Business Overview 4. DX Regional Collaboration Project Signpost's DX and Regional Collaboration Project started in March 2022 with the establishment of the DX and Regional Collaboration Division. It aims to provide products and services that contribute to regional collaboration by collaborating with local financial institutions nationwide, utilizing its own DX technology and open innovation. In August 2022, it began working with Oita Made Co., Ltd., which was established with the investment of multiple companies in Oita Prefecture, including Oita Bank, to sell original products made in Oita Prefecture to both domestic and overseas markets and to match local companies and Signpost's products and services in order to promote the revitalization of Oita Prefecture's economy. In addition, in April 2024, it started offering DX support services for medium-sized and small businesses. As the first effort, it supports the creation of DX declaration by (The) Fourth Hokuriku Bank, Ltd. (Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture) to deploy DX declaration support services to the market. Furthermore, it will realize new solutions by commercializing its own technology and open innovation and promote regional collaboration through innovation.

Bridge International <7039> is a company that specializes in sales reform support centered on the introduction of "inside sales" (conducting sales activities using telephone, email, or SNS without visiting customers). In companies, one of the important activities supporting growth is sales activities. It plays an important role in expanding new customers, maintaining existing customers and expanding transactions, and serving as a window to absorb customer dissatisfaction. In Japanese corporate sales activities, it is common for one sales representative to handle the entire process from prospecting to closing on a customer-by-customer basis. This conventional method may result in waste, unevenness, and overburden of sales representatives due to simple factors such as workload and proficiency in responding to certain areas. While the company recognizes this issue, it is also aiming to solve it by providing services such as outsourcing of inside sales, consulting and training to clients for introduction, and business support tools such as “SAIN,” the industry's first inside sales support AI service.

In its core business model, Bridge International provides outsourcing services for inside sales, consulting services, and system solution services for CS businesses. Additionally, it offers business training and IT training as a training business.

1. Outsourcing Services This is the main service of the inside sales outsourcing business. It provides the company's inside sales (regular employee) resources to client companies and implements sales activities (using telephones, emails, the web, and AI tools) as client employees. Currently, it provides this service in the capital area with four locations including the Tokyo headquarters, and in five regions (Osaka, Fukuoka, Matsuyama, Numazu, and Tokushima). Utilizing talented human resources in various regions is a strength of the inside sales business model. The revenue model is a stock business that receives monthly fees through annual contracts, and stable revenue is expected to be obtained by providing a certain scale of resources. It can become a stock business that can stack revenue stably because it becomes a long-term contract, mainly with major companies.

In February 2023, it announced that it would strengthen the recruitment of Inside Sales employees who do not need to commute to the headquarters or office, in a fully remote work style. While continuing to recruit employees belonging to each business office as before, it is proceeding to acquire potential human resources in undeveloped areas. By strengthening recruitment nationwide, it aims to secure about 100 “full-time remote work” employees in more than 20 local governments by 2025 and achieve stable recruitment of excellent human resources as well as achieve sustainable business growth.

2. Consulting Services It provides business and marketing consulting services. The revenue model has many three-month contract periods. While Flow Business had mainly done business design to introduce inside sales outsourcing services in the past, in April 2020, ClieXito, a new consulting service company, was established, and it evolved into a service that handles DX consultations upstream. It provides consulting services that transform sales activities into those that correspond to customer experience (customer experience: CX).

3. System Solution Services In addition to various cloud services related to the implementation of inside sales developed in-house and related to the peripheral area of ​​marketing, it also provides implementation support for tools such as CRM * 1 and SFA * 2 (systems that support the management of sales activities and customer information using cloud-based technologies like AI) for partner companies. The revenue model is divided into two categories: development revenue and subscription revenue required to provide cloud services such as SFA, CRM, MA (Marketing Automation), AI, and implementation. * 1 CRM: Abbreviation of Customer Relationship Management. It refers to an information system that enables companies to respond to each customer by recording and managing the customer's attributes and contact history within the company, and works towards improving customer satisfaction.

