The 3 Trillion Yen Reuse Market Era: Visualizing On-Site "Invisible Risks"! Eight Seas Launches Business Support Brand "EIGHTAZ".

Eight Seas Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shoichiro Shibuya) has launched a new business support brand, "EIGHTAZ (EIGHTAZ)", and as its first service, has begun offering the business management system "EIGHTAZ for Reuse (EIGHTAZ for Reuse)" for reuse businesses.

The domestic reuse market continues to grow against a backdrop of rising prices, the establishment of sustainable consumption, and the recovery of inbound demand. According to research by Reuse Keizai Shimbun, the scale of the domestic reuse market in 2024 is projected to be 3,262.8 billion yen, a 4.5% increase from the previous year, marking the 15th consecutive year of expansion since 2009 (Note 1).

On the other hand, on-site operational structures have not necessarily kept pace with the market's growth speed. As the number of purchases, stores, and handled items diversifies, reception, appraisal, inventory, stocktaking, cash, and history management become increasingly complex. In particular, in the reuse business, the products themselves are one-of-a-kind, and cash, identity verification, inventory, and sales history are closely intertwined on-site. Therefore, simply "digitizing input" is insufficient. Excel or paper ledgers, judgments by individual staff members, verbal handovers, and un-trackable histories. These small flaws become management issues in the form of cash discrepancies, inventory discrepancies, increased confirmation workload, and internal control risks.

"EIGHTAZ for Reuse" addresses these on-site challenges by centrally managing everything from reception to appraisal intake, purchases, inventory, stocktaking, cash management, and operation history, simultaneously supporting operational efficiency and strengthening internal controls. It is an operational foundation that supports the daily operations of the reuse business in its true sense, including recording, confirmation, judgment, and explanation.

Background of Development: Security solutions alone cannot fully solve the challenge of ensuring on-site safety and security.

Eight Seas has so far supported the on-site operations of many stores and facilities through security solutions such as security cameras, facial recognition, and access control.

Through this, it became clear that many of the problems occurring on-site are not simply "security" issues. Confirming footage after something happens. Searching later for who handled it. Tracing paper, Excel, or chat histories after inventory or cash discrepancies arise. Not knowing the situation without asking the person in charge. With such operations, the discovery of problems, identification of causes, and prevention of recurrence are all delayed.

Security cameras are important. However, video alone does not show the flow of operations. Business systems are important. However, input information alone does not show what happened on-site. That is why Eight Seas developed EIGHTAZ as an operational foundation that aligns with the reality of the site, without separating "security," "business management," and "AI."

In reuse stores, multiple operations such as reception, appraisal, and inventory management proceed simultaneously, and the information for each is closely related.

What EIGHTAZ for Reuse Achieves

EIGHTAZ for Reuse manages the main operations required for the reuse business on a single platform.

Functional Area

What it Achieves

Reception and Appraisal Intake Management

Centrally manages customer information, item intake information, and appraisal status. Clarifies "who received what, and what is its current status."

Purchase and Ledger Management

Stores purchase records, purchase request forms, and history information. Supports store operations and management tasks as a traceable ledger.

Inventory and Stocktaking Management

Manages inventory information, sales performance, and stocktaking information. Reduces the difference in perception between the site and management for one-of-a-kind reuse items.

Cash Management and Internal Control

Records payment and receipt information, management ledgers, and operation history. Visualizes "who did what, and when," leading to the suppression of cash discrepancies and fraud risks.

Centralized management from reception to appraisal, inventory, and cash management

Records operation history and visualizes "who did what, and when." Image of EIGHTAZ for Reuse management screen

Comment from Masahiro Hoshina, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

The reuse market has already become a huge market exceeding 3 trillion yen. While further growth is expected, the burden on daily operations such as purchasing, inventory, cash, identity verification, and history management is increasing in proportion to that growth. What is important here is that the challenges in the reuse industry cannot be solved simply by providing industry-specific screens and organizing input fields. While entering information into the system is important, in the reuse business, it is crucial whether information is entered correctly, whether the physical items match the ledger, whether the cash flow is linked to operational history, and who made which decision.

In other words, the question is how to grasp the facts occurring on-site, not just the data on the screen. This is precisely why our company is tackling this business from the security domain. By combining operational management and AI with the on-site understanding cultivated through security cameras, facial recognition, and access control, we can simultaneously enhance on-site transparency and management peace of mind, not just efficiency.

An operational foundation that supports operations in their true sense by combining security, AI, and operational management.

