Forbes JAPAN Announces New Era Sales Organization Model Case Companies: Co-hosted Award 'NEW SALES OF THE YEAR 2026' with Knowledge Work

Forbes JAPAN (published by Linktide Inc., publisher: Kenko Ueno), a global business magazine, in collaboration with Knowledge Work Inc., has announced the four winning companies and finalists for the 'NEW SALES OF THE YEAR 2026' award. This award selects companies that practice 'NEW SALES', a new model 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 AI evolution fundamentally transforms sales, what is needed are leaders who drive change. The 'Forbes JAPAN NEW SALES OF THE YEAR' award honors companies that flexibly adapt to changing times, embody new sales methods, and become models for next-generation sales organizations.

Why is fundamental sales reform necessary? Against the backdrop of a declining workforce, 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 capabilities to building a reproducible sales system while enhancing organizational sales power.

This award focuses on enterprise companies with 1,000 or more employees that practice 'NEW SALES' in line with this era of change. It aims to support each individual continuing to challenge themselves in the field and present new sales possibilities co-created through organizational collaboration. Based on this philosophy and selection criteria, four companies were chosen as model cases for sales reform.

【Winners】

◯ Sales Innovation Award: Itoki Corporation

◯ Knowledge-Driven Award: NEC Corporation

◯ Next AI Award: Freee K.K.

◯ Value Shift Award: Ricoh Japan Corporation

【Finalists】

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

*Companies evaluated as practicing 'NEW SALES' but not winning the grand prize or category awards were selected as finalists.

【Selection 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 ①-③, are the initiatives effective, creative, and advanced?

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

【Advisory Board】

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

【What is NEW SALES】

'NEW SALES' is a sales organization transformation concept proposed by Koji Asano, CEO & CPO of Knowledge Work Inc. For this award, Knowledge Work and Forbes JAPAN jointly designed the evaluation 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 the award and collaborate on initiatives to strengthen next-generation sales capabilities.

The August issue of Forbes JAPAN, released on June 25, will feature in-depth coverage of the winning companies' initiatives. Please take a look at specific examples of how new-era sales are driving corporate transformation.

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

Knowledge Work Inc.

Knowledge Work's mission is 'LIFE WITH ENABLEMENT – delivering days filled with the joy of capability'. It is a startup that supports the enablement (creating results and improving abilities) 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 introduced on a scale of 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-site sales transformation 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 site: https://knowledgework.com/

Forbes JAPAN

Forbes JAPAN was relaunched in June 2014 as the Japanese edition of 'Forbes'. It curates articles from the US edition and other country editions for readers with a global perspective, combining them with original Japanese articles. Each issue includes lifestyle articles, providing readers with both professional and personal information. Its web version, forbesjapan.com, curates diverse articles daily from forbes.com, offering substantial content including 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 binding

Total Pages: Approximately 150 pages

Price: 1,200 yen (tax included)

Publisher: Linktide Inc.

Distributor: President Inc.

Editor-in-Chief: Masaharu Fujiyoshi

Publisher: Kenko Ueno