Expansion of the product search and e-procurement support services "AXEL" and "ocean"

「The number of companies connected to the centralized purchasing system ocean was increased to 643, up 212 from the end of the previous fiscal year, including 122 medical users. • The number of users registered with Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, was increased to 23,965, up 2,933 from the end of the previous fiscal year. • The new search engine AXEL2.0 was launched, substantially improving site search functionality.」

「As an e-commerce initiative, the number of companies connected to ocean was increased to 524, including 147 medical users, up 145 from the same period, including an increase of 77 medical users. • The number of end users registered with Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, was increased to 22,415, up 3,210 from the same period.」

「As an e-commerce initiative, the number of companies connected to the centralized purchasing system ocean was increased to 431, up 92 from the end of the previous fiscal year, including 51 medical users. As another e-commerce initiative, the number of end users registered with Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, was increased to 21,032, up 3,339 from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「As an e-commerce initiative, the number of companies connected to the centralized purchasing system ocean was increased to 379, up 68 from the end of the same period of the previous year. As another e-commerce initiative, the number of end users registered with Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, was increased to 19,205, up 3,937 from the end of the same period of the previous year.」

「ocean, a centralized purchasing system used mainly by large corporations, enables indirect materials previously purchased in a decentralized, manual manner by user companies to be purchased centrally through an in-house e-commerce system. The number of companies using ocean increased by 54 during the period to 339. Wave is a purchasing website through which our company facilitates e-commerce transactions between distributors and users behind the scenes. The number of registered users increased by approximately 3,800 during the period to approximately 17,700 companies.」

「In e-commerce, sales in open-site e-commerce channels such as those serving online retailers and AXEL Shop rose 13.4% year on year in the third quarter, as the range of listed products expanded and various integrations were added, particularly for online retailers. In closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, the increase in new accounts, expansion of listed products and customers' expansion of research facilities led to wider use by existing connected customers, and sales rose 17.4%.」

「In e-commerce, sales in open-site e-commerce channels such as those serving online retailers and AXEL Shop rose 11.3% year on year in the second quarter, particularly as the range of listed products expanded and various integrations were added for online retailers. Meanwhile, sales in closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, rose 18.0%, driven by an increase in new accounts, an expanded range of listed products and wider use by existing connected customers as customers expanded their research facilities.」

「In e-commerce, sales in open-site e-commerce channels such as those serving online retailers and AXEL Shop rose 12.5% year on year in the first quarter, as the expansion of listed products and various integrations improved convenience, particularly for online retailers. Meanwhile, sales in closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, rose 22.5%, driven by an increase in new accounts and wider use by existing connected customers as the range of listed products expanded.」

「ocean, a centralized purchasing system used mainly by large corporations, enables indirect materials previously purchased in a decentralized, manual manner by user companies to be purchased centrally through an in-house e-commerce system. Supported by one of Japan's largest ranges of research equipment and consumables and reliable inventory availability, the number of companies using ocean increased by 36 during the period to 285. Wave is a purchasing website through which our company facilitates e-commerce transactions between distributors and users behind the scenes. The number of registered users increased by approximately 3,600 during the period to approximately 14,000 companies.」

「In e-commerce, sales in open-site e-commerce channels such as those serving online retailers and AXEL Shop rose 22.6% year on year in the third quarter, as the expansion of listed products and various integrations improved convenience, particularly for online retailers. Meanwhile, sales in closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, rose 15.8%, driven by an increase in new accounts, wider usage locations among existing connected customers and an expanded range of listed products.」

「In e-commerce, sales in open-site e-commerce channels such as those serving online retailers and AXEL Shop rose 23.7% year on year in the second quarter, as the expansion of listed products and various integrations improved convenience, particularly for online retailers. Meanwhile, sales in closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, rose 15.6%, driven by an increase in new accounts and wider use by existing connected customers.」

「In e-commerce, sales in open-site e-commerce channels such as those serving online retailers and AXEL Shop rose 20.4% year on year in the first quarter, as the expansion of listed products and various integrations improved convenience, particularly for online retailers. Meanwhile, sales in closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, rose 14.3%, driven by an increase in new accounts and wider use by existing connected customers.」

「In closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, sales in the third quarter rose sharply by 34.4% year on year. In addition to a rebound from the previous year's COVID-19 impact, growth was supported by an increase in end users using the company's systems, which fit the recovery in public- and private-sector economic activity and the trend toward digital transformation.」

「In closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, sales in the second quarter rose sharply by 38.9% year on year. In addition to a rebound from demand stagnation in the same quarter of the previous year, growth was supported by an increase in end users using the company's systems, which fit the recovery in public- and private-sector economic activity and the trend toward digital transformation.」

「In closed-site e-commerce channels such as ocean, a centralized purchasing system for large-scale users, and Wave, an e-commerce system supporting distributors, sales in the first quarter rose sharply by 45.9% year on year. In addition to a rebound from demand stagnation in the same quarter of the previous year, growth was supported by an increase in end users using ocean and Wave, which fit the recovery in public- and private-sector economic activity and the trend toward digital transformation.」

