RECRUIT - SITE

"For hemorrhoids, there is BORRAGINOL♪". This is a jingle that most people in Japan have heard at least once. BORRAGINOL is a hemorrhoid medication with a yellow package that stands out and is a well-known domestic brand.

That's right. There will likely be people reading this article who have used it. Even if they haven't used it, they likely know of it.

Our current project is to sell BORRAGINOL in China through a cross-border EC website. It started at the end of 2022, and sales began in April 2023.

We at Amato Pharmaceutical Products have been producing BORRAGINOL for a long time, and we are very familiar with the product. In order to bring the product overseas, we had to put a lot of time into considering how to develop the brand. However, we did not have any prior experience with cross-border EC, and hence we had problems starting. It was around that time that we heard from ROHTO.

We thought that if we were to share ROHTO's knowledge with group companies, then we could reach even more customers. There are a lot of things that need to be done for cross-border EC. For example, how to grow the brand in China and how to promote the products and to whom. We also need to create agreements with local companies, design the work processes for sales, set up distribution, etc.

In this project, Amato Pharmaceutical Products is not selling products directly in China. Instead, ROHTO buys the products and sells them on a Chinese EC site as its own assets. We recently gained experience in a different project selling BORRAGINOL in Taiwan through general trade, and we're happy being able to adeptly use that framework for the current project.

That's right. Because Rumiko-san was able to skillfully apply that experience, this project progressed very smoothly. Overseas projects generally take over half a year from the beginning through the start of sales, but in this project, we were able to start selling after around 4 months.

What are the differences between Japanese EC strategies and cross-border EC strategies for China?

First, the level of brand recognition is completely different. As stated, most people in Japan know BORRAGINOL, but very few in China do. We had to start by informing them about what kind of product it is and why it is good. For example, BORRAGINOL is unusual in that the ointment is infused, so we need to adequately explain why this is beneficial.

The target customers are also different. One opportunity we discovered after starting sales in China was a demand for maternity products. This meant more demand for the non-steroidal BORRAGINOL M series, which can be used by people who are concerned about steroids. The way we promote the products is also different from Japan.

As a manufacturer, it is important for us to be able to express what kind of brand it is, but if it doesn't resonate with buyers, then it doesn't matter. We need to understand the types of local customers and their needs.

Besides customers, there were also differences in how you worked with local businesses compared to Japan.

That's right. The business norms in Japan and China are different. For example, what they look for in an agreement, or what they perceive as a benefit when it comes to goods and money. During negotiations, it was necessary to sometimes make polite compromises.

In order to smoothly advance the project, what did you need to be conscious of?

It was important for the team to meet and communicate directly whenever possible. Instead of having numerous emails and phone calls, we were able to meet face to face for meetings and work together to sufficiently remedy mutual concerns.

I also did my best to communicate in person. It was important to meet face to face in order to manage our objectives as a team and be mindful of their achievement. Imai-san also frequently came to our office. Actually, it seemed normal for Imai-san to be there. Without me noticing, Imai-san would suddenly be sitting behind me! This happened repeatedly. (laughs)

I would like to ask about what you learned from this project and how you will use it in the future.

I gained experience in purchasing and overseas distribution. Actually, after getting experience from this project, I moved from purchasing to the Reliability Assurance Division for work related to quality. The three factors that manufacturers often focus on are QCD*. After learning about costs and deadlines, I am now in a position where I can learn about quality. I am hoping to be able to make decisions while balancing QCD.

• * QCD: Quality, Cost, Delivery

Balancing QCD is important.

That's right. It is important to make high quality products, but if we pursue quality to the extent that customers are not interested, costs will wastefully increase, and it will mostly just be for our own satisfaction. However, if we are too focused on reducing costs, quality will also decrease. It is important to look at the whole picture and figure out what we need to do at a given time.

Imai-san, what did you get out of this project?

I was inspired simply by being able to work with ROHTO Pharmaceutical. The way everyone is up for facing challenges left the largest impression on me. Instead of backing away from difficulties, many on the team tried to figure out how to overcome them. This made me think that maybe we can change our company from a culture of being overly protective or against significant changes.

We also learned many things. The BORRAGINOL cross-border EC project only recently started in China. Just by looking at our current sales data and customer opinions, we have had many realizations. I hope that we can consider domestic trends in China for an approach that appeals to a wider customer base. I hope that these new efforts can help BORRAGINOL grow.