UJIE SUPER CO., LTD realizes
Improved Paperless and Efficient Operation
with Ryutsu BMS

In March, 2017, UJIE SUPER CO., LTD (hereinafter

Shift to Shared service

UJIE) renewed its core and EDI systems along

Previously, the core systems were operated via anwith the introduction of Ryutsu BMS, a standard

on-premises server. Primarily aimed at dealing

EDI in Japan, to improve operation efficiency ofwith aging servers and responding to the reducedorder placement and logistics as the infrastructure

tax rate (*2), UJIE switched to using cloudto support supply of goods.

systems provided by CGC Group, a voluntary
chain of which UJIE is a member. At the same

About UJIE SUPER CO., LTDtime, the EDI system, which had been operated on

UJIE is a food supermarket chain founded in 1947

JCA Protocol (*3), was replaced to Ryutsu BMS.

and headquartered in Miyagi Prefecture. ItIn order to change the EDI system, UJIE held aoperates 31 stores mainly in central and northernbriefing session for all its suppliers in October,

Miyagi Prefecture with annual sales of 31.6 billion

2016. At the session, “improved paperless andyen (*1). Some outlets were severely damaged inefficient operation” was identified as the main

the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, which

objective for introducing the new EDI.

resulted in a renewed appreciation for the societal

Cooperation from suppliers was also requestedrole supermarkets play in supporting the regional

and a GS1 Japan representative explained thelifelines. UJIE decided to introduce more efficientsignificance of introducing the EDI standard andand stable systems.

its current level of popularity.

*1 As of February, 2017.
*2 In Japan, plans are set to reduce the consumption tax on foodstuffs and the like as of October, 2019.
*3 This is the standard communications protocol for electronic ordering, established in 1980 by the Japan Chain Stores Association (JCA).
The communication circuits available for the protocol are public circuits (2,400 bps) and DDX circuits (9,600 bps), and it cannot transmit
Kanji and images. DDX circuits are packet-type communication services that use telephone circuits.

Fig. 1 New EDI Flow

Ujie

VAN

Supplier

Order

Order Data

AcceptingOrder

Receiving

Dispatch Advice

Shipping

Receiving
Advicematching

check

Return Advice
Accounts
PayablePaymentAccounts
Receivable

Payment Advice

Reconciliations

Distribution
Center

12,000 Purchase Slips a Monthuploaded on the server on or before the delivery

Before Ryutsu BMS was introduced, the data ofdate, so that the purchase data can be added theorder placement was sent to suppliers throughnext day.

regional VAN. Some of suppliers used Web-EDI toAs mentioned above, suppliers can choose

send ASN, indicating a certain degree of paperless

between the two EDI systems, Ryutsu BMS (eitheroperation had been achieved. However, someServer-to-Server Protocols: ebMS or Client-to-smaller suppliers couldn’t afford to use EOS

Server Protocol: JX Protocol) or Web-EDI, which(Electronic Ordering System) and in such cases,

has the same data items as Ryutsu BMS. With thethere was no choice but to use paper slips.

less expensive Web-EDI, smaller suppliers are now

Furthermore, many local suppliers deliver goods

able to start EDI transactions with a small initial

directly to the outlets, rather than UJIE’sinvestment, leading to improved paperless anddistribution centers. While the purchases wereefficient operation. The utilization ratio of the two

finalized at outlets, all result data was processed

communication systems is almost even.

at headquarters. As the outlets increased in

In terms of both data utilization and delivery slips

number and size, the number of necessary

issued upon delivery of goods to the distributiondelivery slips to be processed also increased,

centers, efforts, such as layout change, are being

reaching an average of 12,000 per month. This

made to reduce paper consumption.

made paper slips a huge bottleneck in enhancing
operational efficiency.

More Efficient and Sophisticated Operation
through EDI

Choice between Two Systems

Introduction of EDI is also making the process ofAs a result suppliers can now choose between thebilling and payment more and more efficient.

two systems; Ryutsu BMS or Web-EDI. The newFirstly, as receiving advice is sent, suppliers can

EDI flow is shown in Fig 1.4.1-1. By way of CGC

check the data of UJIE’s accounts payable on aGroup’s VAN system, the data of order placement,

daily basis, allowing incorrect calculations to bedispatch advice, receiving advice, returned goods,

corrected as they are found.

and payment is exchanged. The dispatch advice isIn addition, with regard to the payment data, the2

CSV data, which had been sent to suppliers at thethere was room for improvement in terms of orderend of each month, is now sent as XML data using

placement accuracy.

Ryutsu BMS, simplifying operation (*4).

The introduction of Ryutsu BMS made it possible

There is also a high expectation that sophisticatedto keep track of the quantity of received items.

unit article management will enable previously

Combining receiving data with the POS sales dataimpossible operations. According to Mr.Funajima,enabled accurate inventory management andDirector of the Information System Office of UJIE,

order placement Since July, 2017, pilot operation

orders were previously placed while referencing

of automated order placement has beenprevious sales and order records on a handheld

continuing in two outlets, one large and one small.

terminal to forecast demand. In this way, although

Introduction of EDI, which enables accurate andthe number of placed orders could be confirmed,

swift data transmission, is expected to promote

it was impossible to see how much stock was infurther operational efficiency in future.

inventory without stock-checking. This meant

Fig. 2 Mr. Naohiko Funajima, Director of Information
System Office of UJIE SUPER CO., LTDFig. 3 U
 JIE SUPER CO., LTD Branch Store in Odawara,
Miyagino Ward, Sendai City

*4 In Japan, it’s a general practice to combine and pay the total value of monthly transactions and service charges, and the like. Therefore, it’sdifficult to identify which transaction has been paid for, in some cases. To deal with this issue, retailers transmit and provide the data ofpayment breakdown, as a popular countermeasure.

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