Secrets of a 60-Year-Old Average-Age Wholesaler Recognized by Google US HQ: Profit Margin Jumped from 9% to 30% - Free Seminar on 'Subtraction DX' to Eliminate Tool Proliferation on June 26

EDL Inc. (Headquarters: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture; President: Chimako Hiratsuka), which supports dramatic productivity improvements in organizations using Google AI, will hold its 12th Cloud Innovation Seminar online for free starting at 16:00 on Friday, June 26, 2026.

This seminar is titled 'Break Free from Tool Obesity: Overcoming the Limits of Mixed Excel, Zoom, and Chat with the Google Workspace 'Unified 10X' Business Revolution Seminar.' The special guest will be Mr. Shinichiro Wakai, former Representative Director and CTO of Hamaya Co., Ltd., which achieved the first and only feat for a small and medium-sized enterprise in Japan as a Google global official success story, and current Representative Director and CTO of Cpoint Inc.

■ Seminar Details and Application URL
https://lp.cil.jp/

── Background: The 'Trap of Local Optimization' and 'Tool Obesity' Born from Kindness and Sincerity

Currently, many small and medium-sized enterprises face 'invisible losses' from digital adoption. The 'trap of local optimization' occurs when sincere decisions to solve immediate problems and IT consultant proposals lead to the proliferation of multiple tools.

Patching together chat, web conferencing, office software, and various cloud services results in fragmented information and soaring license costs, a state of 'tool obesity'.

Recent academic research (Cornell University and Qatalog) has demonstrated that 'switching apps just once causes an average loss of 9 minutes and 23 seconds (context switching loss) for the brain to return to its original deep focus state.' This productivity loss from screen switching directly erodes corporate profits.

This seminar will present a real transformation process that became a globally acclaimed model case by cutting off the temptation of local optimization and thoroughly integrating business infrastructure into Google Workspace through 'Subtraction DX'.

── Seminar Highlights

① Behind the Scenes: How a Super-Analog Company with an Average Age of About 60 Developed Over 100 In-House Tools at Nearly Zero Cost
In 2018, Hamaya Co., Ltd., a long-established wholesale distributor of handicraft materials, had almost no PCs. It was a typical Showa-era analog company completely left behind by IT, where handwritten slips, telephones, calculators, and fax machines were the main tools. With almost no budget for DX, they abandoned reliance on expensive specialized systems and instead maximized the use of the Google Workspace tools they already had (such as Spreadsheets, Google Apps Script, and AppSheet) to develop over 100 in-house business efficiency tools. The full scope of their 'ingenuity and wisdom' that eliminated the need for massive IT investment will be revealed.

② Overwhelming Results That Surprised the World and Changed Their Business Model
As a result of thorough tool unification and in-house development, the company achieved the following dramatic turnaround:
[Time Reduction] Reduced annual work hours by 5,760 hours
[Profit Improvement] Operating profit margin improved from approximately 9% to approximately 30%
[Case Study Creation] Established an in-house IT department, which grew into a consulting business for other companies
*This case is also published on Google's official case study site as 'Hamaya: Successfully reduces 5,760 hours per year with Google Workspace.'

③ Security Strategy to Prevent the Blind Spot of the Generative AI Era: 'Shadow AI Risk'
In Part 3, a special discussion and Q&A session will address how information leakage due to unmanaged AI use (shadow AI risk) has become a major security hole behind the rapid spread of generative AI. Mr. Wakai, who is also the representative of the AI Security Association, will explain a 'safe and ultra-fast DX roadmap' for SMEs to survive, focusing on how unifying infrastructure strengthens security and safely unlocks the 10X benefits of AI (such as Gemini).

── Speaker Profiles

◉Shinichiro Wakai
Representative Director and CTO, Cpoint Inc. (former Representative Director and CTO, Hamaya Co., Ltd.)
Born in 1993. From Osaka Prefecture. After graduating from a science university, he joined a digital marketing venture company as a new graduate. He has been involved in speaking at numerous technology events and launching communities. He accepted an offer from Hamaya Co., Ltd. as a department manager and successfully led the company's digital transformation. He later established the IT department (now Cpoint Inc.) and became CTO. He currently serves as a technology advisor and external VPoE for several companies. Representative of the AI Security Association.

◉Chimako Hiratsuka
'DX Expert Bringing 10x Results to Organizations through IT Democratization'
Representative Director, EDL Inc. Chairperson, Japan 10X Design Association. Master's degree in Education. Leveraging a diverse career and educational expertise, she founded her company in 2006. Advocating 'Small DX for 10X Results,' she has achieved organizational transformations such as a 30% reduction in overtime. She currently acts as a companion for management, using generative AI to 'update Showa-era brains to Reiwa-era brains.'

── Event Overview
Date & Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 16:00 - 17:40 (100 minutes)
Format: Online (Google Meet / Webinar)
Target Audience: SME executives, DX promotion managers, general affairs/IT department staff, managers struggling with tool proliferation
Participation Fee: Free (advance registration required)
Application Method: Please apply from the URL below.
https://lp.cil.jp/

■ Past 'Cloud Innovation Seminar' Speaker History and Exclusive Access
This seminar, which has invited DX promotion leaders from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and major companies, as well as experts, has gained strong support from those seeking genuine DX in both the public and private sectors.
Session 1: Kazuyoshi Kishi (Executive Fellow, Sumitomo Life Insurance)
Session 6: Soichiro Hirai (Education DX Expert)
Session 9: Yukinori Kawasaki (Director, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
To commemorate this seminar, applicants will receive free access to the archive videos of the past 11 'Cloud Innovation Seminars' as a special benefit.

■ About EDL Inc.
With the mission 'Changing the future of education and management through technology,' EDL Inc. provides dramatic productivity improvement training and DX consulting using Google apps as a Google for Education Certified Training Partner.
URL: https://www.edl.co.jp

■ Contact for Inquiries
EDL Inc., Marketing Department
Email: gt@edl.co.jp