Turning encounters into innovation

ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Year ended May 31, 2022

Our Philosophy

MissionTurning encounters into innovation
Our world is built on encounters; they are the very basis of society.
People encounter people.

ValuesFace your mission and love your work
Lead the customer
Anticipate the experience

Companies encounter companies.

Make decisions with determination and intent

We believe these connections bring innovation,

Find a faster way

which in turn leads to new ways of working and doing business.
By developing innovative products,
we change how people and companies value their encounters,
and even change how those encounters take place.

VisionBecome business infrastructure

Leverage all strengths
Appreciate and be inspired
Donʼt fear change, and challenge yourself

PremiseBalancing security and convenience

Transport networks, electrical grids, the internet.
These are some of the roads of society.
We believe another road is possible.
A new form of infrastructure for the business world.
This road connects people with people, companies with companies,
and turns everyday business into innovation.
We aim to be that new road, that business infrastructure.

02

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

03

History
Pushing ourselves to achieve medium- to long-term sales growthand further increase our corporate value

Since our founding, we have provided services that help solve the diverse issues that companies andbusinesspeople face. As a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) company in Japan, we have done this bydevelaoping innovative technologies and creative operations. We will continue to pursue new services that address
uncovered needs within societal issues, aiming for sustainable business growth and increased corporate value.

20,42016,184
13,362

25,117

10,206−25,764

7,324
4,839

Net sales (millions of yen) ¹
*

0

23

139

270

401

560

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

815

1,289

2013

2014

1,963
2015

3,151

2016

2017

2018

2019

2021

2022

2023 (forecast)Diversifying business fields
and services 2019–present

Strengthening investments
through large-scale fundraising 2013–2018

Founding and launch of business 2007-2012

2020

Main Services
2007: Launched Link Knowledge

2013: Name changed to Sansan, a B2B business card-based contact management service
2012: Began offering Eight, a business card management app

2022: Reformed to being a sales DX solution

2022: Evolved into a contact and career management app
2020: Began offering Bill One, a cloud-based invoice management solution
2021: Began offering Sansan Meishi Maker, a comprehensive business card making solution
2022: Began offering Contract One, a cloud-based contract management solution

SansanEightBill One
Sansan Meishi Maker
Contract One

Corporate Philosophy Katachi of Sansan

Corporate Philosophy Katachi of Sansan

Corporate Philosophy Katachi of Sansan

We were founded on the belief that, although, inreality, companies are intangible entities, they requirea lifeblood just like a real person. For this reason, we
defined our mission (shimei ). This mission clearly
defines what we aim for and value. We have also
created and determined our bearing (shisei, now
called “values”), which is based on the professionalism
we require to realize our companyʼs overall mission.

Each and every employee has regular opportunities to discuss our
corporate philosophy. The results of these discussions have led to several
changes over the years. In 2012, to boost our corporate branding, we
stopped using the Japanese term shimei in our philosophy and insteadbegan using the English term “mission.” This term incorporates the meaningof “the value we are dedicated to delivering to society at large.” We also
made the content of our mission simple and easier to communicate toothers. The current mission has been in place since 2018.

As well as going public, we have been steadily expanding our business since 2019, and our stakeholders are increasing in
number day by day. To respond to these changes, we decided it was vital to make it easier for society at large tounderstand our presence as a company.
To address this, we held Katachi discussions. These discussions provide an opportunity for all employees to discuss our
corporate philosophy. Through them, we established the vision of “Become business infrastructure” as our aim in 2021.
Using this vision, which is based on our mission and unique worldview of Turning encounters into innovation, we areaiming for the services we provide to be widely accepted and indispensable in the global business scene.

History

History

History

Our company was founded in June 2007 with thelaunch of Link Knowledge, the predecessor to Sansan.
Through his broad experience dealing with domestic
and foreign companies, our founder (the currentCEO) had become keenly aware of the inefficient
processes caused by how inadequately business card
information was being managed and shared withincompanies. From the inception of our company until
2012, we worked to launch our business with little
capital, as we had very limited access to financing.

The increased activity in the venture capital market from 2013 decreased
unlisted companiesʼ difficulties in raising funds. Taking advantage of thischange, we raised over 10 billion yen by 2018. We also heightened ourmarketing activities including through TV commercials. Our first TV
commercial, aired in 2013, won an award and attracted national attention.
These commercials have significantly contributed to raising the profile of ourcompany and services.

After we were listed on the Mothers Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2019, we were then transferred to the
Exchangeʼs Prime Market. From 2020 onwards, we began to expand our services to fields of business such as invoices andcontracts, where analog operations remain deeply rooted. These new areas of business saw us apply the technologies
and techniques we developed for Sansan and Eight to enable the digitization of analog information. Each of our current
existing services also saw solid usage growth that, along with the further diversification of our business areas and services
and the multi-product system we are building, has enabled us to achieve record-high revenues every fiscal year.

▼2007

SAN SAN, Inc. (now Sansan, Inc.) founded▼2013

Raised approximately 500 million yen
through third-party allocation of newsharesBroadcast first Sansan TV commercial
Sansan Corporation established in
Delaware, USA▼2014
Changed legal name to Sansan, Inc.
Raised approximately 1.4 billion yen
through third-party allocation of newshares▼2015

Sansan Global Pte. Ltd. established in
Singapore▼2016
Raised approximately 2 billion yen throughthird-party allocation of new shares▼2017
Raised approximately 4.2 billion yen
through third-party allocation of new shares▼2018
Raised approximately 3 billion yen throughthird-party allocation of new shares▼2019

Listed on the Mothers Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and raised approximately 2.1 billion yen through apublic offering of shares
Raised approximately 4.7 billion yen through third-party allocation of new shares▼2020
Acquired logmi, Inc. as a group company▼2021
Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange▼2022
Transferred to the Prime Market on the Tokyo Stock Exchange*1 The graph indicates net sales for fiscal years ended in May (figures prior to the year ended May 2016 are non-consolidated, while subsequent figures are consolidated).

04

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

05

Contents
02 Our Philosophy 04 History 06 Contents
Chapter One: On Value Creation
08 CEO Message 14 Value Creation Model
16 Management Resources and the Results We Deliver
18 Business Model
20 Social Value Provided by Sansan
22 Social Value Provided by Bill One
Chapter Two: Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value
24 Medium-Term Management Policy
26 Financial/Non-Financial Highlights 28 CFO Message
32 Sustainability Management 38 Environment
40 Information Security 42 CHRO Message
46 Human Capital
50 Governance 60 Risk Management
Chapter Three: Business Strategies by Segment
64 Business Managers Messages
68 Sansan/Bill One Business 74 Eight Business
Data
76 Company and Stock Information

Editorial Policy
This annual report aims to convey, in a clear andintegrated manner, financial and non-financial informationon our strategic story as a company. It also details the
progress of our business activities toward realizing theGroupʼs mission and vision. In the report, we refer to theInternational Integrated Reporting Framework, Guidance
for Collaborative Value Creation, Task Force on Climaterelated Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Recommendations,Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
Standards, and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.

Reporting Period
Fiscal 2021 (June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022)

Disclaimer Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This report may contain future assumptions, prospects,
and forecasts based on plans. However, these forwardlooking statements are based on the information
available at the time of the reportʼs preparation, and on
certain assumptions we accept as reasonable. Sansan,
Inc. (“the Company”) does not promise to achieve these.
Major differences may occur between the forecast andthe actual performance, including changes in economic
conditions, consumer needs, and user preferences;

06

Sansan, Inc.

competition with other companies; changes in laws,
regulations, and others; and other future factors.
Therefore, the actual performance announced may varydepending on these factors. The Company assumes
no responsibility for any damage caused through theuse of information in this report. Additionally, regarding
new information and future events, the Company has
no obligation to revise or officially announce revisions to
the future prospects in this report.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

07

CEO Message

Leverage the changing environment for
major growth opportunities as we aim tobecome business infrastructure

Representative Director & CEO

Chika Terada
Review of Fiscal 2021

08

Sansan, Inc.

In the fiscal year ended May 2022, consolidated net

into a sales DX solution. It now has a database of moresales growth, our most crucial management indicator,

than one million items of corporate information andincreased 26.2% year on year. This indicated steadycan organize and visualize all contact points, including

expansion of our business despite the ongoing

business cards, emails, and web-based inquiries.

COVID-19 pandemic. However, I cannot be proud of

As for Eight, while maintaining its core functionality

this level of growth. Instead, this year, I take pride in theas a business card management app, we havesignificant improvements we made to our main product,transformed it into a contact and career management

Sansan, which accounts for the majority of our sales,

app by adding the new Career tab. Having achieved

and to Eight. Sansan, which was initially a business card

profitability on a quarterly basis for Eight in the fourthcontact management service, has been transformed

quarter of the fiscal year ended May 2022, we are finally

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

09

at a stage where we can aim for full-year profitability

becoming more widespread. We have been quickly

in the fiscal year ending May 2023. The results of these

responding to these changes by, for example, working

service improvements will not be immediately evident into make Virtual Cards commonplace. But face-to-faceour business performance; however, they will contributebusiness card exchanges are down to 70% of what they

to our sales and profit growth over the medium- towere, and considering the after-COVID-19 businesslong-term – we must make sure thatʼs the case.

encounters, they may never recover to pre-COVID-19

Japanʼs Electronic Book Storage Act was revisedlevels. By contrast, we have seized a significant businessin January 2022, and a new invoicing system will be

opportunity and achieved rapid growth for Bill One.

introduced in October 2023. These changes have led to

In this way, the external environment has affected us

greater customer understanding of the importance of

positively and negatively. Whatever the case, from a

invoice digitization. Bill One, the cloud-based invoice

medium- to long-term perspective, we must shift gears

management solution we launched in May 2020,

and turn COVID-19 into a growth opportunity. We needshowed growth exceeding our initial plans for fiscal

to be able to look back in three or five years and see

2021. We continue to develop Bill One while adapting

this period as a significant turning point for our growth.

to the new invoicing system, such as by adding invoice

It is my responsibility to make that happen, and I am

issuing functionality, alongside the existing invoice

approaching our product improvement processes withreceipt functionality, from July 2022.

that in mind. Sansan and Eight are software, meaning

Over the 15 years since our founding, our growththat they are never finalized products and need tohas been like climbing a mountain, one step at a time.

evolve continuously after their release. The true value of

The summit is still far away, so our climb will continue.

our improvements and their ability to drive our growth,

However, looking back at the path weʼve traveled, there

including quantitatively, will be tested from fiscal

has never been a time when society has undergone a2022 onward. The attitude and messaging we havemore profound transformation than it has during thepresented, of driving the evolution of these services, aresolve an issue that was closer to home. My parents, who

pandemic. COVID-19 led to fewer opportunities forvital for preventing stagnation and for contributing towere business owners, probably had a major influenceimportant concepts is “Lead the customer.” These words

face-to-face meetings and, therefore, fewer businessthe creation of new forms of value.

on me. After graduating from college, I started working

express our belief that we should not simply follow ourin the private sector, but from a young age I had

customers but should instead lead the way ourselves.

card exchanges. Online meetings and events areWeʼll look back on this asa major turning point

We have various values, but one of our mostnaturally harbored a desire to start my own businessItʼs a simple phrase, but it accurately expresses oursomeday and use it to impact society. I started withuniqueness.

business cards because I was having trouble organizing

The services we have created and the value wethem, as were my colleagues and the company I wasprovide are not imitations of existing services. Instead,working for. This challenge, which was occurring two to

we have taken on the challenge of developing

three meters around me, seemed like something I could

unprecedented business models aimed at a completely

solve. I suspected that to better manage business cards

new business culture and customs. We gain much of

we could digitize them, share the data, and create aour inspiration and ideas from actively listening tomeaningful database. However, the challenge then was

our customers and understanding the problems they

how to actually digitize the cards. This led me to realize

face. However, we then lead our customers and thethat building an operational structure for digitization

market to produce ideal solutions. Embodying “Leadwould produce new value. It also made me realize wethe customer” is precisely how we have grown as a

could create disruptive value beyond just visualizing

company.

connections between people.

Management Philosophy and Principles

We want to tackle themes and issues that may not

We have been accumulating value andaccomplishments as if we are adding layers of skin.

have arisen if we hadnʼt become involved, and to

This growth has been supported by our approach

I place tremendous importance on creating new forms

times. However, even when making such revisions,create value by solving them. We have incorporatedof creating value to solve challenges, as well as theof value. This is something Iʼm always highly conscious

we have never wavered from our belief that there arethese concepts into our mission and values and havetechnologies and operations that let us achieve thisof. For many, it may be a given that companies exist

challenges before us, that we can create new value by

made management decisions that emphasize being avalue. The business card digitization flow we developed

to create value. At Sansan, this idea of creating new

solving them, and that this will in turn create businessmission-driven company. When I speak with employees,

for Sansan is one of the competitive advantages weʼrevalue exists in different forms as our mission, vision,

opportunities.

I focus on trying to get them to share our mission

proud of. It combines AI technology, which continuously

and values, as well as our vision to become businessevolves through machine learning, with manual input by

infrastructure, which we newly formulated last year.

humans, to digitize analog information such as businessand values. We have revised the wording of our mission“Turning encounters into innovation” and values several

10

Realizing our vision through our mission
to create truly unprecedented value

Sansan, Inc.

