management.
• - Data Utilization for New Services: By converting analog medical information into usable data, eWeLL has successfully expanded its offerings to include AI-based solutions and services.
• - Customer-Centric Pricing Models: With a pricing structure of zero initial costs and a fee of ¥100 per visit, eWeLL reinforces its commitment to improving customer success - a shared metric in evaluating business health.
• - Sustaining Low Cancellation Rates: The revolutionary model combines ease of use with economic rationale, resulting in exceptionally low cancellation rates, ensuring a consistent revenue stream.
• - Future Collaboration with Hospitals: eWeLL is set to leverage its robust data to enhance collaborative efforts with hospitals, targeting improvements in the quality and efficiency of community-based healthcare.

Performance Evaluation and Sustainable Growth

During the conference, a panel discussion took place that analyzed eWeLL's impressive profitability. Professor Mikiharu Noma indicated that the company has achieved remarkable growth in both customer acquisition and revenue per customer, confirming the aligning strategies of sustainable profit generation.

Noma emphasized, “eWeLL’s business model exemplifies a modern approach to DX, where the strategy incorporates multiple growth avenues rather than choosing between them, resulting in sustainable competitive advantages.” This dual growth in customer acquisition and revenue suggests eWeLL has secured a model that effectively meets market demands while remaining profitable.

Nakano’s Vision for the Future

In his reflections post-ceremony, Nakano articulated gratitude for the insights gained through interactions with other awardees and Hitotsubashi ICS students. He reassured stakeholders that eWeLL will continue to invest aggressively in enhancing its unique competitive edge, aspiring to establish itself as a leader in home healthcare platforms worldwide.

The event was not just a celebration; it served as a reminder of the commitment eWeLL has made to not only bolster its own operations but also improve the entire landscape of home healthcare in Japan.

Event Highlights

• - Date & Time: December 2, 2025, from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM
• - Location: Hitotsubashi Auditorium, Chiyoda, Tokyo
• - Organizer: Hitotsubashi ICS in collaboration with the Hitotsubashi University Knowledge Co-creation Organization and sponsored by Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and KPMG FAS.

About the Porter Prize

Established in 2001, the Porter Prize recognizes firms that achieve outstanding profitability through unique competitive strategies without falling into competitive uniformity. In 2025, the following companies were awarded:

• - eWeLL Co., Ltd.
• - Fujikura Ltd. (information and communication division, world leader in thin optical fibers)
• - SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. (top global player in semiconductor cleaning equipment)

eWeLL Overview

eWeLL’s mission is centered on making people happier through DX initiatives aimed at enhancing home healthcare services. Products like the electronic medical record system “iBow” and the matching platform “CareLog” effectively simplify the workflows of healthcare professionals while improving patient quality of life (QOL). With over 54,000 healthcare providers utilizing their systems nationally, eWeLL supports more than 740,000 home care patients.

For more information about eWeLL, please visit eWeLL Official Site, eWeLL IR, iBow Official Site, and CareLog Official Site.