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What kind of job do you have?

My job is to conduct business negotiations with overseas clients and to provide them with technical assistance. I’m also responsible for providing products imported from overseas countries to our customers in Japan and those in other countries. I’m in charge of Asian countries including South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand and mainly import chemical fibers. I communicate with all my clients in English. I’m also in charge of all the tasks related to business transactions including internal operations (delivery, procurement, sale, inventory management) associated with the duties I mentioned.

What do you think is your strength after your involvement in overseas sales?

As I had worked overseas before I joined Zenno, now I can take advantage of my experience. One of the difficulties in doing business overseas is that each country has a different national character, so we have to start by understanding each other. As there are some conservative countries, I need to figure out a way to proceed with negotiations, taking into consideration the situation of each country. So, I make it a rule to visit my clients in overseas countries and do business with them face-to-face. When I’m busy, I spend one to two weeks a month overseas on business trips. As Zenno lets us plan our own business trips and act on our own initiative, I can smoothly travel to and from overseas countries to do business there.

What is your future goal?

I would like to utilize the skills I have and work on new business opportunities in countries where Japanese companies not been particularly active, such as African countries. As a sudden entry into such markets would be difficult, it is necessary to first visit and build relationships with the people there. In addition, my goal is to find new customers in cooperation with my colleagues who can take on new challenges with me because there is limit to what I can do on my own when investigating new business opportunities.

Weekly work schedule

What kind of job do you have?

I manage the inventories of the products for which I am responsible (slippers and raw cotton), as well as general clerical duties of placing orders and issuing invoices. I arrange the delivery of the products purchased from the manufacturers to our warehouse and the shipment of those products if our clients order them. I always need to be aware of the status of the products in the warehouse and be careful not to allow excess inventories and cause stockouts when managing inventories. So, it is absolutely necessary to work in close contact with the sales representatives responsible for each product. I think that I play an important role and so I do my best.

What are your thoughts after taking childcare leave?

I took my second childcare leave after giving birth to my second child. I was able to apply for my first childcare leave because a colleague who had taken childcare leave before taught me everything. Childcare leave lasts for a year from the date of birth. When I told the company that I wanted to return to my job after giving birth, the company accepted it and told me it was okay for me to return whenever I wanted. I felt very grateful. I didn't feel disconnected from the company at all while on childcare leave because the manager of the Administration Department shared what was going on in the company with me. So, I'm sure the return to work will be smooth.

What is your future goal?

Though I was very nervous when I returned to work from my first childcare leave, I received a warm welcome and was able to focus on my job right away. So I'm not worried about returning to work this time. However, because I took two long leaves of absence, I think I have to work hard to contribute to the company. The manager told me to become a good role model for other employees as an employee who had taken childcare leave. I hope my experience of returning to work without problem after taking childcare leave will help those who consider taking childcare leave feel comfortable doing so.

Weekly work schedule

What kind of job do you have?

I’m working for the department that handles materials for hygiene products used for diapers and sanitary products. I sell nonwoven fabrics and other subsidiary materials to corporate customers. I often go to overseas countries on business trips because the company focuses on expanding its business with overseas companies. Since I joined Zenno, I have been to more than 10 countries on business trips. Zenno is the perfect company for those who want to work overseas.

What do you think about your transfer between departments?

I worked for the current Global Fiber Sales Department and the Machinery Products Department. I was transferred in the job rotation program conducted as part of the employee training process so that I could become a multiskilled employee. I’m now working for the Life Solution Department after working for those other departments. It was difficult to work for different departments because I had to perform totally different duties in each of them. However, I think that it was a great experience and helped me improve my skills. I think transfers between departments that operate in a completely different way help us improve our skills.

What is your future goal?

As several years have passed since I joined the company, new employees have joined a lot. When I was a new employee, there were many senior employees on whom I could count. So, I would like to do my best to emulate them. As for overseas business, we can quickly visit the countries with which we already have an established business relationship. However, in order to find new customers in new countries, we need to conduct intensive market research. So, I make it a rule to collect information regularly. I would like to keep working with a view to doing business with overseas countries.

Weekly work schedule

What kind of job do you have?

My main job is to import and sell disposable gloves to be used in nursing homes and procure and sell nonwoven fabrics to be used for everyday items ranging from household materials to automobile interiors. I’m also involved in all the imports from abroad. We import gloves from abroad and other products are purchased both in Japan and from abroad. I communicate with people in each country in English and make arrangements for importing. As I belong to a team that has just been formed, I’m also looking for new business opportunities in Japan and overseas. I joined Zenno because I wanted to work using my English skills. As we don’t divide customers into groups according to their geographical area and decide who is in charge of which group, I have customers all over Japan. So, I have to go on business trips frequently. In addition to domestic business trips, I also visit overseas countries every one or two months to make arrangements for importing.

What are your thoughts as a female sales representative?

The senior colleague I worked with in my previous team was the first female sales representative to take maternity/childcare leave in Zenno. She has already returned to work and is working hard. I would like to be like her in the future. Zenno does not care about the sexuality of employees in the company. I’m working just like male employees. As my colleagues take care of me same as male employees, I can focus on my job in a relaxed manner and don’t feel unnecessary stress. I would like to keep working energetically to achieve good results.