Some social entrepreneurs create businesses to solve
major social issues. In my case, however, I decided to

ANNUAL REPORT 202211

cards and invoices. This combination has enabled aalso developing intellectual property strategies suchwithout being particularly conscious of them. Essentially,

they then face in processing them. Of course, factors

high accuracy rate of 99.9%, which cannot be achieved

as patent acquisitions. The technology and successful

our goal is not to be merely a convenience but

such as language and business customs differ amongusing currently available standalone optical character

experiences we gained through digitization havesomething that people find difficult to live without. We

countries, but our global expansion will begin by firstrecognition (OCR) technologies. Before we could

made it easier for us to consider digitization services

want people to say, “We couldnʼt work without Sansanʼstaking the approach of solving common, worldwide

establish this highly accurate method, we needed tofor documentation other than business cards. One ofservices.” That is what weʼre working toward.

problems.

digitize a vast number of business cards. Although thisour core competencies is our ability to consider andOver the next decade, we also want to establish aprocess was challenging, it provided an overwhelming

create ideal solutions and produce entirely new value,presence overseas. Although our overseas sales ratio

competitive advantage that could not be threatened

based on the assumption that we can digitize analog

is still low, we view our business model and strengths

even if a new competitor entered the market, while

documents.

as unique even in the global market. First, we will
expand Bill One to Singapore, Thailand, and other Asian
countries. Even overseas, there are many commonalities
in how companies receive invoices and the challenges

Medium- to Long-Term Growth Strategy
Using our core competencies and working withBill One has an established invoice network of about

our mission-driven colleagues, we have grown to

41,000 companies in May 2022. It also has the top*3

provide cloud-based solutions that promote digitalmarket share of the invoice receiving services market,

transformation and reshape how we work, linking

a market expected to grow at a high level. However,encounters between people and companies to businessits network still only covers about 2% of Japanese

opportunities. We have evolved into having a multi-

companies,*2 again leaving vast room for development.

product structure that provides solutions across theWe will also further expand our invoice network throughentire business flow, from sales to contracts andproduct enhancements, such as invoice issuing andinvoicing. Our solution-based services can be applied tocommunication functionality among the networkʼs

all companies, regardless of industry or business type.

participants.

Iʼm sure the accelerated shift to digital technologies inStrengthening our ESG focus whilechallenging ourselves to achievesustainable growth

In January 2022, we began offering Contract One,the wake of the pandemic is evident to everyone. I hopewhich centralizes management of contracts in all

to promote the use of various business data throughformats, both paper and electronic, to simultaneously

our services to revolutionize how companies andimprove operational efficiency and provide riskbusinesspeople work.

management. We intend to achieve significant growth

To Our Stakeholders

through such new businesses over the next two to threecard management services market. Weʼve had the top

After the Tokyo Stock Exchange market was restructured

grow. Responsibility for growing the business ultimately

years, while also accelerating the growth of the evolvedin April 2022, we were listed on the Prime Market. As

lies with me, so I am focused on creating a moreshare in the industry for nine consecutive years, but

forms of Sansan, Eight, and Bill One.

a publicly listed company with a global presence, we

productive work environment by engaging in dialogue

Sansan has an 83.1%*1 share of the corporate businessour user base is only about 3% of Japanʼs workforce.

From a longer-term perspective, in five to 10

need to be more proactive than ever in communicating

and communication with as many employees as I can.

Considering this market potential, we still have vast

years, our roadmap leads to our becoming business
infrastructure, as stated in our vision. In last yearʼs

our sustainable management and our environmental,

For governance, we have been working to increaseamounts of room for expansion. The improvements tosocial, and governance (ESG) focus to the public.

diversity, including the appointment of independent andour products will also help attract medium- and large-

annual report, I compared business infrastructure withIn June 2022, we identified five priority areas andfemale outside directors before and after our listing on

sized companies and improve unit prices.

roads. That is, people usually take them for granted

10 material issues (priority issues) that we needed to

the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Going forward as well, weprioritize in terms of both importance to our company

will continue to further strengthen and upgrade ourand society. We are now working to address issues

governance.

*2

across the ESG fields. I mentioned that our competitive
advantage is our approach of creating new value

Aiming to be vital business
infrastructure for companies andbusinesspeople
Sansan, Inc.

Every day, I manage our business with the desire toachieve dynamic growth. However, dynamic growthand our technology and operations, which our humandoesnʼt happen spontaneously. It requires that we

capital produces. We have made longstanding efforts

continuously challenge ourselves, without fearing

to strengthen our investment in human capital, such aschange, and that we achieve milestones for growth into

through training programs, but at the same time wethe future. This will result in our steadily realizing growth

believe human resources grow best when their working– not only continuous growth but also disruptive growth.

environments are themselves growing. For this reason,
continuous business growth is vital. As each of ourtalented employees grows, our overall business will also

12

*1 Latest Trends in Business Card Management Services in Sales Support DX 2022
December 2021, Seed Planning, Inc.
*2 The denominator, the total number of companies and employees in Japan, is calculated based on statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communicationsʼ2016 Economic Census for Business Activity Survey.
*3 Deloitte Tohmatsu MIC Research Institute Co., Ltd., “Cloud Invoice Receiving Services Market Expected to Grow at a Staggering Rate: Current and Future,” MIC IT
Report, July 2022 .

Chika Terada, Representative Director & CEO

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

13

Value Creation Model
We are committed to solving societal issues by investing management resources in a unique business model thatis supported by our mission, sustainability policy, and governance structure. Through the results of these efforts
and the value they provide to society at large, we aim to realize our vision and create a virtuous cycle that enables
continuous and sustainable value creation.

p.2 Corporate Philosophy

Corporate Philosophy

Missionp.64 Business Strategies by Segment

Turning encounters into innovation
p.16
Management Resources andthe Results We Deliver

p.16
Management Resources andthe Results We Deliver

Input

OutputManagement Resources

p.18 Business Model

Financial CapitalBusiness ModelSound Financial Structure

Social Issues
External
Environment

activities due to inefficient
information collection andmanagement and no datautilization
・Lost sales opportunities due tochanges in business practices
caused by COVID-19
・Addressing new tasks related
to changes in laws and newtax systems
・Analog workflows that hinder
the realization of diverse work
styles14

Sansan, Inc.

Financial Capital

Encounters

Social Capital

Increased Economic Value

Social Capital×

Recognition and Credibilityof Services

Expanding Value Provided
Through Services

Analog to Digital

Human Capital
Diverse, Talented Workforce

Intellectual Capital・Low productivity in sales

Results We Deliver

Human Capital
An Organization with a
Diverse Workforce

The cloud-based solutions that
promote digital transformation
and reshape how we work

Technology for Digitizing
Analog Information

Outcomes&
Impacts
Social Value
We Provide

VisionBecome business
infrastructureIntellectual Capital
Unrivaled Competitive
Advantages

Natural Capital
Conservation of Natural
Environment ThroughBusiness Activities

p.20 Value Provided
to Society

Natural CapitaleValue s P re m i s

Environmental Contributions

・Digital Transformation for All of Society
・Highly Productive Corporate Activities

Based on Innovation
・Safe and Secure Use of Data

・Diverse Talent Playing a Role in Society
・Transparent Corporate Management
・Low-Environmental-Impact SocietyManagement Structure
p.50

Governancep.32

Sustainability
Management

p.40

Information
Security

p.60

Risk Management

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

15

Management Resources and the Results We Deliver
Solving social issues is one of our key themes. To that end, we invest an array of capital in our business models,such as highly diverse and talented staff and technologies to digitize analog information, which are a source ofvalue creation. These efforts have produced many beneﬁts – expanding the value of our service offerings, making
us a leading SaaS organization in Japan, and providing a solid competitive advantage.

Input Management Resource
Financial CapitalManagement
Resources*1

Sound Financial Structure
Total assets: 26,292 million yen
Cash and deposits: 15,432 million yen
Shareholder capital: 11,832 million yen

To maximize sales growth, we are building a sturdy
financial structure suited to our current business phasethat requires agile and proactive investment to capture
growth opportunities. We are executing suitable
investment strategies while maintaining a stablebalance between business growth and financial
soundness.

Output Results We Deliver
Increased Economic ValueManagement
Resources*1

Net Sales: 20,420 million yen
Compound Annual Growth Rate for Net
Sales Over 5 Years: 33.4%
Gross Profit Margin: 87.7%

Increasing the Value Our Services
Social Capital

Recognition and Credibility of Services
Strong Brand Recognition of Sansan
Credibility of Our Services

Diverse, Talented Workforce
Human
CapitalIntellectual
CapitalNaturalCapital

Employees*1: 1,205
Employees in STEM divisions*2: 404
Ratio of Female Employees*3: 33.6%
Ratio of Non-Japanese Employees*3: 2.6%
Initiatives for Raising Security AwarenessTechnology for Digitizing Analog
Information
Digitization that Achieves 99.9% Accuracy
AI and Image Recognition Technology

Conservation of Natural Environment
through Business Activities
Total Energy Consumption*4: 14,193GJ
Water Withdrawn*5: 4,093m3“ Scan for Trees” Tree-planting Activities

Our ongoing TV advertising since 2013 has secured ahigh level of recognition for Sansan among B2B services
in Japan. Meanwhile, our servicesʼ operational
performance has earned us a high degree of trust fromthe companies using these services.

Human resources are vital for value creation. As a key
growth strategy, we are striving to strengthen our
recruitment of engineering and other highly diverse andtalented staff. Our services involve handling highly
confidential information; therefore, we promote efforts
to have all employees acquire certification in Protectionof Individual Information Person qualifications.

Our technology for rapidly digitizing analog information
at 99.9% accuracy is a shared strength of the services
that support our business model. We are further
improving our digitization structures by developing andrefining the AI and image recognition technologies they
are based on. We can then apply this strength to various
business fields, helping to further diversify our services.

Reducing our environmental impact is vital for achieving
stable economic development and sustainablecorporate growth. Under our sustainability policy, we
work to address issues such as climate change andefficient use of natural capital.

*1 Consolidated results for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2022 *2 Results for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2022 (calculated for engineering, R&D, and creator positions for regular employees
and contract employees of Sansan, Inc. and Sansan Global Pte. Ltd.) *3 Results for fiscal years ended in May (calculated for regular employees and contract employees of Sansan, Inc. andSansan Global Pte. Ltd.) *4 Calculated based on total consumption of electricity and gas (in gigajoules [GJ]) after using a calculation method based on the Energy Saving Act. *Gas
consumption is calculated via consumption per office area using actual consumption in offices where consumption can be determined. This figure is then multiplied by the total area of all

16

Sansan, Inc.

Social Capital

Total Subscriptions*6: approx. 12,000
Sansan has the Top Market Share *7
approx. 41,000 Companies Participating in
the Bill One Invoice Network
Bill One has the Top Market Share *8
Eight Users: 3.10 million

An Organization with a Diverse Workforce
Human
CapitalIntellectual
CapitalNaturalCapital

One of the Top SaaS Sales and Marketing
Staff in Japan*3: 479
Protection of Individual Information
Person qualifications: 900
Ratio of women in management
positions*3: 16.5%

Unrivaled Competitive Advantages
Rate of Automatic Digitization of
Analog Information
Patents: 9 (27 pending)

Environmental Contributions
Total Trees Planted: 11,759(as of September 2022)

Our consolidated net sales reached record highs owing
to solid growth from Sansan and high growth from Bill
One, resulting in a five-year average annual growth rateof 33.4%. Meanwhile, our gross profit margin reached ahigh of 87.7% owing to cost reductions achieved throughinnovations in business operations and related actions.

We provide digital transformation services that
reshapes how people work in a variety of fields, and as
a result of our efforts to enhance the functions of eachservices and expand sales, the number of total
subscriptions reached approx. 12,000. Both Sansan andBill One have acquired the top market share in Japan.

By continuously strengthening our recruitment andtraining of diverse staff members, we have built anorganization with a high level of expertise in SaaS sales
and marketing activities. Additionally, our efforts tocreate an environment and structure in which all
employees can play an active role have resulted in aratio of women in management positions of 16.5%.

Our efforts to research and develop the technologies
that support our digitization structures let us improve
our automation rates, achieving 99.9% accuracy throughtechnology alone. We are also engaged in research anddevelopment related to using a range of business data,
which has led to our acquisition of various patents thatenhance our servicesʼ competitive advantages.

We are working to enrich the natural environment, such as
forests and water, by planting trees in disaster-hit areas inJapan in line with the total number of business cards anddocuments digitized through Sansan, Bill One, andContract One.

offices where gas is available. *5 Calculated based on the amount of water used. Water used per employee is calculated using actual consumption at our head office, where usage statistics
are available. This figure is then multiplied by the total number of employees. *6 Total number of paid subscriptions for Sansan, Bill One, and Eight Team *7 Latest Trends in Business Card
Management Services in Sales Support DX 2022 (December 2021, Seed Planning, Inc. survey, in Japanese) *8 Deloitte Tohmatsu MIC Research Institute, “The Present and Future of theMarket of Online Invoice Receiving Solution Expected to Grow at a Staggering Rate” (MIC IT Report, July 2022)

ANNUAL REPORT 202217

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Business Model
Digitizing Technologies

Digital Transformation Business Model
still relies on analog, inefficient operations for manydifferent business situations. In light of this, we believe
our business model is highly versatile and can beapplied to various business fields. Since our companyʼsfounding, we have continued to refine the technologies
that we use for digitizing analog information, which arewhat make our business model possible. This processof refinement is a definite source of competitive
advantage for us.