「The number of new users linked to ocean, an e-commerce-style centralized purchasing system, increased by 20 companies, while the number of new users linked to Wave, an e-commerce support system for distributors, increased by 441 companies.」

「In e-commerce, in addition to centralized purchasing and online retail channels, we are promoting wider use of Wave, which supports distributors' e-commerce operations. The system enables end users, distributors and our company to work together digitally, contributing not only to our own digital transformation but also to the digitalization of the broader distribution chain. Although the service is still in its early stages, customers have embraced it and usage is growing faster than planned.」

「Demand related to e-commerce has grown from the perspective of contactless, face-to-face-free transactions.」

「E-commerce *1 2,973 3,605 121.2 106.3」

「For large-scale users, we are promoting the adoption of ocean, a centralized purchasing system. For mid-sized users, we are strengthening cooperation with distributors through Wave, a centralized purchasing system that supports distributors and serves as an alternative to catalogs. For small-scale users, we are strengthening customer acquisition and sales by enhancing the functionality of our proprietary online store, AXEL Shop.」

「Factors included continued growth in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing and sales to online retailers, while sales of products handled exclusively online, whose range had expanded to more than 4 million items, contributed to generating new sales.」

「Factors included continued growth in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing and sales to online retailers, while sales of products handled exclusively online, whose range had expanded to nearly 4 million items, contributed to generating new sales.」

「Factors included growth in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing and sales to online retailers. In addition, the range of products handled online exceeded 3.7 million and contributed to new sales, while increased use of the AXEL Shop, through which users can purchase online, also contributed to new sales.」

「Demand for integration with ocean, an electronic centralized purchasing system based on our extensive product range and electronic catalog information, remains strong and continues to expand, particularly among large-scale users. To accelerate this trend, we built Wave, a system that integrates and provides distributors' centralized purchasing services, and began offering the service.」

「Factors included continued growth in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing and sales to online retailers. In addition, the consolidation of sales from Triumph 21, which became a subsidiary in March 2018, the expansion of the range of products handled online to more than 3 million, and increased use of AXEL Shop, which enables users to purchase online, have begun to contribute further to sales growth in addition to traditional sales.」

「Factors included growth in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing and sales to online retailers. In addition, the consolidation of sales from Triumph 21, which became a subsidiary in March 2018, the expansion of the range of products handled online to nearly 3 million, and increased use of AXEL Shop, which enables users to purchase directly online through distributors, have begun to contribute further to sales growth in addition to traditional sales.」

「Factors included growth in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing, in which our electronic catalogs are directly connected to users’ purchasing systems so that they can purchase research equipment, and growth in sales to online retailers. In addition, the range of products listed online exceeded 2.2 million, and inquiries for products listed only online, which could not previously be fully introduced in the catalogs, and use of the AXEL Shop, through which users can purchase directly online via distributors, have begun to contribute to growth in conventional sales in addition to the existing sales growth.」

「The number of companies using e-commerce-style centralized purchasing, in which our electronic catalog is directly linked to customers' purchasing systems so they can purchase research equipment, increased substantially to 135, up 34 from the previous fiscal year. Sales to online retailers also remained firm, and the e-commerce business across both channels grew 35.9% year on year, driving overall company growth.」

「In the scientific equipment business, sales were ¥24.701 billion, up 10.3% year on year, supported by strong private-sector research and development demand. E-commerce-related sales, comprising e-commerce-style centralized purchasing, in which our electronic catalog is directly linked to customers' purchasing systems so they can purchase research equipment, and sales to online retailers, grew by just under 40%. Sales of products listed exclusively online doubled as the range of products listed on the website expanded.」

「In the scientific equipment business, sales were ¥15.830 billion, up 9.7% year on year, driven by strong private-sector research and development demand and by sales from e-commerce-style centralized purchasing, in which our electronic catalog is directly linked to customers' purchasing systems so they can purchase research equipment, which grew by more than 30%. Sales to online retailers serving primarily manufacturing sites also grew by just under 40%.」

「Sales have grown in e-commerce-style centralized purchasing, where our electronic catalog is directly linked to users' purchasing systems so they can purchase research equipment, as well as in sales to online retailers. In addition, the number of products listed on the website has exceeded 1.5 million, and demand for products listed exclusively online, which could not previously be fully presented in the catalog, together with use of AXEL Shop, which enables users to purchase directly online through distributors, has begun to contribute to sales growth in addition to traditional sales.」

「We also launched AXEL, a search system that enables users to instantly find products through specialized filters tailored to product characteristics. It has become a one-stop site where distributors and customers can easily find products, and is now widely used by them.」

「We will further improve convenience, including the search functionality of AXEL, a product search system that enables users to instantly find what they need through specialized filters tailored to product characteristics. In addition to linking AXEL with ocean and other e-procurement support systems that directly support users' managed and centralized purchasing, we will develop our e-commerce business by linking AXEL with made-to-order products, contract services and other offerings.」