What is your future goal?

As Zenno does business with customers based not only in Japan but also in other countries, my goal is to become an employee who can work effectively anywhere around the world, not just in Japan. Though I’m mainly in charge of importing, I would like to increase the number of exports. As for importing, my main responsibility is selecting the products produced in Asian countries. However, I would like to expand trade with countries outside Asia. Though I’m working hard to achieve these goals, I would like to work overseas in the future if given the chance.

Weekly work schedule

What kind of job do you have?

I’m mainly responsible for managing raw materials and semi-finished products. I’m also in charge of handling new orders from customers and responding to their requests for improvements to existing products and conducting sales activities. In addition, to meet customer needs, I strive to make useful recommendations including those related to new products. Needless to say, it is difficult to achieve results smoothly. However, I am taking on the challenge of sowing seeds for the future.
I am always focused on identifying new needs when I do my job, not just maintaining the status quo.

What do you think is your strength after working in manufacturing, wholesale, and retail?

As I have been involved in almost all the products that Zenno handles, I utilize the knowledge I have acquired to gain a clear understanding of our customers’ problems and needs and endeavor to make appropriate proposals that satisfy their requirements. This is because, based on my own experience of being involved in raw materials (upstream), product processing (midstream), and products (downstream), I am able to give customers good advice by taking into account why they need our products and their individual background and conditions. This is my strength. In addition, I never say “I can’t” when I face challenges. I ask customers to let me try first. I believe this enthusiastic attitude is one of the reasons why customers rely on me.

What is your future goal?

I would like to devote 40% or 50% of my work to finding new customers. Zenno encourages its employees to take on new challenges. Even when we make mistakes while trying to find new customers, the company gives us a push to take on the next challenge as mistakes can be a constructive way of making progress. In addition, I would like to take advantage of Zenno’s strengths, such as its “more than 100 years of history” and the various achievements it has accumulated with various companies, and my ability to build my own work from scratch, and actively take action toward my goal of finding new customers in new industries.

Weekly work schedule

What kind of job do you have?

I sell transportation line pallets (Uni Line Pallets) for light electrical appliance manufacturers and processed metal/resin products in Japan and overseas. When manufacturing refrigerators and consumer electronics (such as TVs and air conditioners), there are production lines used to make unfinished products into finished products. Special wooden jig pallets used on those lines are called Uni Line Pallets. Other than pallets, I also handle a variety of products used in plants, such as metal and resin components and racks and the iron poles used in warehouses. Because these products are manufactured on a made-to-order basis in Japan and the foreign countries of China, Thailand, and Korea, I need to make proposals based on customer needs, such as their budget and specifications.

What are your thoughts as a senior colleague?

Though it's only been four years since I joined Zenno, my job here has been challenging and rewarding because I have been to China and gained a lot of experience. I always try not only to follow the instructions of my superiors but also to give them my opinions so that I can set a good example for my junior colleagues. Though Zenno has an open corporate culture, I'd like to create an environment where junior colleagues feel free to consult senior colleagues about their problems.

What is your future goal?

I'd like to establish a business that will become a pillar of the company in addition to the ones Zenno has established. I have a dream that one day people will say, "The company has become bigger thanks to the new business Morita established." Needless to say, I'd like to establish a global business. I believe that I can make my dream come true because Zenno has a corporate culture where every opinion is welcomed. To make my dream come true, I'd like to focus not only on myself but also on the teamwork in the department and work hard together with the department members to achieve the same goals.

Weekly work schedule

What kind of job do you have?

My main job is merchandising, personnel and business base management, and marketing. Actually I work like a player-manager (half sales, half administration). Because the company is still small and doesn't have many employees, the employees sometimes can't handle all the work. So I do the work that they can't handle. I'm also in charge of starting new businesses. Though I'd heard that the most important part of working overseas was the ability to communicate with local staff, I realized that was true after I actually started working overseas.

What are your thoughts about overseas assignments?

To figure out how to communicate with the local people, I considered how to adapt to the culture of the country. The most difficult part was to accept the culture. I've learned that we cannot understand each other's feelings and perspectives until we understand and accept each other's culture. I was stressed from a variety of conditions right after I started working here. However, I haven't really felt stressed after I acquired the language skills to communicate with the local staff. Not only I but also local staff members think about how to communicate better.

What is your future goal?

My immediate goal is to establish a business that can serve as the new foundation of the Thai subsidiary. I'd like to expand the company with that business and increase the number of employees. I believe my mission is to expand the company so that we can increase the number of expatriates and stabilize its management. My goal to achieve for Zenno is to give back to the headquarters by sharing my valuable experience because the company gave me an opportunity to work in Thailand and have a variety of experiences. As there are more opportunities for me to talk to outstanding employees working at other group business bases than before, I'd like to improve the capabilities of the entire group by actively strengthening cooperation with those people and the headquarters.

Weekly work schedule