Rapid and accurate digitization of large volumes of analog information

readily be applied to a wide range of fields.
Enabling analog to digital is a unique approachthat combines cloud software with technologies forthe above mentioned digitization. All our cloud-based
services are done with application of high-level security.
Our servicesʼ security and trustworthiness are essential
pillars for our business. Our technologies for quickly andaccurately digitizing analog information are anothercompetitive advantage across our services. Since
we began, we have faced this digitization challengehead-on, refining our technologies to achieve both
99.9% accuracy and speed when converting data.
Our namesake Sansan solution has grown to lead*1
the market for contact management services forcorporations. Bill One, launched in 2020, has also gained
top market share for cloud invoice receiving services*2.
These digitizing technologies are highly versatile andapplicable to other fields. Given that many social issues
in Japan arise from reliance on analog processes, ourbusiness model is highly sustainable.
*1 “Latest Trends in Business Card Management Services and Sales Services [SFA/
CRM/Online Business Card Exchange],” December 2020, Seed Planning, Inc.
*2 Deloitte Tohmatsu MIC Research Institute Co., Ltd., “Cloud Invoice Receiving
Services Market Expected to Grow at a Staggering Rate: Current and Future,” MIC IT
Report, July 2022

Large volumes of AI: Data entry Humans: Manual entry
analog information
Automatic and manual
data entry of images

Humans:Final check

Database

Cycle for many years since our foundation

Combination of technologies
Automatic detection andmicro-tasking of information

Automatic language
detection

Automatic sorting tooperators

Diverse network of data
entry operators

Image processing
technology

3. Classification

4. Segmentation

5. Data entry

Clusters of characterson the image are
identified andclassified into
categories such ascompany name,names, job title andmore.

To ensure security,
the images undergoa segmentation
process that renders
them unusable
as standalone
information.

Each segment is
automatically enteredusing machineprocessing. Data thatcannot be confirmed
by machine-based
automatic input isentered manually.

For Business Card
1. Scan ortake a photo

2. Imageprocessing

Using our scanner or
smartphone app, auser scans or takes aphoto of a businesscard. The captured
image is relayed toour data center.

The background iscorrected by image
processing technology
and whitening to
make the text more
visible and easier to
read.

Data

Sansan, Inc.

Digitizing Analog Information

Business Strategies by Segment

18

own. The structure of our operation is such that
we digitize large volumes of analog information
accurately, quickly, and at a low cost. This involves
boosting the ratio of automated digitization
through our own AI research within our researchand development (R&D) Department, while
creating a flow that efficiently integrates thepower of hundreds of thousands of humanoperators.

+

A Shared Business Model
We provide digital transformation solutions that turn
encounters between businesspeople and companies
into business opportunities and reshape how people
work. Specifically, we offer services in a wide rangeof areas, such as sales, billing, and contracting. These
services are all supported by a shared business modelthat is based on our mission of turning encounters into
innovation. Our services are all centered on businessrelated encounters between people and companies.
We also solve business-related issues by providing
analog-to-digital solutions that can digitize all kinds ofcorporate information, customer contact information,and documents and workflow generated in billingand contract work. Our solutions also promote theuse of the resulting data in the running of businesses,
helping companies and businesspeople improve theiroperational efficiency and boost their productivity. In
Japan, many companies still rely on inefficient analog
workflows based on paper. The widespread nature ofthis issue is evidenced by the fact that it has prompted
the Japanese government to establish the new Digital
Agency and the fact that various companies andorganizations are treating the promotion of digitaltransformation as an issue of the highest urgency.
In light of this situation, we believe that there is still
ample room to make further efficiency gains throughdigitization and that our versatile business model can

Our solutions digitize a wide variety of analog(i.e., paper-based) information, such as businesscards and invoices. We achieve this by combining
AI technology, which evolves through machinelearning etc., with manual input. Manual input isalways needed to supplement the accuracy, as it
is difficult for not only our proprietary technology,
but any widespread optical character recognition(OCR) systems to achieve 99.9% accuracy on its

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

We provide cloud-based solutions that promote
digital transformation and reshape how people work,and these services are all supported by a common
business model. The model is focused on businessencounters between businesspeople and companies.
A key characteristic of the model is its ability to solve
various business-related issues, such as improving
operational efficiency and boosting productivity,
through the digitization of analog information andthe promotion of the use of the resulting data. Japan

Achieving 99.9% Accurate Digitization

Structures and Technologies That Enable Highly Accurate Digitization“GEES” Digitization System
This is our unique operation systemthat securely, accurately, andefficiently digitizes large volumes ofbusiness cards.

AI and Image Recognition
Technology
We use various image recognition
technologies along with our
independently developed AI todigitize business cards at high speed
and with high accuracy.

NineOCR
Our proprietary OCR technology
digitizes email addresses with
99.7% or higher accuracy. We aredeveloping and researching it for
the application of all information on
business cards.

ANNUAL REPORT 202219

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Social Value Provided by Sansan
Use Case 2: Improved Operational Efficiency through Digital Transformation

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan

Sansan Use Case Studies
members of an organization. In terms of actual user
scenarios, companies are, for example, using Sansan
as a database for successfully strengthening their sales
activities and improving operational efficiency, as well
as for improving data quality and achieving excellent
results in marketing. The Sansan solution, which is
our founding business, continues to grow steadily andto produce myriad benefits for the companies that
implement it, such as improving business efficiency
and thereby enabling highly productive corporate
activities, as well as promoting digital transformation
by ensuring the safe and secure use of data.

Use Case 3: Improved Digital Marketing

The inability to share customer information
among departments and locations createdproblems for sales activities at this company.
Introducing Sansan enabled Mitsubishi Logistics
to successfully strengthen its sales efforts througha marketing strategy using Sansan as a database.
The company first considered introducing theservice as a tool to prevent sales conflicts, yetmany staff also requested introduction of sales
force automation (SFA) to enhance marketing.
Customer information thus needed to beorganized to maximize SFAʼs benefits. Mitsubishi
Logistics established a plan to approach this goalby first introducing Sansan to centrally manage
contact data throughout the company, thenintroduce customer relationship management(CRM) and SFA in stages. With Sansan, some sales
departmentsʼ secured business appointments

Data quality is a basic foundation of digitalmarketing, yet, as a company, NEC Solution
Innovators faced difficulties in this area. Sansan
enabled the company to efficiently increase its
data quality and achieve outstanding results
in its marketing. High-quality data is vital for
maximizing effectiveness when using various
cloud-based tools in a combined manner.
However, the company had problems with its
digital data such as omissions and inconsistentnaming. These issues meant considerable time
had to be spent on maintenance. The introductionof Sansan enabled automatic data quality
maintenance. The data cleansing process, atask that staff spent 400 to 500 hours on eachyear, is now completely automated. In addition,
processing data from business cards acquired
at trade shows used to require staff to perform

Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation

Sansan, Inc.

NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd.
analog data entry. Now, thanks to Sansan, thecompany has also automated this process. Also,using the serviceʼs ability to interoperate withTEIKOKU DATABANK improved the richness of thecompanyʼs lead information, greatly increasing its
accuracy in marketing approaches. Introducing
Sansan has led to an impressive 2.6-fold increasein deals generated from marketing.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

20

more than doubled thanks to more efficientsales activities. Marketingʼs use of the Bulk Emailfunction has also produced significant results,
including higher conversion and closing rates.
Moreover, Sansan has produced a common
understanding that business cards and contacts
are assets that should be utilized throughout thecompany. Digitizing business cards is now anestablished practice at the company.

Business Strategies by Segment

Use Case 1: Strengthening Sales and Marketing Capabilities

Virtual Cards function has enabled contact
networks to be produced by reliably identifying
other partiesʼ departments and job roles. These
outcomes previously could only be accurately
achieved through exchanging physical businesscards. As a result, the system has been wellreceived by users. Though it was limited to a few
departments when it was first introduced, it is now
being rolled out for all staff members.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Sansan is a service advancing sales digitaltransformation that enhances individual andorganizational sales abilities. Its concept is to serve as“the database to power your sales.” The introductionof Sansan enables companies to make use of a unique
database of more than one million accumulated
informational items on corporations and past pointsof contact with customers. With this database,companies can use the data for a range of businessactivities while maintaining a high level of security.
Sansan particularly focuses on functions that help
resolve sales- and marketing-related challenges, but
a broad range of industries and business sectors arein fact adopting it because it is designed for use by all

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
adopted Sansan as part of its efforts to embody
digital transformation – a movement it is also
recommending to various industries. In doingso, it has achieved successful improvements inoperational efficiency and performance. Before
introducing Sansan, business cards at METI weremanaged by individuals, leading to a lack of
information sharing and issues where multiple
staff members would approach the same
customers. With Sansan, interactions and contact
points between staff and customers could be
immediately identified through a simple search,greatly boosting the efficiency of these activities.
In divisions with frequent departmental changes,
using Sansan has enabled smooth transfer
of contacts and information. With increased
opportunities for online meetings, the serviceʼs21

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Social Value Provided by Bill One
Use Case 2: Productivity Improvements

dip Corporation

Bill One Use Case Studies
flows, which has in turn greatly improved overall
workflow. They have also used its fast and accurate
conversion of invoice information into data to improve
productivity Furthermore, Bill One has enabledcompanies to establish paperless systems that canaccommodate a greater variety of working styles.
Bill One has experienced rapid adoption by many
companies since its launch in 2020. Through Bill One,
we are contributing to the digital transformation oftasks related to invoicing, and to boosting the overall
efficiency and productivity of businesses. Bill One also
provides benefits such as helping to realize better cost
control through data utilization, and creating newsales opportunities.

Use Case 3: Realizing Diverse Working Styles

ASAHI FACILITIES INC.

22

Sansan, Inc.

TOEI ANIMATION CO., LTD.

time and person-hours. At the companyʼs Tokyo
head office alone, Bill One has reduced the timeneeded to sort and check 4,000 invoices from 20
hours to just 1 hour each month, which eliminatedovertime work required every month. Also, as BillOne is compliant with the revised Electronic Book
Storage Act, the company was able to smoothlycomply with these revisions without installing a
new system.

After invoicing was posing a barrier to enabling
remote work, Toei Animation made the decision
to introduce Bill One. The solution allowed
paperless invoicing and helped the company
in accommodating a diverse range of working
styles. Toeiʼs invoicing process previously required
staff to receive paper invoices, which supervising
staff had to approve and process before they
were forwarded to accounting staff for payment.
This analog process meant staff who hadreceived invoices had to come to the physicalworkplace to have them approved, and that wasa major hurdle in introducing remote work amid
the COVID-19 pandemic. Bill One enabled thisinvoicing work to be completed online, which
helped Toei Animation to launch remote work
companywide. While reducing risks associatedwith the loss of paper invoices, the ability to checkthe status of invoices online has also allowed
better collaboration among staff through theserviceʼs notification function. This function has
also helped in identifying processing bottlenecks
and has led to other efficiency improvements.
Additionally, centralized management througha highly searchable database enabled thecompany to smoothly handle audits.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

Asahi Facilities faced significant challenges whenprocessing invoices across its multiple locations
due to the nature of the building managementbusiness, which meant 90% of its received invoices
were on paper. Introducing Bill One helped thecompany to substantially improve its invoicing
flow. Paper invoices had been received at
approximately 100 of its offices throughout Japan,
which are accordingly sent to the companyʼs
27 centers, then consolidated at each branch
office before final delivery to accounting staff.
This process required an extremely long leadtime. Additionally, collecting these paper invoices
through mailing consumed time and cost, andcaused problem of not being able to immediately
locate where the invoices were delivered to. BillOne enabled all the payment processes to becompleted online, significantly reducing leadBusiness Strategies by Segment

Use Case 1: Improved Operational Efficiency

Bill Oneʼs ability to receive invoices on behalf ofthe company and automatically save data also
reduced the need for staff to respond to individual
e-mails and to save invoices. These improvements
helped decreased overtime in the accounting
department. Productivity also improved because
the time saved from increased efficiency could be
used to develop new accounting strategies.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Bill One is an online invoice receiving solution thathelps speed up managerial decision-making. It isbased on the concept of “Receive, digitize & centralize
your invoices. Fast monthly closing.” The solution
eliminates the need to process paper invoices, allowing
all invoice receipt and issuance to be done online. It
also offers centralized management through a highly
searchable database, which enables invoice data to
be used for a range of purposes. In addition, Bill One iscompliant with laws such as the Electric Book Storage
Act, enabling companies to comply with changes in
the law without significant burden. In terms of actualuser applications, companies have, for example, used
Bill One to improve the efficiency of invoice receipt

After facing challenges with its conventional styleof analog invoice processing, dip Corporation
boosted its efficiency by introducing Bill One.
With the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold, using
Bill One enabled the company to convert over
90% of its invoices from physical documents toelectronic ones, such as PDFs sent by email. PDFs,
however, were being provided as image data,so the invoices still had to be visually checkedagainst purchase information. Also, while themonthly closing needs to be handled in a very
short amount of time, nearly 1,000 emails sent
to the accounting staff each month needed
replying to, and at the same time the PDFs also
had to be renamed and stored in a prompt andaccurate fashion. Introducing Bill One led to more
efficient reconciliation, as the service promptly
and accurately digitizes necessary information.

23

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

DX for B2B

Aiming for Sales and Profit Growth

On Value Creation

Medium-Term Management Policy

DX for B2C

Administrative DX

Sales DX

Contract DX

Accounting DX

Career DX

Businesscardcreation

Sales

Contract

RequestCareermanagement

We have set medium-term financial targets that are
aimed at increasing shareholder and corporate value
for the period from the fiscal year ending May 2023
to the fiscal year ending May 2025. These targets are
based on our current business phases and the scalesof investment required for attaining sales growth.
In order to achieve the targets, for each business,
we will promote growth strategies and a range ofmanagement strategies that strengthen their common
foundation.

