AI Contact Center 'KAMUY' for Newspaper Distributors Selected for 'FY2026 Digital Innovation Creation Subsidy' Promoted by Sapporo Industrial Promotion Foundation, Results Announced
Alternative Inc.'s AI contact center 'KAMUY' for newspaper distributors was selected for a Sapporo city subsidy. KAMUY successfully automated call handling 24/7 in trials, projecting a yearly savings of 1.04 million yen per store.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: March 30, 2026 at 22:56 (3h 56m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 22, 2026 at 06:21 (535h 25m after Collected)
Alternative Inc. (Headquarters: Sapporo City, Hokkaido; CEO: Ryoko Tanifuji; hereinafter "the Company") announces that its application was selected for the "FY2026 Digital Innovation Creation Subsidy (*1)" (hereinafter "this Project") implemented by the Sapporo Industrial Promotion Foundation (hereinafter "the Foundation"). As an eligible project, we have completed the development and demonstration experiment of "KAMUY, an AI Contact Center for Newspaper Distributors."
Following this adoption, we reported the business results of the SaaS platform "KAMUY," which redesigns the back-office operations of newspaper distributors, at a results presentation held on March 12, 2026.
Through this project, we will promote initiatives that reduce the burden on front-line operations, achieve significant cost reductions, and enhance the sustainability of local infrastructure.
## Background
In the newspaper industry, declining circulation, a drop in insert advertising revenue, and severe labor shortages have become major challenges.
Particularly at newspaper distribution centers, it has been necessary to have staff stationed early in the morning to handle undelivered papers and various inquiries, and this operational burden has been a factor squeezing distributor management.
This project was implemented with the aim of promoting operational efficiency and the development of new businesses by creating digital innovations using generative AI to address such regional industrial challenges.
## About the Selected Project "KAMUY"
"KAMUY" is an industry-specific SaaS (Vertical SaaS) platform that redesigns the back offices of newspaper distributors and newspaper companies. By having AI support telephone handling and inquiry management 24 hours a day, it aims to achieve unmanned operations at distribution centers and resolve labor shortages.
In demonstration experiments conducted at seven stores nationwide through this project, we confirmed the following results.
- Significant cost reduction: By enabling unmanned operations early in the morning and on holidays, a cost reduction effect of approximately 1.04 million yen per year per store was estimated.
- Advanced call handling by AI: By having AI summarize call contents, analyze customer emotions (negative, positive, etc.), and immediately notify staff, risks such as missed responses are reduced.
- Scalable deployment foundation: We developed a function that automatically maps customer data from different distributor systems nationwide using AI, enabling rapid implementation.
- "KAMUY" official website: https://kamuy.works
## Future Initiatives
Moving forward, starting with implementation at directly managed Hokkaido Shimbun distribution centers scheduled to begin in May 2026, we will contribute to building regional DX infrastructure through horizontal expansion to newspaper distributors nationwide, as well as to other industries such as food delivery and milk delivery.
## Overview of this Project
Following this adoption, we reported the business results of the SaaS platform "KAMUY," which redesigns the back-office operations of newspaper distributors, at a results presentation held on March 12, 2026.
Through this project, we will promote initiatives that reduce the burden on front-line operations, achieve significant cost reductions, and enhance the sustainability of local infrastructure.
## Background
In the newspaper industry, declining circulation, a drop in insert advertising revenue, and severe labor shortages have become major challenges.
Particularly at newspaper distribution centers, it has been necessary to have staff stationed early in the morning to handle undelivered papers and various inquiries, and this operational burden has been a factor squeezing distributor management.
This project was implemented with the aim of promoting operational efficiency and the development of new businesses by creating digital innovations using generative AI to address such regional industrial challenges.
## About the Selected Project "KAMUY"
"KAMUY" is an industry-specific SaaS (Vertical SaaS) platform that redesigns the back offices of newspaper distributors and newspaper companies. By having AI support telephone handling and inquiry management 24 hours a day, it aims to achieve unmanned operations at distribution centers and resolve labor shortages.
In demonstration experiments conducted at seven stores nationwide through this project, we confirmed the following results.
- Significant cost reduction: By enabling unmanned operations early in the morning and on holidays, a cost reduction effect of approximately 1.04 million yen per year per store was estimated.
- Advanced call handling by AI: By having AI summarize call contents, analyze customer emotions (negative, positive, etc.), and immediately notify staff, risks such as missed responses are reduced.
- Scalable deployment foundation: We developed a function that automatically maps customer data from different distributor systems nationwide using AI, enabling rapid implementation.
- "KAMUY" official website: https://kamuy.works
## Future Initiatives
Moving forward, starting with implementation at directly managed Hokkaido Shimbun distribution centers scheduled to begin in May 2026, we will contribute to building regional DX infrastructure through horizontal expansion to newspaper distributors nationwide, as well as to other industries such as food delivery and milk delivery.
## Overview of this Project