#Japan #Tokyo #JX Metals #Kintone #Cybozu

JX Metals and Its Transformative Journey with Kintone

In recent times, JX Metals has made significant strides in its digital transformation (DX) journey with the assistance of Kintone, a no-code tool developed by Cybozu. With around 4,200 employees across ten group companies utilizing the platform, JX Metals aims to streamline operations and promote workplace efficiency.

The Need for Digital Transformation

The journey began in 2020 when JX Metals prepared for its head office relocation. Coinciding with this move, they faced an unprecedented challenge due to the global pandemic, which necessitated the urgent digitization of their application and approval processes, primarily reliant on paper documents. Given this situation, JX Metals recognized the need for a robust foundation that could adapt to the diverse operations across its group, while also emphasizing the importance of nurturing DX talent. This led them to seek a no-code platform that would enable employees to create business applications independently.

Kintone quickly emerged as a computational ally during their Proof of Concept (PoC) phase, receiving favorable feedback for its user experience and practicality. It allowed for seamless continuity of operations through smartphones and PCs, solidifying its place as the solution for their DX initiatives across the group.

Streamlining Operations and Fostering a Culture of Citizen Development

One of JX Metals' first initiatives using Kintone was the digitization of its CEO's approval flow. This top-down success story significantly impacted the DX mindset across the group. Following this, various application processes like business trip requests and meeting room reservations transitioned from paper-based to digital, with the functionality of Kintone playing a critical role. Consequently, they achieved a remarkable reduction in paper usage while estimating time savings of 2-3 hours per approval across roughly 3,000 cases.

JX Metals also advocates for citizen development in app creation. By granting department-specific app development rights while supporting them with IT resources, they encourage collaboration among employees. This approach not only leads to new app developments but also facilitates the sharing of applications between departments, further enhancing operational efficiency.

Expanding Kintone Utilization in 2024

With the ambition of deepening and accelerating their DX, JX Metals has outlined a 6-year plan focusing on the incorporation of IoT and AI. Central to this strategy is the enhancement of DX talent resources, which will be crucial, especially as their application needs continue to grow. To address expected increases in app counts and API requests while maintaining governance, JX Metals plans to contract a wide course tailored for extensive usage by October 2024.

The group intends to utilize Kintone's features further, such as approval history tracking and process management visualization, including expansion into portal functionalities. They are also looking into collaborations with generative AI to optimize the information within Kintone, thereby improving workflow and productivity. Highlighting the importance of a community-driven approach, they plan to identify power users in each department to fast-track citizen development.

Discover More About Kintone

This case study illustrates JX Metals' innovative approach in leveraging Kintone for their operational improvements. For more insights and details, you can visit the dedicated case study site: Kintone Case Study.

What is Kintone?

Kintone, developed by Cybozu, is a no-code/low-code tool used by over 38,000 companies, including 44% of the companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime market. Even without extensive IT knowledge, businesses can create customized applications suited to their unique operations and swiftly adapt them as needs evolve. Kintone integrates database functionalities, workflow, and communication, making it a versatile tool for continuous business improvement across varied applications like customer management and business trip requests.
For more information on Kintone, visit their official product site: Kintone Product Site.