Users can immediately
find information theyneed

Information is easy to
manage and can beshared immediately

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Work styles that will change with use of business databases
Easy to analyze and utilize
information and makedecisions based on data

Our Technical Organization ̶ Past and Present

Improved profit margins at each fiscal year end

Recruiting and Training Talented Human Resources and Ensuring Diversity

Our medium-term goal for the period from the fiscal
year ending May 2023 to the fiscal year ending May
2025 is to achieve sales and profit growth. For the mostcritical management indicator, consolidated net sales,
we aim to first maintain solid growth in the 20% range
or higher. Second, we have adopted adjusted operating
profit,*1 which excludes share-based payment expenses
and expenses arising from business combination, as
a key profit indicator. We aim to improve our adjusted
operating profit margins each consolidated fiscal year

1

Adjusted
Consolidated
Operating Profit*1 Operating Profit + Share-based Payment Expenses + Expenses Arising from
Business Combinations (amortization of goodwill and amortization of intangible
assets)*2 Excluding “Others” such as new services in Sansan/Bill One Business segment

Sansan/Bill One Business

Eight BusinessOver 10 billion yen in total adjusted operating
profit from Sansan and Bill One in the fiscal
year ending May 2025 (excluding “Others” such

Stable adjusted operating profit for theentire year

as new services in the same segments)

To achieve sustainable growth, it is crucial that wehire many talented professionals with diverse careerbackgrounds, and improve our sales, development, andmanagerial structures. We will create environments and*3 Based on Market Edition and Vendor Strategy Edition of 2022 Outlook of theDigital Transformation Market by Fuji Chimera Research Institute*4 Based on 2022 New Software Business Markets by Fuji Chimera Research Institute*5 Latest Trends in Business Card Management Services in Sales Support DX 2022
(December 2021, Seed Planning, Inc. survey, in Japanese)*6 The denominator, the total number of companies and employees in Japan,
is calculated based on statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunicationsʼ 2016 Economic Census for Business Activity Survey.

systems in which talented human resources who are intune with our philosophy and business can work withhigh levels of motivation. We will also work to ensure
diversity among our human resources.

Data

2

Consolidated
Net Sales

while making the necessary investments for sales growthin each business segment. To improve profitability, we
are aiming at adjusted operating profit of 10 billion
yen or more combined for Sansan and Bill One*2 in thefiscal year ending May 31, 2025, and a stable adjusted
operating profit for the full period for Eight.

companies that invoice them, but as of May 31, 2022,
this was only 41,000 companies, about 2%*6 of the total in
Japan. Both therefore have ample room for expansion.
Sansan and Bill Oneʼs monthly- subscription-based
billing models are very attractive. They are expected togenerate ongoing revenue with stable and continuous
growth, each has a monthly churn rate averaging below
1.0% over the last 12 months, and they let us maximize
customer lifetime value by increasing sales per contract.

Business Strategies by Segment

Continue solid growth in the 20% range or higher

Greater remote work, digital transformation, andinterest in SaaS continue to expand our market. The
digital transformation and domestic SaaS markets
are expected to reach 5,195.7 billion yen by 2030 (anincrease of 3,813.6 billion yen since 2020),*3 and 1,668.1
billion yen by 2026 (an increase of 579.0 billion yen since2022),*4 respectively.
Analog/paper business cards, invoices, and contracts
are still used daily, leaving significant room for greater
operational efficiency and more effective utilization.
All our services have substantial market potential. For
example, Sansan has an 83.1%*5 share of the market forcontact management services for corporations, but only
about 3%*6 of Japanʼs total working population as users.
Meanwhile, Bill One has built an invoice network among
subscribing companies, including free subscribers, andKey Management Indicators and Medium-Term Targets

Continued Strengthening of Management System for Security Risks

Management Strategy
We are developing digital transformation services that
reshape how people work, linking encounters between
people and companies with business opportunities.
We established a multi-product structure from theperspective of a companyʼs business flow, encompassing
areas that range from recruitment to sales, contracts,
and billing. There is a vast potential market offering

24

Sansan, Inc.

major business opportunities. Accordingly, we
are actively hiring talented human resources andstrengthening our technological capabilities with theaim of getting our revolutionary digital transformation
service widely recognized as a form of business
infrastructure and realizing sustainable growth.

Handling large amounts of personal and other important
information assets, we emphasizes continuously
enhancing its information management systems.
Having formulated personal information protection

and information security policies, we closely monitor
personal information protection measures, such as strict
management of information assets, and will continue toenhance and improve internal systems and management.

Enhancing Technological Strengths
As accurate digitization technology drives ourcompetitiveness and is the common foundation for ourservicesʼ growth, we must improve and strengthen it

constantly. We will hire talented engineers, and invest in
and monitor advanced technologies to improve ourtechnological abilities and build a top team of engineers.

ANNUAL REPORT 202225

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Financial/Non-Financial Highlights
Financial Results*1

Non-Financial Results

20,42016,184
13,362Gross Profit

GHG Emissions*4

Employee Gender Ratio*5(millions of yen)
■ Gross Profit● Gross Profit Margin (%)(t-CO 2 )■ Scope 1■ Scope 2 (market-based)(%)

17,904
14,192
11,541

10,206

8,608

7,324

5,888

84.3

86.4

371

87.7

87.7

80.4
2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Adjusted Operating Profit*2

Profit Attributable to Owners of Parent(millions of yen)
■ Adjusted Operating Profit● Adjusted Operating Profit
Margin (%)(millions of yen)
757

785

730

5.7

4.9

3.6

339

857

182

2021

(yen)
2.75

2022

2018

2019

2020

2022

1.47

6.87

(millions of yen)
■ Total Assets■ Net Assets

24,31022,819

5,299

(%)
85.5

14.5

16.5

2021

2022

71.4

23.5

28.6

2021

2022

2018

2019

2020

(%)

(%)
Male
Female68.8

12,093
31.2

2021

66.0
34.0

2022

2021

2022

Percentage of Employees with Disabilities*6(millions of yen)
■ Cash Flows from Operating Activities 11,563■ Cash Flows from Investing Activities■ Cash Flows from Financing Activities(%)

100.8996.78

114.603,826
1,072-1,609-679-160.42-77.87
2020

2021

2022

2018

3,132 2,822-2,282

2019-7,1892020

2022

Ratio of Non-Japanese Employees*5

Cash Flow
84.72

2021

Mid-Career Hire Gender Ratio*5

(yen)

3.0

2.6

2021

2022

Childcare Leave Utilization Rate *7
100.0
100.0

(%)

Male
Female

3,011

61.8

3,123
909

-551
-2,902-1,0142021

2022*1 Consolidated results for fiscal years ended in May *2 Operating Profit + Share-Based Payment Expenses + Expenses Arising from Business Combinations (amortization of
Goodwill and amortization of Intangible Assets) *3 Since a 4-for-1 share split of common shares was conducted on December 1, 2021, calculations are based on the assumptionthat the share split was conducted at the beginning of the fiscal year ended May 2018. *4 Scope 1 is calculated by aggregating GHG emissions relating to the gas consumptionin each office. After calculating the consumption per office area using the actual results in some offices where the consumption can be ascertained, gas consumption is

Sansan, Inc.

76.5

Data

2020

26,292

BPS*3

2019

Male
Female

83.5

3,372

1,312

-42.11

2018

2022

(%)

2022

12,584

10,552

9,079

28.65

2021

New Graduate Hire Gender Ratio*5

Male
Female2021-10.10

26

2021

33.6

-945

Total Assets/Net Assets

2019

187

34.2

Business Strategies by Segment

2020

EPS*3

2018

154

66.4

-3,085-3,061
2019

480

65.8

Manager Gender Ratio*5

-849

2018

Male
FemaleBusiness Strategies to Increase Corporate ValueNet Sales(millions of yen)

1.6
2021

2.4
2022

39.3

2021

2022

calculated by multiplying this value by the total area of all offices where gas can be used. Scope 2 is calculated by aggregating GHG emissions relating to the electricity
consumption in each office. *5 Results for fiscal years ended in May (regular employees and contract employees of Sansan, Inc. and Sansan Global Pte. Ltd.) *6 Results forfiscal years ended in March (regular employees and contract employees and part-timers of Sansan, Inc.), once the necessary changes have been made, calculated on thefiscal year ended in March (April to March of the following year) *7 Results for fiscal years ended in May (regular employees of Sansan, Inc.)ANNUAL REPORT 202227

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

now done exactly that on a per-month and quarterlymarket needs, offering clients products with discernible

basis. In the current phase, we aim to return to full-year

value and stimulating latent needs. We therefore

profitability. The way to make an impact is to exceed

conservatively assume it will take some time for themarket expectations. For this reason, we must continue

market to understand our productʼs value. We are also

to take measures to maintain high sales growth overclosely monitoring impacts on our business caused

the medium- to long-term. We need to advance evenby macro-trends such as the pandemic outlook andmore quickly with our next measures and create new

economic conditions.

On Value Creation

CFO Message

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Valuebusinesses that follow on from Bill One.
Consolidated Financial Forecasts for FY2022(millions of yen)

Overview of Consolidated Financial Results for FY2021(millions of yen)
FY2020
FY2021
Full-year Results Full-year Results

857 +369.7%
6.87 yen +368.8%

16,184
14,605
1,582

−

-3
736
5,278
-754

−

-3,787

20,42018,105
2,213
126
-25
631
5,725
-386
-28
-4,678YoY+26.2%+24.0%+39.9%−−-14.2%
+8.5%

−
−
−

Adjusted Operating
Profit Margin

3.7%

3.6%

~5.0%

+0.1pt.

~+1.4pt.

*2 We do not disclose specific forecast figures for operating profit (loss) and below
as it is difficult to make a reasonable estimate of expenses related to stock-based
compensation, which may vary significantly depending on the level of our stock
price, and certain non-operating profit (loss) and other items.
*3 Operating Profit + Share-Based Payment Expenses + Expenses Arising from
Business Combinations (amortization of Goodwill and amortization of Intangible
Assets)Business Strategies by Segment

Consolidated
Sansan/Bill One Business
Eight Business
OthersAdjustments
Consolidated
Sansan/Bill One Business
Eight Business
OthersAdjustments

FY2020
FY2021
Full-year Results Full-year Results

Consolidated
Forecasts

182
1.47 yen(millions of yen)

Operating
ProfitMuneyuki Hashimoto

YoY

20,420 +26.2%
17,904 +26.2%
87.7%
631 -14.2%
3.1% -1.5pt.
968 +158.3%

Results by Segment for FY2021

Net Sales

Director, Executive Officer, CFO, Managing Executive (Corporate Division)

Consolidated Results

Seizing business opportunities andrealizing growth in sales and profits

16,184
14,192
87.7%
736
4.6%
375

Net Sales
Gross Profit
Gross Profit Margin
Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin
OrdinaryProfit
Profit Attributable to
Owners of Parent
EPS*1

FY2021
FY2022*2
YoY
Full-year Results Full-year Results
25,117+23%
20,420Sales~25,764~+26%
21,998+21.5%
Sansan/Bill One Business
18,105~22,632 ~+25.0%
2,900+31.0%
EightBusiness
2,213~3,010 ~+36.0%
917+25.5%
Adjusted Operating Profit*3
730~1,288 ~+76.3%

Medium-Term Financial Goals
We are still in the first stage of our growth as acompany, so it is vital to continue growing our net sales.
From the fiscal year ending May 2023 to that ending
May 2025, we aim to maintain a solid sales growth rate

*1 As the Company conducted a four-for-one common stock split effective
December 1, 2021, the EPS were calculated on the assumption that the stock split
was conducted at the beginning of the fiscal year ended May 31, 2021.

in the 20% range or higher. We will execute investmentsin the necessary areas to achieve this growth over the
medium-term.

exchanged. It was a challenging year for Sansan, but

For the fiscal year ended May 2022, our consolidated

increasing. Meanwhile, Bill One grew more rapidly thanFor the fiscal year ending May 2023, we expect salesraising brand recognition and increasing user numbers

net sales increased 26.2% year on year, to 20,420 million

we expected. We acquired more new contracts withto increase 23.0%, to 26.2%, owing to improvements toaggressively. These are necessary investments thatyen. However, our operating profit was 631 million yen,medium- and large-sized companies than we foresaw

Sansan and Eight, as well as Bill Oneʼs high growth. We

will contribute to growing our net sales. We have nodown 14.2%, because of intensified hiring efforts, partat the start of the year. By flexibly shifting internal

also expect that adjusted operating profit, which we set

intention of changing our policy of allocating maximumof our growth strategy. Ordinary profit and net income

resources from Sansan to Bill One at the time when theas a key management indicator from the prior period,

budget to these investments. However, while investing

attributable to owners of the parent company increased

unit price per customer started to increase, we achieved

will increase from 25.5% to 76.3%. We expect increasedin this growth, we are also seeking to improve oursignificantly owing to gains on sales of investment

an approximately sixfold increase in monthly recurring

selling, general, and administrative expenses as we

adjusted operating profit rates each fiscal year, aiming

securities and other factors.

we remain optimistic, as orders are steady and sales are

Outlook for Fiscal 2022

To date, our growth strategy has involved personnel
recruitment, as well as advertising initiatives aimed atrevenue compared with the same period last year. Ourcontinue to execute investments for growth. However,to achieve both solid sales growth and stable profit

Sales and operating profit were generally in line

annual recurring revenue also reached 1.39 billion yen,

we also expect increased profits, owing to our steady

growth. We recognize we have already established awith our plans, and the results were near the medianfar exceeding our initial target of 1 billion yen. Bill One

sales growth.

