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| All answers refer to data and figures as of March 31, 2006,
unless otherwise indicated. |
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What sort of companies
make up your clients? What are they by business segment? |
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Backs Group’s customers include manufacturers
of such digital consumer electronics as personal computers and peripheral
equipment, software and mobile telecommunication devices, as well as telecom
carriers and their agencies. Due to aggressive development of new sectors
in fiscal year 2005, moreover, we have begun offering service to customers
in the finance industry (such as credit card companies), manufacturers of
such consumer goods as daily items, automobile accessories and alcohol beverages,
as well as customers in the clothing industry. |
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| Retail support outsourcing |
| Mobile telecommunications |
• Mobile telecommunication device manufacturers
• Telecom carriers
• Primary agencies of telecom carriers (retailers and manufacturers) |
| Digital consumer electronics |
• Personal computer and peripheral device manufacturers
• Software manufacturers
• Broadband service providers
• Digital consumer electronics manufacturers, etc. |
| New sectors |
• Automotive accessories manufacturers
• Manufacturers of consumer goods such as daily items and toiletries
• Alcohol beverage producers
• Finance (Banks, distributors, consumer credit, oil companies), etc. |
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| Temporary staffing |
• Primary agencies of telecom carriers (mainly retailers)
• Clothing manufacturers
• Finance
• Services, etc. |
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Selected results by client industry are listed
in our corporate overview presentation. |
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What is the employment system for staff in retail support operations? |
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Staff in retail support operations consist
mainly of "rounders," who are contract employees, and "field staff" who are
either part-time workers or contract employees. |
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What is the makeup of the contract employees and part-time workers employed in the retail support operations? What is the most common age range and gender? |
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Broadly speaking, the breakdown by gender of
retail support staff is 45% men, and 55% women. Rounders are usually in their
mid to late twenties, and many of them have some work experience or have
done freelance part-time work. Field staff are in their late twenties, mainly
university or vocational school students. |
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What are the trends in the number of registered staff? Also, how many staff members on average are active each month? |
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The number of registered staff and average
number of staff active per month are as follows: |
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| Number of registered staff |
| FY 06/3 |
38,983 persons |
| FY 05/3 |
28,684 persons |
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| Number of active staff (monthly average) |
| FY 06/3 |
4,048 persons |
| FY 05/3 |
2,922 persons |
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The average number of active staff
in any given month varies, due to such factors as the start
of the new school year, or more intensive business competition
during the bonus seasons in spring and summer. During fiscal
year 2006, the number of active staff (monthly average) has
grown to nearly 4,000 persons. |
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As the number of registered and active staff increases, staff management generally becomes more difficult. How does Backs Group conduct staff management? |
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Group companies use a web-based, integrated
operations application known as BEST that reduces the hassle of personnel
management and other matters resulting from an increase in staff numbers,
as well as improves operational efficiency. On October 1, 2004 we revised
our workflow system based on the feedback obtained from the operation the
BEST system, and introduced a new operations system called BEST Trinity,
developed in-house with the aim of lessening the burden on our operations
and significantly shortening lead times. |
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What is BEST Trinity? |
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BEST (Backs Expert System) is a web-based,
integrated operations application designed in-house, and developed under
contract.
On October 1, 2004 we introduced BEST Trinity, a new operations system developed
from BEST with the dual aim of enhancing our ability to respond to expected
increases in orders, and significantly reducing selling and administrative
expenses.
All of Backs Group’s operational functions, from order taking, casting, attendance
and payrolls to invoicing are encompassed in the system. It includes all
the features necessary for management of the duties of contract employees
and part-time staff, and the conduct of retail support operations. The system
also allows for uniform management and processing of relevant information,
making it more powerful than the former BEST system.
The BEST system was adopted by the corporate Group in April 2003, and it
is currently utilized by all active staff through their mobile telephones
or PDAs. Because functions such as attendance, shift management and payroll
calculations that used to be conducted by telephone or on paper have now
been shifted to the Internet, regular operations such as answering the phone,
computer input and checks can be reduced, leading to greater operational
efficiency.
The introduction of the BEST Trinity system will further enhance operational
efficiency while at the same time maximize scalability, thereby increasing
profitability. |
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