Co-op Sapporo Officially Announces Introduction of Food Value Chain Optimization Service "DeCM-PF" that Supported the "Load Leveling" Which Won the Japan Logistics Award

Synapse Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture, President: Kazuhiko Okamoto, hereinafter "Synapse") and ITOCHU Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President & COO: Keita Ishii, hereinafter "ITOCHU Corporation") are pleased to announce the official introduction of "DeCM-PF (Decm Platform)," a food value chain optimization service jointly developed by Synapse and ITOCHU Corporation, by Co-op Sapporo (Headquarters: Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Director General: Hideaki Omi, hereinafter "Co-op Sapporo"). In relation to this matter, Co-op Sapporo and its affiliated company, Hokkaido Logi Service Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Ebetsu City, Hokkaido, President: Masakazu Iwatou), received the Grand Prize at the "1st Japan Logistics Award," organized by the Japan Association for Logistics and Transport, for their initiative "Logistics Structural Reform through 'DX x Master Craftsman Site Power' - Building a Delivery Consolidation and Regional Sharing Model Using AI Demand Forecasting." This initiative utilized "DeCM-PF."

[Award Ceremony] From left to right: Mr. Junji Takada, Managing Director, Dounan Ace Co., Ltd.; Mr. Shinya Hasegawa, Managing Director, Sapporo Keiryu Express Co., Ltd.; Mr. Toshiya Kawakami, Managing Director, Hokkaido Logi Service; Mr. Tsugushi Miyazaki, Manager, DeCM Promotion Department, Synapse Co., Ltd.; Mr. Daigoro Iwai, Manager, Food Distribution Department, ITOCHU Corporation.

Background

The food logistics industry is currently facing a severe labor shortage. In addition to the shortage of truck drivers due to the declining population across the industry, the "Act for Promoting the Integration and Efficiency of Distribution Services (Revised Logistics Efficiency Act)"*1 enacted in April 2026 requires not only transportation companies but also shippers to take concrete measures for delivery efficiency, making the maintenance of a sustainable logistics network a social imperative. For Co-op Sapporo, which operates over 100 stores and a delivery system in Hokkaido, and Hokkaido Logi Service, which handles its logistics, improving the efficiency of delivering "daily delivery products" (e.g., natto, tofu, dairy products) with short shelf lives was a major challenge. The delivery schedule from the dedicated logistics center operated by Hokkaido Logi Service to each Co-op Sapporo store was completely constrained by the preceding processes, as each stage of the supply chain, including manufacturers, logistics centers, and stores, prioritized its own convenience. Furthermore, the demand fluctuated significantly due to special sales and the day of the week, leading to delivery concentrations on certain days. As a result, the "second delivery" run to transport cargo that could not fit on the first delivery truck became a chronic issue, with an average loading efficiency of only 35%. As the driver shortage worsened and the "enduring logistics" model, where the logistics side absorbed all disadvantages to maintain operations, reached its limit, both companies embarked on a fundamental structural reform utilizing IT. The core of this initiative (load leveling) was handled by "DeCM-PF," provided by Synapse and ITOCHU Corporation.

*1 Act for Promoting the Integration and Efficiency of Distribution Services (Revised Logistics Efficiency Act): A law that requires not only transportation companies but also shippers to improve logistics efficiency, such as optimizing the volume of goods shipped and specifying delivery dates and times to avoid peak hours.

Initiative Details

[Overview Diagram]

By combining Synapse's demand forecasting and automatic ordering service "sinops-CLOUD" (introduced by Co-op Sapporo in 2021) with the "leveling logic" of "DeCM-PF," load leveling has been achieved since July 2024. Generally, store sales vary significantly by day of the week, leading to fluctuations in store order volumes and delivery volumes, which in turn reduce the efficiency of delivery and logistics center operations. In the initiative that received the Grand Prize, advanced demand forecasting data from "sinops-CLOUD" was linked with "DeCM-PF." Utilizing demand forecasts for the next seven days, the number of orders was automatically controlled to ensure that the delivery volume for each day remained as consistent as possible, taking into account product shelf life and store shelf capacity. This "load leveling" reduced daily volume peaks, enabling the consolidation of the conventional two-delivery system for daily deliveries into a "single delivery" system while appropriately managing inventory. Furthermore, starting with this single-delivery system enabled by "DeCM-PF," on-site operations included optimizing routes by combining with other systems, building a collaborative delivery (regional sharing model) system utilizing the surplus vehicle time, and efficiently consolidating production at the manufacturing plant (batch production). The award recognized the achievement of optimizing the entire supply chain by integrating "load leveling (DX)" realized by "DeCM-PF" as the foundation, with efficient actual transportation and collaboration with related businesses ("Master Craftsman Site Power").