solid revenue base that can generate profits even ifof the guidance we announced at the periodʼs outset.

was only launched two years ago but has continued to

For this guidance, we have once again disclosed a

we continue to make the necessary investments. This

Reflecting on the fiscal year ended May 2022, asteadily expand, reaffirming our ability to launch SaaS-

range of projections. If customers accept Sansan, which

medium-term financial goal also demonstrates our

prolonged state of emergency was in effect in Japan,

based businesses. For Eight, we indicated at the time ofhas evolved into a sales DX solution, more quickly thanstrong determination to maintain profit growth rates

which limited business activities and negatively

our listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange that we would

expected, we anticipate upside in our performance.

even as we continue to invest.

impacted the number of usersʼ business cards

eventually achieve a return to profitability. We have

Our strength lies in our ability to remain a step ahead of

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

28

Review of Fiscal 202129

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Datareturning profits to shareholders, though we areneed to grow, we are making a concerted effort to focus

individual investors to take an interest in our company,

currently in a growth phase. We therefore believe that

our financial resources on necessary investments while

so we strive to disclose information that is easy to

As part of our growth investments, besides advertising

the greatest return to our shareholders will be achieved

holding back where we can, even if we have finances tounderstand. In December 2021, we implemented a shareand recruitment activities, we also consider M&A andby further strengthening our financial position, increasing

spare.

split, which lowered the price per unit of investment andminority investments whenever the opportunities arise.

internal reserves for business expansion, and ensuring

When communicating with our shareholders andIn terms of fundraising, as of the end of May 2022, we

solid results. This is why we have decided not to pay a

investors, we are always mindful of the importance of

had approximately 15 billion yen in cash on hand anddividend at this point. However, we will consider doing

engaging in sincere dialogue. The market determines

companies in Japan. Our most significant advantage overhave the funds required to operate our business. We

so over the medium- to long-term.

a companyʼs evaluation, and there are times whenother SaaS companies is our five assets of data (contact

people expect more from us than we can deliver, orand invoice databases), technologies (for digitization),

Non-Financial Information for Emphasis

we are not well understood. We hold around 100 IR

products, sales, and brands. The SaaS space is filled withmeetings each quarter and strive to maintain down-to-business opportunities. Moving forward, we will continue

will flexibly determine the most appropriate method for

Although it is not readily apparent from our financial

earth communication at all times. We regularly reportto combine these five assets to make the most of businessprocuring the required amount, choosing from various

statements, we closely monitor order value and churnthe valuable opinions in these meetings to our Board ofopportunities and achieve vigorous growth.

financing methods, including borrowing from financial

rate as important indicators. The value of orders

Directors for managerial decision-making, and we shareinstitutions and equity financing.

received is an indicator directly linked to subsequent

them with the companyʼs business side.

efficiency standpoint. However, when funding is neededfor M&A, etc., in addition to using our own funds, we

trends in our net sales. Churn rate indicates how
consistently our services are used, so it is vital tocareful assessment of various scenarios. Specifically,

maintain a low level. In the fiscal year ended May

focusing on the medium- to long-term, the team2022, Sansanʼs monthly churn rate averaged 0.62%*1

examines qualitative aspects, such as how theover the prior 12 months, maintaining a low level below

target company will contribute to our business, and

1%. From this same year, we began disclosing thequantitative aspects, such as the impact on our financial

average monthly churn rate for Bill One, which also

statements if the company were to become part ofmaintained a low level of 0.49%.*1 Our maintaining a

our group. While the scale of the target and the size

low churn rate indicates our services are becomingof our balance sheet may provide insight into what

an important business infrastructure for our users.

we can and cannot do, when we consider adding a

For individual services such as contact managementcompany to our group, we pay particular attention toand online receipt of invoices, some competitors offer

our future direction and that of the target company.

services at lower prices. However, we believe that ourThatʼs because it is important that the addition helps toservices, which autonomously accumulate data, offers aform a coherent narrative. There are times when, evencompetitive advantage, whereby the longer customers

if the M&A does not produce immediate synergies, it isuse the services, the greater the value of their data. This

still an investment in future potential. Assuming a target

increases customer satisfaction and makes customers

meets these conditions, we then decide whether toless likely to cancel their subscriptions.

Muneyuki Hashimoto, Director, Executive Officer, CFO,Managing Executive (Corporate Division)

As well as institutional investors, we also want

Our Participation in logmi, Inc.

Emphasizing Dialogue with Stakeholders

logmi, Inc. was established in August 2013. Its
primary service involves operating media sources todeliver information that initially only offered limitedaccess to broader audiences. This service is enabledby transcribing and recording the entirety of
performances, discussions, financial results briefings,
etc., as text. It has 3 million monthly users for the
media sources provided, high brand recognitionand power, and a unique business model. We
made logmi part of our group in August 2020,
aiming to further increase the value of both ourcompaniesʼ services due to logmiʼs latent potential
and the expectation of producing synergistic
effects between our businesses. Since then, we
have been working on expanding the companyʼsbusiness performance further and increasing thebusiness alliance with Unipos Inc., hoping to make it a

After graduating from college, I worked at a foreign

The logmi Series Event Transcription Services

group company in the future. After executing an M&A

financial institution before joining our company indecision, we maintain a close relationship throughNovember 2017. As we grow, I find it rewarding to be

the dispatch of executives, and business alliances

entrusted with important duties in my area of expertise.

and collaborations. We also promote measures thatAt the same time, I recognize the role and importance

help make the target company more efficient, such asof our financial functions and the weight of my roleʼspartially integrating back-office operations.

responsibility. As CFO, I am constantly aware of the need

The logmi Series consists of three services, logmi
Biz, Finance, and Tech, that transcribe and log
excellent speeches, dialogs, press conferences,
etc., in full, delivering valuable event information
to a broader audience. Their accuratetranscription helps corporate users deliver
event content to those who are unavailable toattend or uninterested in watching archived
videos. logmi Biz provides IT, innovation, andinvest based on comprehensive assessment of factors*1 Ratio of decrease in monthly fees associated with contract cancellations to totalmonthly fees from existing subscriptions for each service

management team and organizational structure.
In August 2020, logmi, Inc. became one of our groupcompanies. In May 2021, we entered into a capital andReturns for Shareholders
We are aware of the importance of appropriately

Sansan, Inc.

to keep finances from delaying business growth, and tomaintain a base that enables appropriate risk-taking.

value of our collaborative services. Specifically, weare strengthening logmiʼs management base bydispatching management personnel and supporting
its management operations while also providing
growth capital. At the same time, we are developing
new services and strengthening existing ones by
sharing our technical capabilities and knowledge.
We are also working to develop products that tie
in with the various business event and advertising
services we offer through Eight Business.

Data

that also include the acquisition price, and the targetʼs

30

We are proud to be one of the largest SaaS

Business Strategies by Segment

For M&A and investment, our Investment Strategy
Team is central in advancing each project based on

improved our sharesʼ liquidity.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

intend to maintain a sound balance sheet from a capital

On Value Creation

Investing in Growth and Fundraising

entrepreneurship-related event information
to highly information-sensitive businessleaders. logmi Finance provides information
on financial results briefings aimed at analysts
and institutional investors to a broader range ofstakeholders, particularly individual investors.
logmi Tech provides information on everythingfrom the latest technologies to engineering skills
and career development.

To ensure that financial constraints, such as a lack offunds, donʼt prevent us from making the investments we

ANNUAL REPORT 202231

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Datafactors in our sustainability initiatives, such as thebusiness environment, our management performance,and our business stage. We then promote these
initiatives in collaboration and cooperation with all
stakeholders.

Material Issues (Priority issues)

Area (5)Conserving the Environment Through BusinessWe will promote the conservation of the environment by addressing climate change issues through ourbusiness activities, including promoting DX, supporting paperless work, and introducing environmentallyfriendly services.
Materialities
9. Address climate change issues
10. Use natural capital efficiently

Materiality Map
9Importance to Society

We believe that contributing to resolving social issues
through our business activities will contribute tobuilding a sustainable society, which in turn will leadto our sustainable growth and increase our corporate
value. Based on this belief, we consider a variety ofArea (4)

Establishing a Firm Management Structure to Support Rapid Business GrowthTo support our growth under a multi-product structure, we will reinforce our management structure bystrengthening corporate governance and ensuring compliance.
Materialities
7. Strengthen corporate governance
8. Ensure complianceBusiness Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Realizing a Sustainable Society andBusiness Growth

On Value Creation

Sustainability Management

Address climate change issues

1 Provide safe and stable infrastructure services

Promote recruitment,

5 development, and success

10 Use natural capital efficientlyof human resources

3

6 Promote diversity and inclusion
7 Strengthen corporate governance
8 Ensure compliance

Promote DX services that
improve productivity

2

Ensure robust protection of data
privacy and information security

4 Create innovative business infrastructure

Importance to Our Company

resolve these issues through our core business, thereby
contributing to achieving the United Nations SDGs and,
consequently, to building a sustainable society.

Process for Identifying Material Issues
Process for Identifying Materialities ー 1
Selection of Materiality Candidates

We have selected materialities of high relevanceby referring to the Sustainability AccountingStandards Board (SASB) guidelines and theSDGs, as well as through dialog and discussion
between our board members and institutional
investors.

Process for Identifying Materialities ー 2

Process for Identifying Materialities ー 3

Assessing the Importance of Materialities

Discussions and Decisions by the Board of
Directors

Our directors assessed each of the materialities
selected through process (1) along two axes: importance to society (stakeholders) for achieving
sustainability, and importance to our company
for achieving our vision and business growth.

The Board of Directors discussed and deliberated the results of the evaluation in process (2)and identified 10 materialities organized into
five areas.

Area (1)Balancing Security and Convenience
Besides convenience, we are also implementing measures to ensure our employees maintain data
privacy and information security, thereby providing a highly safe and stable service to society.
Materialities
1. Provide safe and stable infrastructure services
2. Ensure robust protection of data privacy and information security

Area (2)Transforming Work through Innovative DX Services
To become business infrastructure, we will leverage our strengths in data conversion to develop andprovide innovative DX services that significantly improve social and economic productivity.
Materialities
3. Promote DX services that improve productivity
4. Create innovative business infrastructure

Area (3)32

Sansan, Inc.

Respecting Employee Diversity and Producing Innovation
To produce innovation that helps solve business challenges through the power of encounters, we promote
the creation and provision of opportunities and environments for our diverse workforce to enjoy success.
Materialities
5. Promote the recruitment, development, and success of human resources
6. Promote diversity and inclusion

We believe engaging with stakeholders to understandtheir expectations, concerns, and needs, and reflecting
these in our management and activities is needed for
Stakeholders

sustainable growth and enhanced corporate value.
Thatʼs why we actively build trust and collaboration withthem, such as providing safe and secure services.

Outline of Initiatives

Examples of Major Initiatives

Customers

We strive to provide our customers with stable,safe, and reliable services, and to continuously
provide new value that helps resolve their issues.

• Provide regular support through the Customer Success
Department• Establish a contact point for service inquiries• Disseminate information through websites, social media, etc.
• Hold various events and seminars

Shareholders
and Investors

To meet our shareholdersʼ expectations, we arecommitted to accurate and fair disclosure of
information and proactively creating opportunities
for interactive dialogs.

• Share information through Shareholdersʼ meetings, financial
results announcements, timely disclosure, etc.
• Hold various briefings for institutional and individual investors• Issue annual reports• Establish a contact point for IR inquiries

Business Partners

We work to provide safe and secure services
by establishing appropriate collaborative
relationships and information management
systems with our vendors and partners under fairand equitable terms.

• Communicate regularly through purchasing activities• Ensure thorough compliance and risk checks• Establish business rules for purchases, etc.
• Manage contractor safety

Employees

To realize our mission and vision, we strive tocreate opportunities and environments in which
our diverse workforce can thrive.

• Provide all employees with opportunities to discuss and revise
our corporate philosophy• Conduct engagement surveys• Establish various internal systems and consultation services• Conduct training and seminars

Local
Communities
and NPOs

Based on the concept of what we can do now for
the future, as a member of local communities, wework to solve social issues and create common
value through our core business.

• Sansan for NPOs
• Kodomo Meishi Project• Supporting the Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design,
Technology, and Entrepreneurship• Yoiko for CSR

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

Materiality Content

Stakeholder Engagement

Business Strategies by Segment

In June 2022, our Board of Directors identified
key material issues (priority issues) relating to theenvironment, society, and governance. We will strive to33

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_DataSpecial Feature

we will design and realize value while looking ahead to

What is Sustainability in
Corporate Management?

A Dialogue Between CEOs

In recent years, different stakeholders have raised expectations toward, and taken greater interest in, how companies contribute to sustainability in society. Since its establishment, Sansan and MEDIA DO Co., Ltd. have beenworking to create value through their respective business activities to resolve social issues. The two companiesʼ
CEOs discussed how they are incorporating sustainability into corporate management and tackling this issue
through their businesses.

the future.

