Saishunkan Introduces New Logistics System Combining AMRs and DPS to Improve Both Shipping Capacity and Service Quality

Saishunkan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has introduced a new system combining autonomous mobile collaborative robots (AMRs) and a digital picking system (DPS) at the shipping center inside Saishunkan Hilltop, its integrated headquarters and factory facility in Mashiki, Kumamoto. The move renews long-standing manual operations in response to the need for a logistics foundation that can support business expansion, while also enabling more customer-focused service. Looking ahead to its 100th anniversary in 2032, the company aims to balance both volume and quality by using time created through efficient robot deployment for tasks only people can perform, such as careful packaging and individualized customer handling. The system was introduced to improve customer convenience and make better use of human capabilities through digital technology. Combining AMRs with DPS is both a foundation for future labor shortages and an evolution of Saishunkan’s strength in logistics quality. AMRs will take over auxiliary tasks previously performed by employees, such as preparing materials and transporting parcels. This is expected to roughly double the daily time each employee can spend on packaging, increasing the volume that can be delivered the next day and improving convenience. It also allows staff to focus on work that machines cannot replace, such as inserting message cards and providing detailed gift handling. In the future, Saishunkan plans to use this logistics model, which maximizes human value, to create new business opportunities by handling shipments for other companies that require high delivery quality. The system is expected to create three forms of value. First, it reduces environmental impact. As a company that makes products using the blessings of nature, Saishunkan also sought to reduce environmental load in its logistics equipment. Compared with conventional belt conveyor systems, the newly introduced AMRs are expected to reduce electricity use by about 40%, according to the company’s estimate, contributing to lower CO2 emissions and more sustainable logistics. Second, it improves delivery speed. The operational change is expected to raise the same-day shipping ratio from the current 53% to 65%, an increase of more than 10 percentage points, significantly expanding the number of orders and slots eligible for same-day shipment. The improved accuracy from DPS also supports reliable delivery with fewer mistakes. Third, it creates open and visible logistics for the community. The shipping center at Saishunkan Hilltop is designed as an open factory tour, allowing visitors to view operations from an observation passage. By publicly showing an advanced logistics site where people and robots collaborate, the company provides reassurance and enjoyment for visitors while also offering a learning venue for local children and companies as an advanced example of digital transformation in Kumamoto. Looking ahead, Saishunkan’s medium- to long-term vision for 2032 is to evolve into a Positive Age Company that helps create a society where everyone can enjoy aging positively. The renewal of its logistics system is an important step toward that goal, but only one milestone. The initiative aims to evolve logistics from a mere means of product delivery into a platform that delivers emotional value to customers, while addressing social challenges such as labor shortages and pursuing services only people can provide. In the future, Saishunkan will use the operational know-how gained through this system to support product shipping for other manufacturers that also value quality and customer care, offering new value to the logistics industry and continuing to propose richer lifestyles from Kumamoto to the rest of Japan. Founded in Kumamoto in 1932, Saishunkan Pharmaceutical is a kampo-based pharmaceutical company that manufactures and sells pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, and cosmetics, including Tsusanto and Domohorn Wrinkle. Based on the idea that humans are part of nature, the company uses pharmaceutical technology to draw out the potential of carefully selected ingredients and apply the robust vitality of nature to human life. Under its corporate philosophy of creating a tomorrow connected with nature and people, the company pursues sustainability activities as a way of giving back to nature and supports reconstruction in Mashiki, Kumamoto, where its headquarters is located, through its own hometown tax donation website. Toward its 100th anniversary in 2032, the company has announced its Positive Age Company declaration, expressing its desire to create everyday lives in which people can look forward to tomorrow, and is advancing a medium- to long-term business plan to continue offering distinctive kampo-inspired solutions to customers, employees and their families, partners, communities, and the planet.