StrengthinNumbers

YAMATO TRANSPORT Annual Report 2003

06,07

317,595
Number of parcel handling centers

Progress in the Strategy ofLeveraging Network in Logistics
BusinessThe Yamato Group conducts its business and seeks to grow by leveraging
a distribution network that covers virtually every household in Japan.
The first step in this process is increasing volume without increasing
costs. To do this, the Group is downsizing its delivery centers, the backbone of its entire business, without sacrificing functionality, and establishing a highly visible presence in its collection and delivery areas. At thesame time, the Group has established a system to provide highly convenient parcel delivery services and to respond to the distribution needs ofcorporate customers. One example is supply chain management. TheGroup has also constructed a transportation system that covers a largepart of the world. To tap latent demand, the Group instituted Kuroneko
Mail to provide affordable and sophisticated services, including parcel
tracking. In the moving business, the Group has upgraded and added morevalue to its services to differentiate them from those of the competition.
By taking these steps, the Group is now better able to meet the full range ofdelivery and transport needs of individuals, households, and companies.

YAMATO TRANSPORT Annual Report 2003

08,09

983,938,414
Number of parcels delivered annuallyOriginating Businesses from thePerspective of Customers andCommunities
Delivering nearly one billion parcels annually means that the YamatoGroup has at least that number of contacts with customers. These contacts
allow the Group to identify tasks that customers perceive as inconvenient.
The Group has utilized this information to establish a business aimed ateliminating these inconveniences. The home convenience business offersa menu of services tailored to the needs of specific regions of Japan.
These services include buying goods on behalf of customers and arranging
furniture following a move to a new residence. Similarly, frequent contact
with small- and medium-sized companies led to the establishment of ourE-business business, which assists companies improve their operations.
This business opens up a portion of the Group’s infrastructure to customers
too small to construct their own distribution systems. Utilizing the systems of the Yamato Group enables them to increase efficiency without
incurring additional costs.

YAMATO TRANSPORT Annual Report 2003

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112,948
Number of employees

Bolstering Group Managementto Increase Productivity andMinimize Costs
One point the new three-year plan emphasizes is bolstering Groupmanagement to increase the value of the Yamato Group as a whole. The
plan contains various actions designed to raise productivity by fully leveraging the Group’s key corporate resource—the combined talents of its
over 100,000 dedicated employees—through the establishment of amore effective system to facilitate business formation. The Group support
business is one example. Responsible for coordinating support activities
that boost the productivity of the five business domains, this division
oversees the consolidation of overlapping operations, promotes greateruse of IT, identifies areas for outsourcing, and otherwise oversees activities aimed at improving service quality and reducing costs. The Group has
also increased productivity per delivery center by converting existing
business offices into smaller delivery centers while consolidating backoffice operations to constrain expense growth. Expansion of the numberof centers has reduced the number of employees per center and clarified
the roles and responsibilities of individual personnel, resulting in higher
efficiency and greater motivation.
YAMATO TRANSPORT Annual Report 2003

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