Chika Terada: The first step toward achieving
sustainability is helping to resolve social issues throughour core businesses. Our services are in fact designed tosolve social issues by supporting corporate activities andimproving productivity through digital transformation.
Fundamentally speaking, I donʼt think itʼs possible toestablish a viable business except by meeting societyʼsneeds and being compensated for doing so. Thatʼs why
I donʼt think we need to distinguish between businessand social contribution. Instead, itʼs natural to build a
relationship with society through our business activities
or other closely related activities. Our Scan for Trees*1

initiative is an example. Users now consider it a naturalpart of our services. Iʼm always conscious of going a
bit beyond our business activities and, as an extensionof them, giving back to and contributing to society. Bybuilding on these efforts, we can convey the significance

What Opportunities Exist for Solving
Social Issues in the Context of Corporate
Responsibility and Risk Management?
Terada: The levels of compliance and governanceBusiness Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

A more prosperous and sustainable society
through sustainable business activities

On Value Creation

Sustainability Management

required by companies constantly fluctuate. They
depend on factors such as global capital markets,
societal conditions, and the companyʼs business phase.
If we donʼt stay aware of these fluctuations, risks may
start to materialize in various places. We need to tackle
this issue from the dual perspectives of our responsibility
to meet societal needs and risk management. Overthe past year, weʼve been formulating a sustainability
policy, identifying material issues, and considering
response strategies to disseminate and implement oursustainability initiatives in a reproducible way. A material
issue weʼve identified is strengthening our corporateof our companyʼs existence in a sustainability context.

governance and ensuring compliance. Setting this*1 An initiative in which Sansan plants trees in areas of need every time the total
number of documents digitized through the companyʼs services equals the paper
produced from a single tree.

accelerate our business initiatives.

as an example for our stakeholders will let us further
Business Strategies by Segment

Fujita: I felt a significant change in our management

Chika Terada

Chika began his career with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. After moving to
the IT Marketing Division, he relocated to Silicon Valley to workwith local venture companies to develop their Japan-focusedbusinesses. After returning to Japan, Chika launched an internal
venture and worked for an affiliated company, after which hefounded Sansan, Inc. in 2007.

34

Sansan, Inc.

MEDIA DO Co., Ltd.
President and CEO

Yasushi Fujita

In 1999, he established MEDIA DO Co., Ltd. Corporationand serves as its CEO and President. In 2020, Fujita
established TOKUSHIMA INNOVATION BASE ASSOCIATION
to support entrepreneurs, becoming its representative
director. He is also focused on various regional
development projects.

teamʼs and our employeesʼ understanding of the

management is sustainable. Our ability to do thatimportance of environmental, social, and governancerelates to how much our presence is needed by society(ESG) factors before and after our stock market listing.

in an ongoing manner. As you said, society will inevitably

Going public not only means a company has a greater

weed out the values, businesses, and schemes it doesnʼtresponsibility as a public institution, but also that itneed. Itʼs therefore vital to constantly pursue andneeds to place greater importance on growing its

express the kinds of business models that society wants.

business through sales and profits, because it now has

Our shareholders and investors are of course investing

more stakeholders. I believe our employees understandin our company itself, but theyʼre also investing in thethis in a positive way. However, by only emphasizing themanagement team and visionaries entrusted withoffensive aspects and not the defensive aspects of ourhandling the company. Our sustainability initiatives

business, no matter how well our business is doing, we

demonstrate our ability to create ideas that produce

may end up negatively impacting society. Growth is avalue based on our connections with society. For

balance of positives and negatives, so we need to deliver

example, TOKUSHIMA INNOVATION BASE ASSOCIATION

more positive outcomes through activities that involve(TIB) is an association that supports entrepreneurs. Itʼsfrontline employees. We can do so from many different

in a different field from our core business, and weʼre notperspectives, including issuing integrated reports,

investing much money in it. Nevertheless, TIBʼs activities

adopting the principles of Japanʼs Corporate Governanceto create and nurture entrepreneurs have spread,

Code, and changing our prior Risk Management

and it now has several hundred participants in Japan.

Committee to form the Sustainability Committee.

What can we achieve with these participants? We may,for example, produce a framework that, if accepted,
becomes the kind of movement that changes society.
This initiative doesnʼt just build a track record throughpast financial statements, but also demonstrates how

Data

Sansan, Inc.
Representative Director & CEO

Yasushi Fujita: We must ensure that our corporate

Shared Denominators and Values in
Human Resource Development
Fujita: One thing thatʼs certain is that Japanʼs working

ANNUAL REPORT 202235

01_On Value Creation

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

A Dialogue Between CEOs

population will decrease. Human resource strategy is aWeʼre convinced that, while broader in scope andin terms of social worth increases company unity. Iʼve

major theme at our company as well. Iʼm also involved

more long-term than developing human resources

received positive feedback from within and outside

in various local development activities in my hometown,

through business activities, this will be a more significant

the company about our support for the collegeʼs

the former Kito Village (now Kito District, Naka Town) in

activity. Thatʼs why supporting the college is one of ourestablishment and that will help trigger a virtuous cycle.

Tokushima Prefecture. Still, I feel there are limits to what

measures for addressing our material issues.

What Can Companies and Entrepreneurs
Do to Create a Sustainable Society?

sustainable, I need to create structures and connections,

Fujita: At 10 billion yen, the size of the fund for free

and to train people to expand on existing efforts

tuition at the college is impressive, yet so is the scheme

before I retire. These actions are all connected with myto generate and manage the fund. I believe it will have

Terada: Itʼs hard to express this simply, but creating a

succession planning as president of MEDIA DO anda meaningful impact and create positive societal effects.

good flow of funds is essential. This idea was broughtwith preparing successors in Japanʼs regions and for its

more deeply to my attention when I was raising

future. Being managers and entrepreneurs puts us in

Terada: I hope it does indeed have a broad impact.

donations and investments for the scholarship fund. Thata unique position to take such actions for a sustainable

Alongside the support from your company, using theis, using some ingenuity or positive pressure to direct

entrepreneurs have a role to play in this.

Final Thoughts

funds to the areas that society desires creates a better
direction of flow. Putting some willpower into funding

Terada: Weʼre supporting the establishment of thealso a significant action. As the use of these systems

flow helped things go more smoothly. When establishing

Fujita: For my business, our managers andKamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology,

becomes more common, companies will become more

the college, the opportunity to have discussions withmanagement team are committed to raising earnings

and Entrepreneurship in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima

willing to allocate funds to areas where theyʼre needed.

people in different positions in society was also a

per share and creating businesses with potential toPrefecture. This initiative began when I personallySimply put, the scheme weʼre working on for free tuition

valuable learning experience. For example, comparedachieve growth and return profits. However, I believe

wanted to address social issues that our businessis also a way to borrow cash from Japanese companies

with those in the United States, Japanese companies

dramatic business growth cannot be achieved without

couldnʼt help with. I determined that setting up a school

to invest in solutions for social issues. This is a novel

invest very little in human capital. That said, instead ofsolid managerial growth. Itʼs natural that we should

was the best of the various options. I started working

concept and everything is coming together in an exciting

just focusing on negative information about Japan, I

devote greater effort to our own businesses for doing

independently to shape the concept, established its

way leading up to the collegeʼs opening next year.

think that if we successfully spread awareness alongside

so. Besides, the experiences that the company will gain

framework with like-minded partners, and weʼreI also clearly remember your response when I

solutions, it will encourage people to work together

from activities we initiate, such as establishing colleges

now preparing for an April 2023 opening. I eventually

explained the concept of the college to you. You said,

to remedy the countryʼs shortcomings and boost its

or places like TIB, and collaborating with people webecame the projectʼs chairperson. However, before and“What a great idea. This will add another dimension tostrengths. Contributing to this trend will let us achievedonʼt usually have contact with, then incorporating

after that, our board members had many discussions

your achievements as a manager.”broader significance as companies and entrepreneurs.

this experience and value that can only be gained

about the relationship between our companyʼsthrough co-creation with others into our management,

management and the project, and we realized that the

Fujita: It still feels like the words “IT startup” or

Fujita: Itʼs essential to continue to nurture people, notcontributes to improving our skills. That is what we as

underlying issues we perceived in the project were the“entrepreneur” have negative connotations in Japan,

only as employees but also as individuals. For example,

managers should work on to ensure discontinuous

same ones we saw in our companyʼs management.

and I believe our role is to dispel this negativity. I

the other day, I was invited to speak at a class at

growth for our companies. Besides business results, Iʼdremember we talked about how creating shared

Tokushima University about entrepreneurship. I told thelike everyone to focus on the thoughts and philosophies

value with society in this new way would give people a

students that entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurial spirit,

behind our initiatives, and what it is weʼre trying do.

studied technology, design, and entrepreneurship̶broader perspective about startup companies like ours.

is thinking about and acting on what you can do by

are the exact people our company needs right now.

At MEDIA DO, in job interviews, weʼre often asked

understanding the gaps between issues and ideals in

Terada: As a bridge between the analog and digital

However, looking all over Japan with that in mind, wequestions about our sustainability-related measures.

society. Entrepreneurship is not just about raising capitalworlds, weʼre committed to delivering services torealized that the preexisting frameworks, including

Even before interviewing for and joining our company,

and starting your business. Instead, itʼs vital for everyone

companies and businesspeople to help improve

corporate activities, werenʼt enough. We concluded

however, I feel students have a broader perspective

in all walks of life to uncover social issues, whether

productivity. It can be quite frustrating for individuals

that it is worthwhile expanding our scope of humanof who I am, and they see me as someone involved

theyʼre teachers, doctors, lawyers, or businesspeople.

to digitize business cards, invoices, and contracts, but

resource development to include support for schools.

in various activities in society, not just the IT company

When the students heard this, their eyes lit up because

our company uses a unique approach to eliminate

president. This is because todayʼs students are deeply

they realized it also applies to them. As managers andthis frustration from society. As a result, our company

interested not only in succeeding but also in how they

entrepreneurs, challenging ourselves to solve social

vision sees our services being steadily used and widely

can contribute to society.

issues is something we see as obvious. Teaching theaccepted throughout society, becoming a kind ofimportance of having this perspective, regardless of

infrastructure. Realizing this goal will bring about real

Terada: That goes hand in hand with the importance ofoneʼs profession, is something your business provides

value to society. This goal is closely linked with ourhaving a mission and vision. Affirming and verbalizing

through the college and something weʼre doing throughbusiness growth, and I hope many of our stakeholders

the goals of our business and the mission it should fulfill

TIB to produce entrepreneurs. It made me realize that

support our efforts to achieve it.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

The people this college will produce̶who create
things and can make things happen, and who have

Sansan, Inc.

Business Strategies by Segment

corporate version of Japanʼs hometown tax system in
Kamiyama to raise 2.4 billion yen for the college was

future.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate ValueI can do alone. For my company and its activities to be36

On Value Creation

Special Feature

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value37

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Environment

Eco-Friendly Comprehensive Business Card Making Solution: Sansan Meishi Maker
through their business cards. We utilize LIMEX, whose
main raw material is limestone, as a material forbusiness cards. By reducing the number of trees and theamount of water required in the paper manufacturing
process, LIMEX is attracting attention as a new recyclable
material that contributes to the conservation of resources.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Conservation of Natural Environment
Through Business Activities

Sansan Meishi Maker supports achieving the SDGs
through business card creation. It enables customers toorder paper business cards in small lots as and when
they need them, without wasting resources. The cards
can be made with eco-friendly materials, enablingcustomers to contribute to resource conservation

Addressing Climate Change
We believe it is vital to correctly understand theimpacts our business activities have on natural
ecosystems to take appropriate considerations andmeasures toward environmental preservation. For thisreason, we allocate a portion of our earnings to treeplanting activities, conserving water resources andbiodiversity through forest preservation. In addition,
the services we provide reduce environmental impacts
through digitizing analog information and contributeto environmental conservation by promoting digitaltransformation in business and supporting paperless
operations.

Regarding climate change, Sansan determines andoversees business risks and opportunities under anappropriate system. In raising our ability to respondto issues, we aim, for example, at stable economic
development and securing the foundations for peopleʼs
livelihoods, and we see this as a vital initiative in

GovernanceSupport for Paperless Business Operations Through Provided Services

Board of Directorsʼ meetings discuss and decide policies andimportant matters that contribute to realizing sustainability, including
our responses to climate change. For issues relating to climate change,
we have set up a Climate Change Response Project, consistingof corporate departments, such as the IR Team, Office Strategy
Department, and the Finance & Accounting Department, under thefunctionality enabling business cards to be exchanged
online, and Bill One allows invoices to be received
and issued in the cloud. Exchanging business datain this manner enables paperless environments andcontributes to environmental conservation.

“Scan for Trees” Tree-Planting Activities

Sansan, Inc.

supervision of the Representative Director and are reviewing our
responses. This project receives matters such as metrics relating toclimate change, as well as business risks and opportunities that havebeen examined, tabulated, and specified, and supervises them inannual reports by the Board of Directors. It then decides businessstrategies and plans after duly considering the important matters.

Strategy
Sansan aims to better respond and adapt to a business environment
in which the temperature rise from climate change is kept below
2 , using mainly scenarios such as the Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Changeʼs Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP12.6) and Representative Concentration Pathways. We analyze thescenarios, identify business risks and opportunities from climatechange, and formulate response strategies. For transition risks andopportunities, such as tighter laws and regulations and new carbon
taxes, we will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, set renewableenergy policies, and promote initiatives from medium- to longterm perspectives. Our growth strategy already covers many suchmeasures, dealing with transition risks, physical risks, and opportunities
related to our services. We will also consider cost reduction efforts bydiversifying and optimizing various services, including electric power.

Risk Management
Number oftrees
planted:11,759(as of September 2022)

In consultation with the directors in charge of each field and the
Climate Change Response Project, Sansan conducts scenario
analyses, identifies climate-related business risks and opportunities,
assesses their importance, calculates their financial impact, andreviews countermeasures. These matters are next reported annuallyto the Board of Directors, which decides on business strategies andplans after considering important matters including the risks andcountermeasures. Important climate change-related risks are also
integrated and managed with the results of company-wide risk
analyses conducted through, for example, internal audits.

