Planbase to Host Free Webinar on Taking the First Step in DX with AI: Moving Beyond Handwriting and Excel

Planbase Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takashi Bui), which provides management and subsidy consulting services for small and medium-sized enterprises, will host a free webinar on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The webinar will be led by company director Nao Amuro under the theme “Move Beyond Handwriting and Excel: Taking the First Step in DX with AI.” Do you spend a significant amount of time each day transcribing information onto paper or managing data in Excel? This webinar will explain, in an accessible way and with real implementation examples, how companies can steadily transform on-site operations using AI without making large-scale system investments. Participation is free, and an archived recording will be made available after the event. The webinar is recommended for companies facing real operational challenges. As labor shortages become more severe, many mid-sized and small businesses still rely heavily on paper slips and manual Excel work in their daily operations. Common issues include daily work hours being consumed by transcription and aggregation tasks using paper and Excel, know-how being concentrated among specific veteran employees, difficulty with handovers and standardization, hesitation to make large-scale system investments despite interest in DX, and uncertainty about where to begin even when the need for DX is understood. According to a survey by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in the 2025 Information and Communications White Paper, around 70% of SMEs said they have not implemented DX. One reason is the persistent image that DX means a system overhaul costing tens of millions of yen. In practice, however, starting with small operational improvements on the front line and steadily building results has been shown to lead to higher adoption rates and better return on investment. The seminar will first explain the “invisible costs” created by handwritten and Excel-based work, such as transcription errors, duplicate data entry, and dependence on individual employees. It will then outline concrete steps for starting small with AI-driven DX. The seminar will also introduce DX cases that have produced actual results in the field, including automation of order and procurement operations, where AI reads fax and email content and automatically creates quotations and purchase orders; systemization of process management, moving from Excel to a proprietary system to visualize progress in real time; real-time inventory management, replacing manual input with barcodes and QR codes to significantly reduce inventory-taking work; and AI-assisted creation of procedure manuals to improve documentation efficiency and eliminate dependence on specific individuals. Webinar details: The event will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. and will last 60 minutes. It will be conducted online via Zoom and is free to attend. The target audience includes executives, department heads, and business improvement staff at mid-sized and small companies. The speaker will be Nao Amuro, Director of Planbase Inc. Registrants will receive access to the archived video. Nao Amuro completed the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo. He worked on business development for a medical AI platform at M3, Inc. He later founded MEJORA Inc., where he supported data utilization at major life insurance companies and SMEs and worked on AI application development projects. He joined Planbase as a director in 2025. Amuro commented: “Do you think DX is only for large enterprises? In fact, operations that rely on paper and Excel often have the greatest opportunity to change dramatically with AI. In this seminar, I will use real examples to explain the first concrete steps toward DX that can begin on the front line without major investment.” Those who wish to participate can register via the following link. Since an archived video will also be available, those who cannot attend on the day are encouraged to register. Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_91v42P_GT5mrNucffpkXkQ About Planbase Inc.: Planbase is a consulting company originating from the University of Tokyo that provides subsidy application support and management consulting for SMEs, and develops and operates an SME support platform with AI tools. As a certified management innovation support organization, the company has supported subsidy applications for more than 1,500 companies and has achieved cumulative accepted subsidy results exceeding 15 billion yen. The company employs multiple specialists, including SME management consultants and administrative scriveners, enabling it to address a wide range of management challenges. Company name: Planbase Inc. Representative: Representative Director Takashi Bui. Headquarters: The Portal Iwamotocho 6F, 2-8-8 Iwamotocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Nagoya office: Dai Nagoya Building 11F, 3-28-12 Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi. Osaka office: Shin-Osaka Dai 3 Doi Building 6F, 1-8-24 Nishimiyahara, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka. Sendai office: Sendai Kaikan 5F, 2-2-10 Chuo, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi. URL: https://planbase.co.jp/