Umenohana Group's Integrated Manufacturing and Sales Logistics & Supply Chain Reform Featured in METI's 'CLO Casebook'

Umenohana Group Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture) announces that its initiatives for logistics and supply chain reform, promoted under an integrated manufacturing and sales framework, have been featured in the 'CLO (Chief Logistics Officer) Casebook' published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). At our company, we do not view logistics as an isolated function. Instead, under the theme of 'overall optimization through integrated manufacturing and sales,' we are advancing structural reforms that cut across manufacturing, sales, logistics, and procurement. ■ Feature in METI's 'CLO Casebook' The Umenohana Group's efforts to optimize its logistics and supply chain through an integrated manufacturing and sales approach have been published in METI's 'CLO Casebook ~Practices and Achievements in Logistics Reform~'. Please see the publication page here: ▼METI 'CLO Casebook ~Practices and Achievements in Logistics Reform~' ▼List of featured companies (excerpt) ■ Background | From Addressing Logistics Issues to Overall Optimization In the logistics industry, against the backdrop of the '2024 Problem,' driver shortages, and rising energy prices, maintaining sustainable logistics operations with conventional 'partial optimization' methods has become difficult. The Umenohana Group also faced logistics challenges specific to the restaurant and prepared-food business, such as high-mix low-volume production, 365-day delivery, and temperature-controlled management. This necessitated cross-departmental improvements involving not only the logistics department but also manufacturing, sales, and product departments. Against this backdrop, our company has been promoting company-wide reforms under the theme of 'optimizing the entire supply chain starting from logistics.' ■ 'Starting with Visualization' - Field-Led Improvement Activities Rather than presupposing the implementation of advanced systems, our company began improvements by first organizing and visualizing data that can be grasped at the field level. By individually checking transport conditions, loading status, inventory trends, and delivery conditions, we are continuing field-coordinated improvement activities such as: Review of trunk line transport, Improvement of loading efficiency, Inventory optimization, Adjustment of store delivery conditions, Regular consultations with logistics providers. Furthermore, by reviewing not only logistics but also manufacturing and sales conditions, we are promoting 'overall optimization' rather than 'partial optimization.' ▼Excerpt from our featured page ■ Towards Supply Chain Reform Originating from Logistics Currently, our activities are expanding beyond the logistics domain to encompass the entire supply chain, including: SKU optimization, Review of procurement lead times, Redesign of inventory management, Optimization of inter-site transport, Integrated supply and demand optimization between manufacturing and sales. We are redefining logistics not merely as a cost, but as an 'infrastructure supporting all corporate activities,' and are proceeding to build a sustainable supply system. ■ Future Outlook We believe this feature is not the result of our company's sole efforts, but the culmination of continuous improvement activities carried out with many stakeholders, including our logistics partners, business partners, and field employees. Moving forward, the Umenohana Group will continue to work on building a sustainable logistics and supply system while keeping the entire supply chain that supports 'food' in view. As a company that supports 'A blossoming moment of food,' we will continue to promote improvement activities aimed at overall optimization.