Data

Scan for Trees is a project to plant trees in disasteraffected areas where they are needed according to thenumber of documents digitized by the Sansan, Bill One
and Contract One services.
Paper documents such as business cards, invoices,and contracts are in many cases originally made fromwood. This project is an initiative designed to enrich
the natural environment, such as forests and water,
through our services. So far, we have planted trees in
Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, and Osaki City, Miyagi
Prefecture, which were affected by the Great East Japan
Earthquake in 2011, and in Yamato Town, Kamimashiki
District, Kumamoto Prefecture, which was damaged by
the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. Since the start of the
project, more than 10,000 trees have been planted. We
are currently also counting digital documents, such as
online business cards and PDF format invoices. We aresupporting the recovery of forests and the reconstructionof disaster-hit areas even as online work becomes morecommonplace.

advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy and,by extension, a decarbonized society.
Based on this idea, we have expressed support for
the recommendations published by the Task Force on
Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and makedisclosures based on this framework as follows.

Business Strategies by Segment

Efficient Use of Natural CapitalWith our shared functionality related to digitizing
documents, our primary services relate to supporting
corporate digital transformation. In particular, paper
documents like business cards, invoices, and contracts
are creating issues of operational efficiency forcompanies. To address this issue, Sansan provides

38

Disclosure Based on TCFD Recommendations

Metrics and Targets
Sansan selected GHG emissions*1 as a metric for climate change.
The table below shows actual GHG emissions over the last two
years. We are now studying calculating actual Scope 3 GHG
emissions*1. To set targets for each metric, alongside external factors

such as global trends and Japanʼs laws and regulations, we conduct
comprehensive studies based on internal factors to enhance future
disclosures. The internal study thus covers progress in each of ourbusinessesʼ strategies and measures, and risks and opportunities.

Item

Unit

FY2020

Scope 1

t-CO2

154

187

Scope 2*3 (market-based)

t-CO2

371

480

Scope 2 (location-based)

t-CO2

324

452

t-CO2

525

667

t-CO2/hundred
million yen

3

3

*2

Scope 1 and 2 (market-based)
Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity (per net sales)

FY2021*1 Non-consolidated results of Sansan, Inc. aggregated.
*2 Scope 1 is calculated by aggregating GHG emissions
relating to the gas consumption in each office. Aftercalculating the consumption per office area using theactual results in certain offices where the consumption
can be determined, gas consumption is calculated bymultiplying this value by the total area of all offices
where gas can be used.
*3 Scope 2 is calculated by aggregating GHG emissions
relating to each officeʼs electricity consumption.

ANNUAL REPORT 202239

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

Education on Information Security

Balancing Security and Convenience
we prioritize providing secure and stable infrastructureand ensuring data privacy and information security,and consider these to be critical. We aim to minimize
security risks and ensure that we can provide ourservices safely and securely as we pursue further
growth.

Information Security Measures and Management System
DPO.*2 We have also set up the CSIRT,*3 a department
specializing in information security across Sansan. Since
our founding in 2007, we have maintained a Personal
Information Protection Management System as ameasure to protect data, establishing an environment todeal with such protection within the company. We havealso built a system that can continually monitor key data
by fully leveraging the latest security technology.
*1 Chief Information Security Officer*2 Data Protection Officer*3 Computer Security Incident Response TeamDPO

This role has responsibility
and authority for the security
and risk management of
information systems. The
person oversees information
security risk measures andmanagement methods.

Data Protection Officers
are responsible for andauthorized to operate
the PMS. They are also
responsible for monitoring
compliance with the GDPR.

Information System
Administrator
As the head in chargeof information systemmanagement, this person
executes tasks based on
authorization related toorganizations and divisions ofduties in consultation with the
CISO.

CSIRT
CSIRT is our group thatgathers information on
events that potentiallythreaten information security
and system vulnerabilities,
monitors signs ofcyberattacks and other risks,and formulates response
measures and procedures.

Incident Guidelines
To prepare for incidents that may impact our services,such as disasters, accidents, unauthorized access, andvulnerability issues, we have established guidelines
for each department related to incident response
frameworks, chains of command and decision-making
criteria, and response procedures. Specifically, we

40

Sansan, Inc.

We are committed to obtaining third-party securityrelated certifications and periodically renewing them.
We have received various accreditations including

the PrivacyMark system and international ISO/IEC

PrivacyMark

SOC 2 Type 1

The PrivacyMark system is in accordance with the JapaneseIndustrial Standard JIS Q15001: Personal Information Protection
Management System - Requirements. It certifies that entities
such as businesses have established appropriate protections
for personal information based on the systems guidelines forestablishing and operating personal information protection
management systems. Certified groups can use PrivacyMark intheir business activities. We obtained certification in 2007.

SOC 2 reports are performed following Trust Services Criteria
established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. In these reports, which are not limited to financial
matters, auditors express their opinions on internal controls. Areas
examined include either security, availability, processing integrity,
confidentiality, or privacy. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC has
issued a report on internal controls for Type 1 security at Sansan.

Legal Requirements for Electronic Transaction
Software Certification

ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27017

classify incidents in terms of confidentiality, integrity,
and availability, set priorities for each incident weare addressing, and define staff in each department
responsible for making determinations relating toincidents and incident responses.

standards, which strengthen our information security
and give our services further credibility.

In May 2022, Sansan and Bill One acquired ISO/IEC 27001
certification, an international standard for information security
management systems. At the same time, Sansan also acquired
ISO/IEC 27017 certification, an international standard for cloudsecurity applicable to cloud service provision and use.

Data

CISO

Third-Party Certifications

The Japan Image and Information Management Associationʼs
Legal Requirements for Electronic Transaction Software
Certification System checks whether software and software
services that create and electronically exchange national taxrelated documents comply with the Electronic Book Storage Act.
Bill One and Contract One were certified in April 2022.

Primary Duties Related to Information Security

help ensure employees correctly understand the Act
on the Protection of Personal Information and havesystematic knowledge of safe data management. We
also have strict information asset handling procedures,such as prohibiting storage of personal and confidential
information on PCs. The Internal Auditing Department
appoints security committee members from among
employees to strengthen awareness of security throughthe use of a mutual security auditing system.

Business Strategies by Segment

Our services facilitate the management and use ofdata that includes private customer information, suchas that on companies and individual users. We position
the handling and protection of personal informationand other vital information assets as our most criticalmanagement concern. Having formulated policies
for protecting personal information and information
security, we rigorously manage information assets
and take every possible measure to minimize risk. In
our security system, to be able to respond quickly andin all directions to privacy and security risks, executive
officers themselves assume the roles of CISO*1 andAs part of our aim of ensuring a correct understandingof the Act on the Protection of Personal Informationand safety management, all executives must acquirecertification as a Protection of Individual Information
Person. Salary increases are, in principle, suspended
if an employee does not pass the exam after a certain
period, and until they do pass. Information security andpersonal information protection training is provided
upon hiring and then annually. These opportunities

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Convenience and security often come into conflict inthe development of cloud services. Yet, it is vital tomaintain the best possible balance between these twoelements when aiming to increase social and economic
efficiency and productivity. Our corporate philosophy
is to balance both security and convenience. Thatʼs why

On Value Creation

Information Security

Technical Security Initiatives
We implement a variety of security measures including
vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, which

third-party organizations and specialized in-house
departments perform.

Encryption of All Data
Center Transmissions

Vulnerability
Assessments andPenetration Testing by
Security Specialists

Alongside establishingfirewalls, all external transmissions to our data center
are highly encrypted using
user-authenticated HTTPS.

Images Are Deleted
After Business Cards Are
ScannedSansan scanners are installedwith software that prevents
unauthorized external access.
After business cards arescanned, the image data isdeleted from the scanners.

We appoint external organizations to test our security
through penetration testing
based on the identificationof system vulnerabilities andcyber-attacks, and to correct problems and otherwise
strengthen our services.

High Service
Availability
All our servers are loadbalanced. Services can bepromptly restored in the eventof a failure. Additionally, ourdata centers are redundantly
configured to minimize therisk of functional and service
outages in the event of adisaster.

ANNUAL REPORT 202241

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Dataencounters into innovation.” We aim to visualize theto uphold our current values in the future. For example,

business networks that are triggered by exchanging

one of the past topics saw staff re-examining ourbusiness cards, and other information about points ofvalues, removing those they felt were unnecessary,

contact, to create a world where people can meet who

and adding or proposing values we should emphasize

they want to meet and/or should meet. For this reason,in the future. In this Katachi discussions, we divided

we believe recruiting is about ﬁnding people who share

more than 1,000 employees into over 100 teams, eachour vision of the future beyond our current services.

made up of people with different job titles, divisions,and employment histories. They then spent three hours

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Sales Force Expansions andHigh-Level Engineering Personnel

On Value Creation

CHRO Message

discussing the topic and creating output. This output
was then sent back to their respective departments forfurther discussion, and each department compiled its

We want to work with mission-driven people
to grow our business and reshape the worldItʼs vital for our business that our products continue

own output. This process involved another three-hour

evolving. At the same time, however, we canʼt change

discussion. Afterwards, we also held similar phased

how business works unless we raise peopleʼs awarenessdiscussions among executives and the managementof our products and sell them in a way that encourages

committee, and incorporated all these discussions into

people to use them. If engineers can evolve our services

the Katachi. We believe that, because all our employees(add depth), salespeople can expand them (addwere at the center of these discussions and their output

breadth). While both engineering and sales are vital,

was included in the companyʼs framework, they werein our current phase, itʼs of foremost importance thateach able to feel that our vision is also their own. These

we increase our salesforce. At the same time, we also

experiences contribute to the creation of a mission-

want to ensure we maintain high standards when hiring

driven organization.

engineers. We combine several approaches to meet
our staffing needs, including mid-career recruiting,to HR to undergo ﬁve days of training upon joining

Managing Executive (Human Resources Division)

headhunting, and referral recruiting. Still, whether itʼsthe company. There, they discuss company rules,

sales staff or engineers, itʼs not enough for them to justthe knowledge required to work at Sansan, and thebe talented. We need people who also have a mission-

Katachi. Three months after joining, they speak withdriven mindset.

We Need People who Can Make Decisions
with Determination and Intent

Driving Engagement Through Discussions
About the Katachi of Sansan
career hires. But we need even more talent as wetheir superiors about what theyʼve experienced of thisKatachi, and CEO Terada talks with them about how
the Katachi is changing. They then receive anotheropportunity to reﬂect on this at the six-month mark.
Among our other initiatives is a monthly employee

continue accelerating the development of our businessAs a company grows and expands, people inevitably

engagement score survey. Its results let us analyze andworldwide.

ﬁnd it harder to see the relationship between the task at

visualize the state of our organization and take action
to address various issues. Weʼre also focusing on ways

every opportunity to conﬁrm our corporate philosophy:

to create stronger connections among employees. One

number, to 1,205 (as of May 31, 2022). In the three years

determination and intent.” We assess this by, for

the Katachi of Sansan. Since our founding, we haveexample is Know Me, a system in which we subsidize

since our listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the world

instance, looking at the decisions they have made inalways involved all employees whenever we havemeals outside of work for employees from three

has changed in ways totally unforeseen at the time ofpast situations. I believe these decisions reveal therevised the Katachi. Our Katachi discussions in 2022

different departments. Thereʼs also Nana Hachi, where

our founding.

person they want to be. Their determination to makecentered on the theme of: “Why does your department

two veteran staff and a new employee have a two-on-

Over the past 15 years, itʼs grown to 240 times thatAs an aside, our company deﬁnes talented human

We launched our ﬁrst product, Sansan, followed bythat a reality will also be reﬂected in their decisions andexist and what is it trying to achieve? Express this as

one meeting. Such efforts to support cross-departmental

Eight, and have continued to add to our lineup, shifting

policies at Sansan and in their departments. We placea mission statement.” Weʼve also discussed the moreconnections help generate new ideas and foster

to a multi-product structure. Our investment strategies

great importance on such a mindset. One of our values

fundamental question of whether we need to continuesmooth communication at work. Also, as the number ofhave also accelerated, and we have established several

is “Lead the customer.” This is also a simple expression

group companies. As we move into a new phase, weof our stance. We donʼt just seek out and address

must also change our human resource strategy andcustomer needs; rather, we present our vision to thehuman resource investment methods, while looking toworld and prioritize gaining customersʼ understanding

the future. Recruitment is one of our most vital areasof the value we provide and what we are trying toof focus. In the ﬁscal year ended May 31, 2022, wecreate through our services and products. In othermade approximately 340 new graduate and mid-words, we are committed to our mission of “turning

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

hand and our overarching mission. This is why we use

resources as people who can “Make decisions with

Sansan was founded in 2007 with just ﬁve employees.

Business Strategies by Segment

Director, Executive Offcer, CHRO,

Yuta Ohma

42

Recently, we have started assigning new employees

4301_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Datavisits to our overseas locations to ensure that diversity isterm, weʼre working to establish clearer management

accepted and that we create a culture that is conducive

policies for each management level. In particular, we

to our mission.

Unique Employee Empowerment

Continuous Pursuit of Growth with
Talented Human Resources

To sustain growth by absorbing our talentʼs
expertise, we need an environment where all
employees can work with great ambition. We havebelieve we also need to accelerate our human resource
development efforts. To do this, weʼre not relying only oninternal knowledge but are also consulting with outside
experts.

