-Please tell us about the background of your decision to implement the system.

Mr. Hirata:
As our company was aiming for an IPO (Initial Public Offering), it was important for us to make sure that our governance was effective. In the past, we sometimes used Slack, a business chat tool, to get individual approvals, but that alone made it unclear when looking back on the past whether we were making purchases after getting proper internal approvals. Although we were using another company's product for workflow at the time, it was not a workflow-specific system, so we had to write Java scripts to achieve that functionality. As a result, we had to maintain the system every time we made changes or additions, which required a lot of man-hours and placed a heavy burden on the system administrator. We thought that it would be difficult to fully grasp the workflow without a dedicated workflow system, so we began considering the introduction of a new system.

-How did you compare products?

Mr. Hirata:
Google search. I searched for workflow systems and contacted the ones I was interested in, asking for an overview first, and then narrowing down the candidates further. There were a total of seven or eight products that we considered, and we narrowed it down to about four or five, and then we did a trial.

-What were the key points in the product comparison?

Mr. Hirata:
There are only a limited number of workflow systems that cover quotations, so one of the key points was whether or not we could issue quotations. And in my own opinion, IT products in general should be easy to use for everyone; a system that can only be handled by people with high IT literacy will inevitably become gentrified. For workflow, we wanted to choose a product that can be handled properly by anyone, regardless of IT literacy.

-What were the deciding factors in your final selection of HUE Workflow?

Mr. Hirata:
The major deciding factors were the ability to issue quotations and the fact that it can be used like Excel, so anyone can build a workflow, even if they are not in charge of the system. In fact, since the introduction of the system, the labor relations staff in the administration department has been building their own workflows for internal leave applications, including congratulatory and condolence leave.
When we first switched to HUE Workflow, we gave a brief lecture to the personnel in charge of human resources and labor affairs, but since then, they have been building their own workflows. We now have 30 to 40 workflows, about 20 of which are related to human resources and labor affairs, and we feel that the fact that they can be created by people who do not have strong IT backgrounds is a real advantage.

-How are you using HUE workflow?

Mr. Hirata:
When we first introduced the system, we held a briefing session for the sales department on the application of quotations, but we prepared a simple manual.

Mr. Hattori:
I had the impression that the approval speed was slow with the previous system, but now that we have HUE Workflow, I feel that the approval speed has gone up dramatically, partly because we can link it with Slack, which we use. It is great to be able to go to the approval page from there and approve immediately, since many of our members have Slack open all the time. For example, it used to take 2 to 3 days to get all the approvals, but now with the HUE workflow, the approvals are done on the same day. Since we have a lot of members who approve, this speed has been very helpful from a sales standpoint.

-Are there any features that you find particularly useful or frequently used?

Mr. Hirata:
The function that I find useful is "Related Documents. For example, if a purchase application and a seal application are related to each other, we used to have to put a URL as a reference in the remarks column, but with HUE Workflow, they are displayed as mapped as related documents. The management department has told us that this has been helpful from the viewpoints of governance enhancement and auditing.
For example, when an application for a seal is required after a purchase application is completed, a "request task" can be set up to notify the applicant that this application is required next. Previously, the management department had to contact each applicant individually via Slack to inform them that they need to apply for this next step, but thanks to this feature, the need to do so has been eliminated, and the management department was very pleased with how helpful it was.

Mr. Hattori:
This is the flexibility to handle applications such as "amount". The HUE workflow allows us to create functions just like Excel, so we can create workflows where we can enter a number and the wholesale price is automatically calculated. The HUE workflow allows you to create a workflow that automatically calculates the wholesale price when you enter a number. This allowed us to consolidate price change requests into the HUE workflow, rather than having to approve each price change individually in advance. Furthermore, with the "Related Documents" feature, the next price change request can be automatically posted to the quote request. In addition, since it appears in the list of applications that need to be done next, it is very easy to understand and helps to prevent forgetting applications.

-Finally, please tell us about your overall evaluation and future outlook.

Mr. Hirata:
I am personally very satisfied with the service, including the price. The system is so flexible that there is basically nothing that can't be done, and the application forms and flows are easy to understand on the screen, so I think anyone can use the system easily. The other functions are also very well-developed, and we are very satisfied with the system. We review all of our contracted external systems every year, but we plan to continue using HUE Workflow.
As for our future outlook, we have already discussed the possibility of integrating with an electronic contracting system, and we are considering the introduction of DocuSign, which is often used overseas, as we think about our future global business development. We hope to eventually link HUE workflow with DocuSign for greater convenience.