What we aim for is not a system where operations are "entered and finished." We aim to connect purchasing, inventory, cash, identity verification, and history management that occur on-site in the reuse industry from the perspectives of security, AI, and operational management, creating a state where daily operations proceed correctly and can be explained afterward. EIGHTAZ for Reuse is the operational foundation for that.

The reuse industry is a market that will continue to grow. Therefore, instead of expanding while leaving on-site subjectivity and invisible risks unaddressed, a business foundation that can withstand growth is necessary. EIGHTAZ for Reuse is an on-site foundation that connects security, AI, and operational management to support the growth of reuse businesses.

Development Secret Story: The "Fear of a Single Sheet of Paper, a Single Line of Excel" Felt by Shimura on-site.

The development of EIGHTAZ for Reuse did not begin with a polished proposal. The trigger was the sense of unease that Shimura himself felt while facing the on-site reality.

While proposing security equipment and consulting on store operations, he repeatedly encountered similar situations on-site.

"Who took custody of this item?" "Is it being appraised or has it been returned?" "There should be inventory, but I can't find it on the sales floor or in the back." "There's a cash discrepancy, but I can't trace when it occurred." "I can only know by asking the person in charge, but that person isn't here today."

Each of these is a common occurrence on-site. However, when they accumulate, they become a burden on store operations, an increased workload for managers, and invisible risks for management.

It wasn't as simple as saying "installing security cameras brings peace of mind." Cameras leave footage. However, they don't show the operational status. It wasn't as easy as saying "manage with Excel." Excel allows input. However, there are limits to tracing who made which decision and when, in connection with the on-site flow. Listening to these on-site voices, I began to think, "This is not just a matter of security, but also a matter of operational management." A system not to suspect fraud, but to protect the site. A system not to restrict staff, but to create a state where staff can explain. A system not for management to suspect the site, but to create a state where they can confidently delegate. EIGHTAZ for Reuse was born from that idea.

Designed based on challenges felt by the development team on-site.

In the reuse business, products, cash, people, decisions, and history are all connected. Therefore, EIGHTAZ for Reuse was designed to manage reception, appraisal, purchases, inventory, cash, and history not as separate entities, but as a single flow.

On-site, mistakes happen even without malicious intent. If it's busy, recording is postponed, and with paper or Excel, it inevitably depends on the person. What we wanted to create was not a system that blames the site, but a system that can prove that the site is operating properly. The reuse industry is a market that will grow even more. We don't want its growth to rely solely on the efforts of the on-site staff. EIGHTAZ for Reuse was created with that sentiment.

About the EIGHTAZ Brand

"EIGHTAZ" is a brand name combining "EIGHT" from Eight Seas Co., Ltd. and Easy and A-Z.

With the concept of "easy to handle from start to finish," we will develop business support services that are easy for the site to use and that administrators can operate with peace of mind.

EIGHTAZ for Reuse is the first service in this line.

Future Outlook

Through EIGHTAZ for Reuse, Eight Seas will support reuse businesses in improving operational efficiency, strengthening internal controls, and visualizing on-site operations. In the future, we aim for more advanced store operation support by linking with areas where our company has strengths, such as security cameras, facial recognition, access control, and AI analysis, and connecting on-site data with operational data.

EIGHTAZ is planned to be deployed not only in the reuse industry but also in various industries where the balance between on-site operations and management systems is required. Eight Seas will continue to promote the development of services that support corporate growth as a business support brand rooted in the reality of the site.

Image of the future connected by EIGHTAZ

Service Overview

Service Name

EIGHTAZ for Reuse

Target Audience

Reuse shops, specialty purchase stores, pawn shops, recycling businesses

Service Format

Cloud service

Main Functions

Reception management, appraisal intake management, purchase ledger management, inventory management, stocktaking management, cash management, operation history management

EIGHTAZ for Reuse Details

Company Profile

Company Name

Eight Seas Co., Ltd.

Location

Kojimachi Terrace 5F, 3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Representative

Shoichiro Shibuya, Representative Director

URL

https://8-seas.jp/

Contact Information

Eight Seas Co., Ltd.

Contact: Shimura

TEL: 03-5972-4210

Mail: eightaz.reuse@8-seas.jp

Notes and Sources

Note 1: Based on Reuse Keizai Shimbun's "Estimate of the Reuse Industry Market Scale 2025 (2024 Edition)" (published September 26, 2025). The scale of the domestic reuse market in 2024 is 3,262.8 billion yen, a 4.5% increase year-on-year, and has expanded for 15 consecutive years since 2009.