MISUMI Group Awarded the 'Grand Prize' in the Customer Support Recognition Program

MISUMI Group Holdings, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shin Shimizu) announced on July 13, 2026, that it has received the Grand Prize, the highest honor, in the '2026 Customer Support Recognition Program' hosted by the Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (hereinafter 'IT Association').

IT Association Announcement: https://jiit.or.jp/news_csaward2026/

MISUMI operates a business model delivering over 30 million mechanical components, tools, and consumables with reliable short lead times, resulting in a wide variety of daily inquiries to its customer service center. In recent years, with growing demand and increasingly diverse customer needs, enhancing systems to balance service quality and speed has become a key challenge.

MISUMI views AI as a transformative factor for service competitiveness and labor productivity, maximizing its use at both organizational and individual levels. In this initiative, the company successfully integrated AI trained on its extensive data and knowledge with APIs from its core systems, enabling real-time utilization of core system data. As a result, MISUMI reduced customer waiting time by 17,126 hours annually and cut customer service center operations by 6,324 hours.

Moving forward, the company will continue leveraging IT and AI to enhance customer experience value and achieve sustainable growth.

Key Evaluation Points (Excerpts)

・ Advanced API integration between the upgraded core system and AI enables real-time use of transaction data, allowing for highly detailed customer responses that were previously unattainable with conventional FAQs or chatbots.

・ Over 500 knowledge items were structured, and 2,000 responses were reviewed and refined prior to launch, reflecting consistent on-site verification and improvement efforts by staff.

・ As a contact center, it embodies a next-generation model by integrating technology and human expertise, allowing both people and AI to leverage their respective strengths.

About the Customer Support Recognition Program

The Customer Support Recognition Program, hosted by the Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (IT Association), honors companies and organizations demonstrating outstanding customer support practices. Eligible organizations contribute to management through improved customer satisfaction and problem resolution, and advance the development of customer support. The Grand Prize, awarded to MISUMI, is the highest honor in the program, granted to initiatives recognized as cutting-edge domestic examples that can serve as models across industries.

Program Overview (IT Association Website): https://jiit.or.jp/awards/cs/#awards_cs_outline

About MISUMI

MISUMI manufactures and sells over 30 million mechanical components, tools, and consumables globally—items essential to manufacturing sites. The company also advances digital manufacturing using IT and AI to enhance customer time value.