We provide business consulting services for sales and marketing. The revenue model is mostly based on a contract period of about three months. While Flow Business has mainly designed business processes for introducing inside sales outsourcing services, in April 2020 they established a new consulting services company called ClieXito and have evolved into a service that handles DX consulting in upstream areas. We offer consulting services that transform sales activities to be responsive to customer experience (Customer Experience: CX).

System solution services are cloud services developed in-house for implementing inside sales and various cloud services related to the peripheral area of marketing, along with implementation support for tools such as CRM * 1 and SFA * 2 for partner companies. The revenue model is divided into two categories: development revenue and subscription revenue required to provide cloud services such as SFA, CRM, and MA. * 1 CRM: Abbreviation of Customer Relationship Management. It refers to an information system that enables companies to respond to each customer by recording and managing the customer's attributes and contact history within the company, and works towards improving customer satisfaction. * 2 SFA: Abbreviation of Sales Force Automation. It refers to a system that supports sales activities and customer information management using cloud-based technologies for customer information management, sales activities, and other functions.

Outsourcing services are the main service of the inside sales outsourcing business. It provides the company's inside sales (regular employee) resources to client companies and implements sales activities (using telephones, emails, the web, and AI tools) as client employees. Currently, it provides this service in the capital area with four locations including the Tokyo headquarters, and in five regions (Osaka, Fukuoka, Matsuyama, Numazu, and Tokushima). Utilizing talented human resources in various regions is a strength of the inside sales business model. The revenue model is a stock business that receives monthly fees through annual contracts, and stable revenue is expected to be obtained by providing a certain scale of resources. It can become a stock business that can stack revenue stably because it becomes a long-term contract, mainly with major companies.

* 1 CRM: Abbreviation of Customer Relationship Management. It refers to an information system that enables companies to respond to each customer by recording and managing the customer's attributes and contact history within the company, and works towards improving customer satisfaction.

SFA, or Sales Force Automation, is a sales support system with features like customer management, case management, sales activity management, sales management and forecasting, and sales data accumulation and analysis. It allows for sharing of sales information, visibility of sales processes, and standardization, and can be integrated with CRM and MA systems.

In addition, in March 2024, the company strengthened its B2B marketing and content creation support by merging with 2BC, which has strengths in this area. By combining existing consulting services and system solution services, it improves customer value and contributes to synergy effects. Furthermore, in February of the same year, the company subsidiary networks solutions and SaaS software solutions for hotels, inns, campsites, and others, to expand client coverage for the C & S business as a whole.

4. Training Services. The training business is conducted by a subsidiary, i-Learning. In the era of COVID-19, group training and face-to-face education within companies were limited, so online training was an effective alternative. However, even after the end of COVID-19, online training, which allows learning anywhere, has become established. i-Learning has completely switched from classroom-based group training to online training and operates iL Square in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, which provides digital training production, delivery, and learning opportunities for students. The company is strengthening its training services by providing a wide range of i-Learning's training programs in addition to its traditional inside sales-related and online sales training programs. The acceleration of profit growth is expected by strengthening contents in new areas of focus, such as training programs that nurture talent that leads internal DX promotion and the trend towards reskilling in which companies are eager to discover and cultivate digital talent.

The training business is conducted by a subsidiary, i-Learning. In the era of COVID-19, group training and face-to-face education within companies were limited, so online training was an effective alternative. However, even after the end of COVID-19, online training, which allows learning anywhere, has become established. i-Learning has completely switched from classroom-based group training to online training and operates iL Square in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, which provides digital training production, delivery, and learning opportunities for students.

In addition to its conventional inside sales-related and online sales training programs, the company is strengthening its training services by providing a wide range of i-Learning's training programs. By strengthening contents in new areas of focus, such as training programs that nurture talent that leads internal DX promotion and the trend towards reskilling in which companies are eager to discover and cultivate digital talent, the acceleration of profit growth is expected as seasonal training programs are replaced by various training programs.

(Writer: FISCO analyst Tomoichi Murase)