This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL.
PR TIMES & IDEAS FOR GOOD, Vol. 8
Two releases this edition covering B2B digital transformation and the state of product management in Japan.
This week's two releases:
- CO-NECT raises 370 million yen; cumulative transaction volume exceeds 10 billion yen
- Fyle publishes Japan Product Management Insights 2022
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1. CO-NECT: Replacing Fax in B2B Orders
CO-NECT, which operates a B2B order management system, raised 370 million yen. The company's platform replaces traditional analog ordering processes—primarily fax-based—with digital workflows. Since launch, cumulative transaction volume has exceeded 10 billion yen.
The funding will support continued expansion as Japan's DX (digital transformation) agenda accelerates. The Japanese government has included enterprise digitization as a component of its national growth strategy, creating favorable policy tailwinds.
My reaction: As someone from a generation that has barely used fax, it genuinely surprised me to learn how many Japanese SMEs are still relying on fax for B2B transactions. This is a good example of a category where the gap between what technology can do and what businesses actually do is much larger than assumed.
The interesting business dynamics here:
- The adoption problem is structural, not technical: The technology for digitizing B2B orders has existed for years. The barrier is workflow change management in organizations with deeply established habits.
- DX is a supply-side push: Companies rarely drive this change themselves. It typically requires either a customer demanding it or a platform making it so easy that the friction of not changing exceeds the friction of changing.
- 10 billion yen in transaction volume is significant: It validates that real SME customers are making the switch, not just evaluating it.
2. Japan Product Management Insights 2022
Fyle conducted a survey of 493 people working in product management roles in Japan and published the results as "Japan Product Management Insights 2022." An online event was also held to discuss the findings.
The finding that stood out: When asked about the best sources for generating good product development ideas, user feedback and user interviews ranked highest.
This is not a surprise finding—but it's an important one to periodically confirm. In organizations with strong data and analytics capability, there can be a drift toward over-weighting quantitative signals (click patterns, funnel metrics, A/B test results) and under-weighting qualitative user research. The data tells you what is happening; user interviews tell you why, and what users actually need.
The practical implication: No matter how mature a product organization's data infrastructure becomes, maintaining regular direct contact with actual users is non-negotiable. The survey confirms that Japan's most thoughtful product managers already know this.
The survey also provides useful context on the state of product management as a function in Japan—which, compared to the US tech industry, is still relatively early in its development as a recognized discipline with established career paths and practices.
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