Knowledge Work and Forbes JAPAN Announce Winners of 'Forbes JAPAN NEW SALES OF THE YEAR 2026'

Knowledge Work Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Koji Asano), whose mission is 'LIFE WITH ENABLEMENT: Delivering days of joy in being able to do things,' jointly with the global business magazine Forbes JAPAN (published by Linktie Inc., Publisher: Kento Ueno), announced the four winning companies and finalist companies for the 'NEW SALES OF THE YEAR 2026' award. This award selects companies that practice the new sales model 'NEW SALES' for sales organizations.

'Forbes JAPAN NEW SALES OF THE YEAR 2026'

Special website: https://forbesjapan.com/feat/newsales2026/

LEAD THE CHANGE

The era of 'waiting' for change is over. As the evolution of AI fundamentally transforms the nature of sales, what is needed are leaders who drive change. This award recognizes companies that flexibly adapt to changes in the environment, embody a new way of selling, and serve as models for next-generation sales organizations.

Why is fundamental sales reform necessary? Against the backdrop of a declining working population, diversifying customer needs, and the rapid adoption of AI, traditional, person-dependent sales are reaching their limits. For sustainable growth, the key is whether companies can shift from relying on individual abilities to a reproducible sales system that enhances organizational sales capabilities.

This award shines a light on enterprise companies with 1,000 or more employees that practice 'NEW SALES' in this era of change. It aims to support each individual continuing to take on challenges in the field and present new possibilities for sales, co-creating evolution through organizational collaboration. Based on this philosophy and judging criteria, four companies were selected as winners, serving as model cases for sales reform.

◼️ Winning Companies

◯ Sales Innovation Award: Itoki Ltd.

◯ Knowledge-Driven Award: NEC Corporation

◯ Next AI Award: Freee K.K.

◯ Value Shift Award: Ricoh Japan Corporation

◼️ Finalist Companies

◯ JTB Corp.
◯ Nikkei Inc.
◯ Hitachi Systems, Ltd.

*Companies recognized for practicing 'NEW SALES' but not winning the grand prize or individual awards were selected as finalists.

◼️ Judging Criteria

① Is sales capability being strengthened based on customer orientation?
② Are sales activities being implemented through organizational strength?
③ Are digital tools such as data, knowledge, and AI being utilized?

Based on criteria ① to ③, are effective, creative, and advanced initiatives being undertaken?

*Limited to enterprise companies (1,000 or more employees)

◼️ Advisory Board

・Yukari Kuramoto (Executive Officer, CPrO (Chief Productivity Officer), Persol Holdings Co., Ltd.)
・Masaya Imai (Director, Executive Officer, CMO, Head of Market Development, and Director of Celebrix Sales Research Institute, Celebrix Inc.) *Not involved in the selection/evaluation process
・Akie Iriyama (Professor, Waseda University Graduate School, Waseda Business School)
・Yasumasa Ogawa (Executive Officer / Head of Sansan Business Unit, Sansan Inc.)
・Ryo Sakuta (Senior Executive Officer, B2B Business CRO, Uzabase Inc.)
・Takeshi Shimada (Professor, GLOBIS University Graduate School of Management, Director of GLOBIS Publishing, GLOBIS Inc.)
・Koji Asano (CEO & CPO, Knowledge Work Inc.)

◼️ What is NEW SALES?

'NEW SALES' is a philosophy for transforming sales organizations advocated by Koji Asano, CEO & CPO of Knowledge Work Inc. For this award, Knowledge Work and Forbes JAPAN jointly designed the judging process based on this concept.

This year, companies resonating with the promotion of 'NEW SALES'—Gainsight Inc., Sansan Inc., Uzabase Inc., Celebrix Inc., Nestlé Nespresso K.K., and WINE TO STYLE Inc.—have partnered to support this award and jointly support initiatives to strengthen next-generation sales capabilities.

The Forbes JAPAN August issue, released on June 25, delves into the initiatives of each winning company. Please take a look at specific examples of how new-age sales are driving corporate transformation.

Special website: https://forbesjapan.com/feat/newsales2026/

◼️ Forbes JAPAN

Forbes JAPAN was launched in June 2014 as the Japanese edition of 'Forbes.' It curates articles from the US edition and other international editions for readers with a global perspective, combining them with original Japanese articles. Each issue includes lifestyle articles, providing readers with information for both work and leisure. Its web version, forbesjapan.com, curates a variety of articles daily from forbes.com, offering substantial content alongside magazine articles and original pieces by expert official columnists.

■ Media Overview

Media Name: Forbes JAPAN

Publication Format: Monthly (released on the 25th of each month)

Circulation: 80,000 copies

Format: A4 variant / perfect bound

Total Pages: Approximately 150 pages

Price: 1,200 yen (tax included)

Publisher: Linktie Inc.

Distributor: President Inc.

Editor-in-Chief: Masaharu Fujiyoshi

Publisher: Kento Ueno

◼️ Knowledge Work Inc.

Knowledge Work is a startup with the mission 'LIFE WITH ENABLEMENT: Delivering days of joy in being able to do things,' supporting the enablement (creation of results and improvement of capabilities) of working people. To achieve sales transformation that allows sales representatives to grow and produce results, it provides 'Sales AX Solutions' primarily to large enterprises. Its sales AI product series 'Knowledge Work' has been adopted by thousands of users at major companies such as NTT Docomo Business, Mizuho Bank, and Nissin Foods. In addition to sales AI products, it promotes on-the-ground transformation of sales departments through its Sales AX Consulting series 'Knowledge Work X'.

'Sales AX Solutions' for AI-driven sales transformation
https://knowledgework.cloud/

Location: 51F, Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, 1-3-1 Azabudai, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Established: March 18, 2020

Founded: April 1, 2020

Representative: CEO Koji Asano

Corporate Website: https://knowledgework.com/

Recruitment Website: https://knowledgework.com/recruit/product