02 Creating a team for making projects successful Sales Department No.2

Sales Department No.2

Tamiyoshi Nakamura

WORLDWIDE Capabilities for prompt response and risk management that we never lose against competitors

That business contract was almost concluded by a big competitor.
The customer contacted“K”Line Logistics only for compering prices to see the competitor’s prices were reasonable. However, “K”Line Logistics were the one, who got the order from the customer at the end.To search for the reason, we found why they chose the company over a competitor.

The client was a Japanese company that had a major French oil company as a mother firm with the second shipment volume in solar panels in the U.S. The first presentation to the company was made in May 2015. After that, they frequently communicated by emails and phone conversations about terms and conditions every month but did not show any progress to making actual contract with the company. It took half an year to be qualified to be bidden as a named transportation company for the client to deal with their mega-solar project in Japan.

Namakura, the team leader of the project and the manager of the sales department tells us. “We ended up getting orders for four projects (a total of more than 110MW) in 18 months in a row, but we actually never had an experience to handle solar panels in the past. What made the client to name us was that our strong enthusiasm to join their business. And what’s more, the prices and services we offered were more than what they had expected. That made them pick us at the end. I think what made them chose us were our organizational ability, risk management, and ability to respond to issues that we have a pride to surpass our competitors.”

PARTNERS Prompt and experienced leadership

With the fact that they were new to the solar panel industry, their hardships and concerns were more than expected. “Mega-solar business needing electric power as the same level as a power plant required a huge land, and thus they used cheap, idle land deep in the mountains. Of course, they needed transportation to deep-snow districts, and that could interrupt installation of the solar panels in winter. Therefore, an enormous warehouse was needed to temporarily store a huge amount of solar panels. That was the most difficult issue we had to deal with.”, Nakamura says.

There was an unexpected accident. The company’s factory in Philippines was closed in the middle of the second project. That plant was a supply point for Asia pacific area. That suddenly gather all the delivery to the factory in Mexico, and the Mexican plant went into a panic. At the same time, that was the very time the “K”Line Logistics ability to handle a crisis was tested. At the end, the customer highly appreciated the company’s response to the matter, and that strengthen the relationship between the two firms.
“It is usual to have a request on a business with foreign-owned enterprises to changes in the business itself, a method, a production plant, and a transportation method based on a contract. We have learned a lot from those experiences, and that has made us have an ability to flexibly handle any matters.”

Nakamura’s decision was fast because of the established know-how. He decided to monitor in detail by cooperating with the San Diego office closer to the site than the Mexican local office or cooperative companies.
“What is most suitable? I would have obtained a necessary logistics business permission for building transportation routes to get a bid, but actually my own intuition counted the most in the end.”, Nakamura joked like that, but of course that was his preconsidered command.

PARTNERS The feeling to share joy and a sense of accomplishment with partners

Nakamura has a consistent attitude.
“I’d like our partners to feel a sense of accomplishment rather than our company’s folks or myself. Our company is not a big company having branches all over Japan, but we offer services by region or each case with a support from our affiliates. Thus, we have to avoid a plan which puts them too much burden because we need cooperation from our partners in order to offer customers a best possible service that satisfies their needs.
Our success and projects come from support from our associates, so it is important for us to be in the site to exchange information as much as we can and tell them our passion toward the work.
Solar panel business remains in the form of the work we did. It supports people’s life. I think it’s best to have young sales associates deal with the projects so that they can take care of the work with a sense of pride and spirit to contribute to the society.” Building the real win-win relationship with partners; Nakamura understands its importance. We look forward to seeing his further directions.