Narel Group Cultivates "AI Boosters" to Enhance Productivity; Completes Six-Month "AI Boost Project" for Cross-Departmental AI Implementation
Narel Group announced the results of its six-month 'AI Boost Project,' which aimed to develop 'AI Boosters' capable of using no-code AI to drive business efficiency. The project achieved significant quantitative results, including a 750-hour annual reduction in the accounting department and automation in recruitment and sales operations.
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- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 23:00
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Narel Group Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Naoki Shibata) is pleased to announce the outcomes of its six-month cross-departmental AI promotion initiative, the 'AI Boost Project.' This project goes beyond simple training, focusing on visualizing and reducing inefficiencies in various business processes to contribute to 'advancing human capital' and 'improving productivity' (decoupling SG&A growth from revenue growth), as outlined in the medium-term management plan.
By streamlining indirect tasks, the company aims to facilitate a resource shift toward high-value-added operations and strengthen its sustainable growth foundation.
*The project was planned and operated with the cooperation of Consay Inc.*
### Background and Purpose of the AI Boost Project
The Japanese AI market is expected to expand rapidly and reach over 2 trillion yen by 2029, driven by digital transformation (DX) and efficiency-seeking movements across industries. Globally, however, Japanese companies tend to have lower AI adoption rates. Narel Group launched this project to cultivate internal AI specialists and achieve operational efficiency through AI.
Furthermore, in its medium-term management plan 'Change and Growth 2030' released in December 2025, the company identified 'advancing human capital' and 'improving productivity' as key foundations for its growth strategy. This project is a concrete measure to improve both employee skills and business efficiency simultaneously.
### Goals of the AI Boost Project
The goal was to train 'AI Boosters' within six months who can weaponize no-code AI to achieve efficiency. Requirements for an AI Booster include:
- Being an in-house 'consultable AI talent' capable of solving daily problems and developing simple tools.
- Generating 'small AI outputs' in each department to accelerate efficiency.
- Fostering a culture of challenge where the project itself becomes a stage for employee growth.
In the future, the company aims to transition into an organization where 'field-originated autonomous improvements' are naturally generated by placing AI Boosters in every department.
### Project Overview and Achievements
The initiative included an AI Bootcamp to train AI Boosters.
- Period: November 2025 – April 2026 (6 months)
- Program Flow:
1. Task Workshop: Identifying departmental issues and building AI tools to solve them.
2. 1-on-1 Coaching: Technical lectures from AI advisors and progress monitoring with coaches to visualize and support motivation and challenges.
3. Final Pitch: Presentation of outcomes over the six months.
#### Results of the Top 5 Finalists:
**Grand Prize**
- Theme: Drastically solving Accounting & Finance challenges with AI.
- Results: Automated accounting data generation and management of payment notices and orders, potentially reducing work by 62.5 hours/month or 750 hours/year.
**Excellence Award**
- Theme: Recruitment DX challenge – Organizational change via interviewer feedback tools.
- Results: Built a flow where AI analyzes interview audio for automatic feedback, helping interviewers objectively view their habits and avoiding dependency on specific individuals.
**Semi-Excellence Award**
- Theme: From partial optimization to total optimization – Updating to a 'Smart Organization' with zero-cost multi-AI tool deployment.
- Results: Created a tool to instantly generate optimal visit routes for client site visits, optimizing travel time and efficiency.
**Fighting Spirit Award**
- Theme: Spreadsheet x AI – AI Analysis Platform.
- Results: Developed an analysis tool that completes 'reading, analyzing, creating, and sharing' in a single sheet. Simply placing documents allows the AI to organize information and manage folders, ensuring consistent output quality and speed.
- Theme: AI Image Analysis for... (Continued in report)
By streamlining indirect tasks, the company aims to facilitate a resource shift toward high-value-added operations and strengthen its sustainable growth foundation.
*The project was planned and operated with the cooperation of Consay Inc.*
### Background and Purpose of the AI Boost Project
The Japanese AI market is expected to expand rapidly and reach over 2 trillion yen by 2029, driven by digital transformation (DX) and efficiency-seeking movements across industries. Globally, however, Japanese companies tend to have lower AI adoption rates. Narel Group launched this project to cultivate internal AI specialists and achieve operational efficiency through AI.
Furthermore, in its medium-term management plan 'Change and Growth 2030' released in December 2025, the company identified 'advancing human capital' and 'improving productivity' as key foundations for its growth strategy. This project is a concrete measure to improve both employee skills and business efficiency simultaneously.
### Goals of the AI Boost Project
The goal was to train 'AI Boosters' within six months who can weaponize no-code AI to achieve efficiency. Requirements for an AI Booster include:
- Being an in-house 'consultable AI talent' capable of solving daily problems and developing simple tools.
- Generating 'small AI outputs' in each department to accelerate efficiency.
- Fostering a culture of challenge where the project itself becomes a stage for employee growth.
In the future, the company aims to transition into an organization where 'field-originated autonomous improvements' are naturally generated by placing AI Boosters in every department.
### Project Overview and Achievements
The initiative included an AI Bootcamp to train AI Boosters.
- Period: November 2025 – April 2026 (6 months)
- Program Flow:
1. Task Workshop: Identifying departmental issues and building AI tools to solve them.
2. 1-on-1 Coaching: Technical lectures from AI advisors and progress monitoring with coaches to visualize and support motivation and challenges.
3. Final Pitch: Presentation of outcomes over the six months.
#### Results of the Top 5 Finalists:
**Grand Prize**
- Theme: Drastically solving Accounting & Finance challenges with AI.
- Results: Automated accounting data generation and management of payment notices and orders, potentially reducing work by 62.5 hours/month or 750 hours/year.
**Excellence Award**
- Theme: Recruitment DX challenge – Organizational change via interviewer feedback tools.
- Results: Built a flow where AI analyzes interview audio for automatic feedback, helping interviewers objectively view their habits and avoiding dependency on specific individuals.
**Semi-Excellence Award**
- Theme: From partial optimization to total optimization – Updating to a 'Smart Organization' with zero-cost multi-AI tool deployment.
- Results: Created a tool to instantly generate optimal visit routes for client site visits, optimizing travel time and efficiency.
**Fighting Spirit Award**
- Theme: Spreadsheet x AI – AI Analysis Platform.
- Results: Developed an analysis tool that completes 'reading, analyzing, creating, and sharing' in a single sheet. Simply placing documents allows the AI to organize information and manage folders, ensuring consistent output quality and speed.
- Theme: AI Image Analysis for... (Continued in report)