Takano Accelerates Generative AI Utilization from "Individual Use" to "Organizational Application and Product Development"; Holds "2nd Generative AI Utilization Achievement Report Meeting"

Takano Corporation (Headquarters: Miyata Village, Kamiina District, Nagano Prefecture; President: Masao Takano) held its "2nd Generative AI Utilization Achievement Report Meeting," sharing company-wide initiatives, on Friday, March 27, 2026.

At this report meeting, themed "From Individual Use to Organizational Application and Product Development," all nine departments, including manufacturing, sales, and administration, presented examples of re-engineering business flows using generative AI and specific achievements directly linked to product development.

As a manufacturing company headquartered in Nagano Prefecture, we will continue to promote "Re-Engineering Work" leveraging AI, aiming for sustainable growth and the creation of new customer value.

Background of the Event

Our company is promoting the company-wide implementation of generative AI in business operations to improve productivity and create new value across our diversified businesses (office furniture, exterior products, healthcare products, industrial equipment, inspection and measurement devices, etc.). This second report meeting was held with the aim of transitioning from merely improving individual work efficiency to elevating AI as an "organizational asset" and "product application."

Guest Keynote Speech: Gomi Hayakawa

"Latest AI Trends in 2026 and Manufacturing × Generative AI Utilization"

(Left) Masao Takano, President and Representative Director of Takano Corporation, (Right) Gomi Hayakawa, Representative Director of Utsuwa Inc.

We invited Gomi Hayakawa, Representative Director of Utsuwa Inc., to deliver a keynote speech.

Ms. Hayakawa positioned 2026 as the "First Year of AI Agents," explaining the paradigm shift from humans using AI as a tool to an era where "AI works autonomously, and humans supervise and make judgments (AI sometimes human)." She also pointed out the importance of "Physical AI," where factories, robots, and AI integrate in the manufacturing industry. Regarding our company's initiatives, she offered strong encouragement for the coming era of full-fledged AI agents, stating, "Even looking across companies nationwide, it is rare to find examples that challenge to incorporate AI into on-site operations with such high resolution. Please proceed with confidence."

Main Company-wide Achievements (Excerpts)

On the day of the event, diverse achievements directly linked to actual business and product development were reported from various areas within the company.

Example of a parts shipping system that systematized tacit knowledge

【Overseas Sales】Significant Automation of Office Work (Reduction in Work Time and Improvement in Accuracy)

We built a system that uses AI-OCR to read order data from overseas customers with different formats and automatically generates export documents with automatic translation. This significantly reduced the time spent on data entry and verification, which was traditionally done manually, leading to dramatic efficiency improvements and the elimination of input errors.

【Product Development】Generative AI-Driven Custom Product and Automatic Design System

In the development of custom-made products, we constructed a system that automatically generates unique 3D shapes and internal structures from individual body pressure distribution data. By leveraging generative AI for coding assistance, we internalized the system in a very short period without requiring specialized software engineers. This successfully dramatically reduced the time previously spent on design and modeling.

【Finance and Accounting】Automated Fixed Asset Identification & Anomaly Detection Platform

We built a system that uses AI to read our company's asset data and official standard tables, and then automatically determines account titles and useful lives, also considering our company's specific rules. Furthermore, we developed a platform that automatically detects anomalies in financial statements and uses generative AI to automatically generate management analysis reports and forecasts, establishing a mechanism to improve the quality of management decisions.

【Production Management】High-Precision AI Demand Forecasting and Profit & Loss Management Based on In-House Data

For demand forecasting of our main products, we are building time-series forecasting models (such as SARIMAX and Prophet) using Python and conducting verification with our own data. By training the models with past sales performance, including seasonal trends and growth rates, we aim to achieve more accurate production plans. In parallel, we are also experimenting with approaches that enhance both productivity and customer value, such as integrating actual data to visualize profit and loss per line, creating a mechanism to quickly detect production bottlenecks through continuous AI monitoring, and utilizing generative AI to knowledge-base past quality test data.

【Marketing & Planning】Automatic Proposal Generation from Daily Reports × Competitor Information

We built a system that structures and analyzes sales activity daily reports, customer contact information, and competitor information accumulated in the Sales Force Automation (SFA) system using AI, and automatically generates a draft outline for product proposals. This transformed qualitative on-site information, which tended to depend on individuals, into organizational knowledge assets.

In addition, diverse achievements were shared from all nine projects, including "Full in-house development of recruiting website using AI," "Parts shipping system systematizing tacit knowledge," "AI review of large-scale source code," and "Discussion memo creation using a dedicated application."

General Comments from Masao Takano, President and Representative Director of Takano Corporation

"AI is like a door opening up infinite possibilities. However, the most common trap in AI utilization is localized automation (Automate) that simply 'has robots perform existing simple tasks.' What we should aim for is to re-engineer workflows from the perspective of 'is that operation itself even necessary?', similar to the concept of 'Re-Engineering Work' advocated in the US around 1990. We will continue to promote 'AI utilization for people' company-wide, not just as a tool for efficiency, but to enhance the added value of our employees and maximize the value provided to our customers."

Future Outlook

Our company will not only horizontally deploy successful cases from each department across the entire company but also proceed with the transition to "AI-first business processes" where AI agents operate autonomously. Furthermore, as shown in the example from the Technology Development Division, we will not limit the utilization of generative AI to internal efficiency, but rather connect it to product personalization and the creation of new business models, aiming for an evolution "from a manufacturing industry to a 'creative industry'."

About Takano: "From Manufacturing Industry to 'Creative Industry'"

Starting with spring manufacturing, then office furniture, exterior products, and advanced electronics products, and further into medical and welfare-related products, and clinical diagnostic reagents – Takano has successively entered new fields and constantly challenged itself to develop new products. This development capability is Takano's characteristic and source of growth. In accordance with our management philosophy of "always having high aspirations, adhering to societal rules, foreseeing changes in the world, and contributing to the realization of a prosperous society through sustainable growth and development," we will continue to pursue possibilities from all angles and challenge uncharted territories.

【Company Profile】

Company Name: Takano Corporation (Listed on the Standard Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Securities Code: 7885) Location: 137 Miyata Village, Kamiina District, Nagano Prefecture, 399-4301 Japan Representative: Masao Takano, President and Representative Director Founded: July 1, 1941 Established: July 18, 1953 URL: https://www.takano-net.co.jp/ Business Activities: Manufacturing and sales of office furniture such as office chairs and other chairs, springs, exterior products, electronics-related products (image processing inspection equipment, electromagnetic actuators), and medical/welfare equipment.