[Initiative Image]

Main Results of Introduction and Implementation

Main Initiative Results

This initiative has generated various results*2 in logistics efficiency, environmental impact, and labor burden:

Improved Loading Efficiency: 93% (a significant improvement of 58 percentage points compared to before implementation)

Reduced Working Hours: 26,448 hours reduced annually (equivalent to freeing up 7 trucks per day)

Reduced Environmental Impact: 310 tons of CO2 reduced annually (equivalent to approximately 22,000 cedar trees)

*2 Survey by Hokkaido Logi Service Co., Ltd.

Comment from Hokkaido Logi Service

Toshiya Kawakami, Managing Director, Hokkaido Logi Service Co., Ltd.

The initiative using DeCM-PF with Synapse's demand forecasting system has been a major driving force in our efficiency improvement efforts and has supported this award. We are grateful for your strong support and look forward to further collaboration in building a sustainable logistics model.

Future Outlook

"DeCM-PF" is a platform that optimizes the entire food value chain by connecting retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. This award has proven that "load leveling" based on retail-originated demand forecasting data can dramatically transform the productivity of logistics operations. Going forward, Co-op Sapporo and Hokkaido Logi Service are preparing to expand the current system not only to regular products but also to special sale items and wholesale orders. Synapse and ITOCHU Corporation will further deepen their partnership following this award and aim for the nationwide dissemination of sustainable logistics models and solutions to social issues in logistics.

About Synapse Co., Ltd.

Synapse Co., Ltd. is a software manufacturer that develops and sells the demand forecasting and automatic ordering service "sinops" (Synapse) with the vision of "reducing waste worldwide by 10%." They have succeeded in systemizing categories with short shelf lives and difficult demand forecasting, such as daily delivery food products and prepared meals, and have been adopted by many food retailers. They provide IT solutions that optimize people, things, money, time, and information related to inventory, contributing broadly to society by effectively utilizing limited resources. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth (Securities Code: 4428).

About the Food Value Chain Optimization Service "DeCM-PF"

"DeCM-PF" is a platform that optimizes the entire food value chain by connecting retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Currently, manufacturers and wholesalers find it difficult to accurately grasp the number of products desired by retailers and consumers, leading to excess inventory and inefficient logistics due to production and inventory planning based on estimates. "DeCM-PF" solves the challenges of food distribution and promotes value chain optimization by linking highly accurate demand forecast data calculated by AI based on retail performance and plans with wholesalers and manufacturers.

About the Demand Forecasting and Automatic Ordering Service "sinops-CLOUD"

This cloud service, centered on demand forecasting and automatic ordering, can be introduced from one category, one function, or one store at a low cost, with the necessary functions available when needed. It includes "Real-time Inventory" for collecting inventory information in real-time, "Customer Traffic Forecasting" (accuracy of 94.7% or higher) that can predict customer traffic up to 45 days in advance, an automatic ordering service where AI calculates the number of orders tailored to each store based on various data such as sales performance and weather forecasts, and "AI Discount" where AI determines the optimal discount rate and timing for prepared meals.

"sinops-CLOUD" Product Site

References

・Press Release dated June 18, 2025 Synapse and ITOCHU Corporation Exceed 100 Participating Companies in Extending Special Sale Lead Times Through Order Control Starting from Retailers

・Press Release dated December 8, 2023 Synapse and ITOCHU Corporation Launch Food Value Chain Optimization Service "DeCM-PF"

・Press Release dated June 15, 2021 Co-op Sapporo Officially Signs Contract for sinops Introduction - Further Accelerating DX with Automatic Ordering