Nissan Trading Co., Ltd | Sales Management for Automobile Sales

Renewing Management Structure to Create a New Business Model First, please tell us about Nissan Trading's business.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Nissan Motor Company, we play a role of a trading company specializing in the automotive industry. We started as a part of Nissan Motor's Import and Sales Department. We became independent as a subsidiary about 40 years ago, and now we are developing our business around four major businesses. Specifically, we import and export automobile parts and materials, project management of factory machinery and equipment and installation, and import and export of automobiles themselves.

So, which of your divisions has implemented "KANNA"?

Materials Division. As you all know, the sale of a car is not the end of the process. Regular maintenance and repairs are essential to ensure a long and reliable life for your car, and the Materials Department is responsible for procuring materials for after-sales care of such vehicles. KANNA" has been introduced to the department that handles EVs, in other words, electric vehicles.

The charging facilities are necessary for comfortable driving of EVs, and the distributors are responsible for providing information on charging facilities to customers who have purchased EVs, but we wanted to make our sales results of the charging facilities more visible. With the advent of EVs, the automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation that is said to occur "only once in a century. We need to build a new business model. To do so, we need to renew our sales management system.

The fee structure and flexibility, as well as a solid track record, were deciding factors. KANNA was introduced to renew the management system to build a new business model. How did you manage sales before introducing KANNA, and what were some of the challenges you faced?

As a trading company specializing in automobiles, we are in a position to oversee overall sales. On the other hand, sales of EV charging facilities are managed by 25 distributors nationwide. Before the introduction of KANNA, each company created its format to manage sales, which were then shared with us. The bottleneck here was that each company had its format.

Different formats meant different management items. This made it difficult for us to consolidate sales data from across the country and analyze purchasing trends and needs by region. Even though we asked the distributors to manage their sales and share this information with us, we were not able to utilize the information for marketing purposes.
At the same time, some of the sales companies were also asking us to create a format, mainly for security reasons. Of course, each company managed the information on the basic premise of high confidentiality, but they are not security professionals. If that is the case, it would be safer for us, who are in a position to supervise, to provide a format and have them use it.

To centralize management formats that varied from one distributor to another and to strengthen information security. Why did you choose KANNA for these purposes?

Although this is the result of an overall comparison between the matrix chart of the main features of "KANNA” and what we need to do, there are three deciding factors. The first was the high correlation between our objectives and "KANNA's" fee system. While many of these tools charge based on the number of accounts issued, "KANNA" allows external cooperating companies, or in our case, distributors, to issue accounts for free, right?
Second, the level of security is high. Aldagram, the provider of KANNA, has been in business for only a few years but has a solid track record. Although information management is subject to particularly strict scrutiny, KANNA is also used by large corporations. Frankly speaking, one of the deciding factors was the high reliability based on such a proven track record.

The third factor is its flexibility. As I mentioned earlier, each distributor has its format. If we ignore those formats too much, it will be difficult for distributors to adapt. To introduce KANNA, we had to listen to the people in charge of each distributor and incorporate elements of the existing formats.

This was quite difficult, but KANNA is highly customizable, and the sales staff was very attentive. Even if we contacted them in the middle of the night, they would give us feedback by the end of the day so that we could respond internally the next day. The flexibility of the sales staff was also a deciding factor.

Visualizing sales performance as well as improving on-site work efficiency

There were management formats that have been used by different distributors, and they are now centralized in "KANNA". Then, did you encounter any resistance to the introduction of "KANNA"?
It is not as if all distributors were open to introducing the system. It is also true that some of them said, "Wouldn't it be more efficient to use the format we are used to?” We are not in a position to force the introduction of such tools, so we are only making suggestions. 
However, centralizing management formats is only a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to visualize sales performance and make the best use of it for business. If this is the case, we would like as many distributors as possible to adopt the system. Therefore, we asked two distributors to cooperate with us in the form of a trial, and we compared the formats used by each company with KANNA. We proposed the introduction of KANNA to distributors nationwide in a persuasive manner after a thorough trial.

When introducing KANNA nationwide, we visited each distributor in the form of an introduction briefing session to thoroughly explain the system face-to-face. We could have used the online method, but that would have made it impossible for us to see the faces of everyone. We explained the operation of the system while looking at the screen, and also explained the intention and purpose of the introduction in person, and asked for their opinions directly. As a result, the need for customization of "KANNA" became clearer, and at the same time, many of the distributors agreed to introduce the system.

So, you have introduced "KANNA" and what is the feedback from the distributors?

We started full-scale operation in April of last year and have received many positive comments. In some cases, not only distributors but also installers and dealers have been given accounts, and the chat function has been particularly well received. KANNA" can be operated from a smartphone, enabling quick communication. We are pleased that our users find it convenient.
In the past, many distributors used spreadsheet software for sales management, so documents and photos associated with deals were managed separately. With "KANNA" documents and photos can be stored for each project. This eliminates the time and effort required to retrieve the documents and seems to have improved operational efficiency. We are still receiving new suggestions, but we listen carefully to them to make the best use of "KANNA" for our business, and we continue tuning it with the help of the "KANNA" sales staff.

With "KANNA" as a starting point, the company is looking to expand its business.
Finally, what is your outlook for the future?

We started operating "KANNA" in April, and the new sales management system has just begun to prevail, but for us, this is the starting line. Again, the introduction of "KANNA" is only a means to an end, and our ultimate goal is to expand our business. Now, as we proceed with the operation of KANNA, we are also looking into the possibility of linking it with other systems. If we link "KANNA" with our existing system, we could see more from the data centralized in "KANNA".

This may require further customization of "KANNA" and a review of our operational structure. We will probably continue to ask the sales team of KANNA to do the impossible, but we trust you all. We would like KANNA to be more than just a tool for sales management, but also to expand sales and achieve our business expansion goal.