I ﬁrst met CEO Terada in 2007, shortly after Sansan
was founded. At the time, I was working for a recruiting
company. Eventually, I joined Sansan. When I did,he said, “I donʼt have any results to be proud of yet,

We want to be fair to all our employees. One of our

but there are some wonderful people I want you topast values was “make the right decision, fairly.” When

meet who share my worldview and want to make it amaking hiring decisions, we donʼt do so based onreality.” I ended up going out for dinner with staff from

attributes like new graduate or mid-career hire, gender,

sales, engineering, and the Board of Directors. When

Promoting Greater Understanding of Sansan and Fostering Lively Internal Communication
Company-Wide Katachi
Discussions
We regularly provide opportunities
for all employees to discuss our
corporate philosophy. Addressing
our values and culture altogether iscrucial for employee development
and productivity improvement.

Sansan Values Star Award

Know Me

Using Unipos, a service for peer
evaluation and commendation, we
have a system for employees tosend praise to each other. We also
have occasions to give awards toemployees who embody our values.

We have set up a system tosubsidize food and drink expenses
when three employees in different
departments have a meal together.
This contributes to stimulatinginternal exchanges and improving
the quality of each employeeʼswork.

I spoke to the sales staff, they said, “Our products are

fairly, as professionals. At the same time, as the HR

created by talented engineers, and as salespeople,

department, we want to increase our ratio of female

our job is to convey the value theyʼve produced to theemployees. Currently, around 30% of our employees aremarket.” Meanwhile, the engineers said, “We canʼtKnowledge Acquisition and Skills Improvement

women. Weʼre aiming for 40%. We want to increase ourhave salespeople be ashamed of our products. If weratio of female executives to the same level as well.

give them products with new features, theyʼre sure to

Coacher

Geek Seek

Ocean

In terms of international recruitment, weʼre focusing on

produce great results.” They spoke with me, an outsider,hiring foreign nationals to work at our headquarters

with enthusiasm, while expressing respect for theirin Japan. Before others even knew what we did ascolleagues in other divisions. Although they had different

a company, weʼve always said we would change

roles and used different words, they were all saying

how people work globally, and we tried to identify

the same thing: “With this product, we will change howWith the aim of helping employees
identify areas for further growth
and take action, we implemented asystem that allows them to receive
coaching from employees withspecialized business coachingqualiﬁcations.

Aiming to improve our services, weestablished a system to subsidize
the purchase of publications, tools,
and event participation expenses
for our engineers, researchers, anddesigners to acquire knowledge
and improve their work efficiency.

As we are developing our overseas
business and hiring more foreign
employees, we have establisheda system to support employees
learning English or Japanese bysubsidizing associated costs, suchas lessons and book purchases.

opportunities to do so internationally. To that end,

people work globally.” This was precisely the kind of

weʼre trying to gain new insights through cross-culturalorganization I wanted to create in my role as a recruiter.

communication. For example, we invited all foreign

With such an organization, whether we have 50, 100, orTelecommuting System

nationals hired at our Singapore branch to join our

200 employees in the future, the 201st employee would

company-wide meeting in Japan in June 2022 andbe able to say they were proud to be here. At the sameinteract with Japanese employees. We also plan totime, we could surely create an organization in which

proactively increase the number of these initiatives. At

current employees would be proud to have this newest

the same time, weʼre sending engineers from Japan on

employee as a colleague. That hunch ultimately helped

This system lets employees choose
to work from home for a certain
number of days per month.
The ability to ﬂexibly combine
the working styles of office andhome will lead to increased work
productivity.

more. How we achieve growth is of course vital, but who
we do it with is even more critical. The best part of beinga CHRO is wondering who youʼll meet next and if you
can create the kind of organization that will make that
person want to choose to become your colleague.
Yuta Ohma, Director, Executive Offcer, CHRO, Managing
Executive (Human Resources Division)

Sansan, Inc.

Enabling a Variety of Working Styles
Flextime System forEngineering Staff
This system lets employees freely
adjust their daily starting andending hours within the designatedtotal working hours. This enables
a variety of working styles andimproves work productivity.

Oyaco
This system partially subsidizes fees
for non-accredited nursery schools,
babysitters, and childcare, helping
female employees to return frommaternity or childcare leave moreeasily and employees to balance
work and childcare.

Data

I did then, and I want to help our company grow evenBusiness Strategies by Segment

or nationality. Instead, we try to approach everyone

me decide to join the company. I feel the same now as

44

therefore put in place various systems to support
active communication, knowledge acquisition,and diverse ways of working.
Business Strategies to Increase Corporate ValueA Professional Sense of Fairness
Toward Diversity and Inclusion

On Value Creation

management layers increases in the medium- to long-

Employeesʼ Voices
Coaching from a Working Mom: Masami Naito, Customer Success Department, Business Division
Masami is a mother of two and a member of Sansanʼs
Customer Success Department in the Business Division. Aftertaking the initiative to study coaching, she now works as oneof the Coachers, coaching employees on their work andhelping them tackle concerns related to life events such as
marriage or childbirth. Masami herself was supported by
Coachers when she was facing difficulties. This experience
made her want to help others in the same way, leading
to her decision to start studying. She became a Coacher
in March 2021, and her role has expanded to include
managers and employees after maternity or childcare

leave. When coaching, she focuses not only on discovering
what is important to that individual, and what they want tobecome, but also helps them perceive issues from multiple
perspectives. This lets them understand things from new
angles. As a result, shebelieves coaching is not only
about increasing othersʼ
motivation but also about
connecting that motivation
with action.

ANNUAL REPORT 202245

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Human Capital

future is still uncertain, it would be better to aim forindividual optimizations. But weʼve recently undergone
a significant reorganization. Our company is now basedaround functionality instead of products. Engineers
are assigned to the Engineering Division but will
gradually expand their activities in a cross-sectional
way to become involved in other parts of the business.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Through this change, weʼre aiming for engineeringthat is scalable thanks to commonality and efficiency.
Weʼre also aiming to contribute to individual engineersʼ
growth. Engineers who have gained enough experience

Special Feature

Fostering engineersʼ growth and successwith a unique business environment
Shigemoto Fujikura

networking produces two types of value: that as a

When I joined Sansan in 2009, weʼd just made the majora product for the latter.

corporate resource/asset and that as a representationof an open network. Sansan had only addressed thefrom Sansan is not necessarily directly applicable to Bill

based on business understanding.

One or Eight, so this will provide them with entirely new

Discovering Rewarding Experiencesin Each Phase of Product Growth

and are growth opportunities. The fact that we cansystem, keep vast amounts of source code in mind, andprovide so many opportunities within the company

add new designs without impacting pre-existing ones.

is one of the strengths of our organizational growth.

That all requires experience. On the other hand, some

Although our employees in STEM Divisions*1 as of theof the projects weʼve launched in the past year or two

end of May 2022 has increased to 404, up 91 year on

are still small, so itʼs relatively easy to implement newyear, we must continue to increase our engineeringfeatures. Yet, the earliest phases of a project, when you

talent to achieve further growth in the future.

have to lay down a strong foundation, produce their

The dynamic and challenging nature of creating ourown kind of difficulty and excitement. One of the best

unique products, and the possibility to develop multiple

parts of working at Sansan is that we can gain broad

products, will hopefully appeal to overseas engineers

engineering experience at all these different levels. Thisas well. From May 2023, we will be strengthening our

experience of making judgments and decisions, andoverseas recruitment of engineers, as well as our local

producing designs that suit the characteristics of therecruitment. We look forward to the new culture theseprojectʼs phase, leads to true growth among engineers.

engineers will bring to our company.

Pursuing Scalability ThroughCommonality and Efficiency

Since itʼs hard work to create a system like this, we
system development around this single product. Weʼve

business cards, but when you focus on data points̶

to discuss entirely novel ideas, such as how to turn things

weʼve also worked to further optimize it for eachlike who met and what they did̶and try to make this

into reality and how doing so will produce somethingbusiness. Our thinking was that, while a productʼs

into an asset, there are limits to basing this around

unprecedented. When presented with two technologicalbusiness cards. We therefore, changed the system so

options, such engineers find it relatively easy to pickthat information is aggregated around people.

the right one. But making decisions becomes hardersignificant business constraints. Even after accepting

within Company A, and Company Bʼs data withinthese constraints, it can be challenging to determine

Company B. But information about interpersonal

the correct way forward. A deep understanding of

Sansan, Inc.

313

404

prioritized speed and optimized our business andtaken the same approach for Bill One and Eight, andsuch a way that Company Aʼs data can only be used(people)for people to understand its value as a product.

I think most of our engineers are people who find it fun

when the future is unclear. For example, say there are

Number of Employees in STEM Divisions*1

Sansan was an entirely new concept, so it was hardchanges. Until then, the systemʼs core concept had been

Sansan is a corporate service and is structured inexperiences. These kinds of challenges are stimulating

now in its 16th year. You have to understand the entire

former, so we began prototyping Eight in 2010 to create

without changing our user-facing aspects. I led these46

engineer truly valuable is their ability to make decisions

Data

From Business Cards to Interpersonal
Networking: Challenges for Engineers
During the Start-Up Phasechanging our core concepts and internal structure

challenges in new fields because the knowledge gained

Business Strategies by Segment

Executive Officer, Head of Overseas Establishment Team (Engineering Division)

just one part of such information. This project involved

with Sansan should be encouraged to take on

All engineers have technical skills, but what makes anItʼs not easy to add new functions to Sansan, which isEngineer Interviews

decision to revamp our systems. Business cards became

the business is needed to overcome such difficulties.

2021

2022

*1 Results for fiscal years ended in May (engineering, R&D, and creator positions forregular employees and contract employees of Sansan, Inc. and Sansan Global Pte.
Ltd.)

ANNUAL REPORT 202247

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Dataprovide more opportunities to play active roles. One
example is Oyaco, a system that supports women̶
who are unequally burdened by pregnancy, childbirth,and childcare̶to better balance motherhood andwork. Oyaco provides subsidies for the extra fees
associated with non-accredited nursery schools until
age 3. We also provide support for the use of babysittersand housecleaning services. And to support careerdevelopment while balancing childcare and nursing
care, we allow employees to choose work styles thatsuit their circumstances. By establishing and applying
various employment classifications, we strive to realize
flexible ways of working that respect employeesʼ will
and motivation.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Investments in Human Capital andPromotion of Diversity and Inclusion

On Value Creation

Human Capital

Promoting Employment of Foreign Nationals and People with Disabilities
Talent is an essential management resource. Ourability to achieve high growth while creating newmarkets owes to the successes of our talented humanresources. To ensure our future growth, we must provide
environments that welcome diversity and allow all
staff, whatever their background, to work with great

motivation. Through this approach, we have identified
recruitment, development, and promotion, along withdiversity and inclusion, as critical focal issues andare working to create innovations that solve businesschallenges through various measures, including
promoting our employeesʼ activities.

Recruiting, Developing, and Promoting Human Resources
by grade. Grade designation is based not only on
performance but also on future expectations, enabling
us to leverage each individualʼs growth. We have also
adopted a 360-degree employee evaluation system inwhich colleagues in various positions assess individual
employees. This comprehensive incorporation of
feedback from people other than direct superiors lets
us provide fairer evaluations. Additionally, we conduct
monthly engagement surveys for regular employees
and contract employees. We analyze these results
and use them for self-management, organizational
management, and the planning of company-wide
internal systems and measures.

(people)
402

2018

549

2019

1,205
955
714

2020

2021

2022

*1 Results for fiscal years ended in May

Supporting Womenʼs Careers
Our policy is to actively recruit and promote talent
without focusing on attributes such as background or
gender, and to give all employees fair evaluations andpromotion opportunities. Our ratio of female employees

48

Sansan, Inc.

is thus increasing, with women in management positions
reaching 16.5% as of May 31, 2022. Monitoring in eachbusiness period ensures a fair and unbiased evaluation
process. We have also designed internal systems to

Support for Human Resource Development (Support for the Kamiyama
Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship)
The Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design,
Technology, and Entrepreneurship aims to change
the future of humanity through technology anddesign. Supporting its development in turn fosters thedevelopment of entrepreneurs. A vital challenge forour group is recruitment, training, and promotion ofhuman resources, and we believe our support for thecollege will contribute to creating IT human resources inJapan. Our company has started a dedicated internal
department to support the college. By offering themarketing, design, and PR expertise we have cultivatedthrough our business, we aim to create a world where
the people creating the future can utilize our services asbusiness infrastructure and produce innovation.

Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship
In April 2023, the Kamiyama Marugoto Collegeof Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, aprivate technical college, will open in the town of
Kamiyama in Japanʼs Tokushima Prefecture. Unlike
conventional technical colleges, which focus ontechnical education, Kamiyama Marugoto will let
students simultaneously study technology, design,and entrepreneurship, with the goal of nurturing
people who can accomplish great things bycreating great things, and who can change
society. Students receive a five-year integrated
education from ages 15 to 20. It is a residential
college, with students living together with peers
their age. The curriculum will include practicalaspects, such as exercises and experiments,
as well as lecture-style classes. During classes,

students will not only work on their assigned tasks
but also develop practical problem-solving skills
through bidirectional communication fostered bysmall group discussions, group work, and debates.
Besides classes, the college will also provide
students with opportunities for independent
growth through extracurricular activities andinteractions with the local community.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

Number of Employees*1

Our ratio of employees with disabilities as of May 31,
2022, was 2.4%. We are working to create and expand
opportunities for people with disabilities to work
alongside us.

Business Strategies by Segment

Continuous strengthening of recruitment is an essential
element of our growth strategy. As of May 31, 2022,
we had more than 1,200 employees, and our variousorganizations, including development, sales, and backoffice, comprise talented individuals from diverse
backgrounds. We emphasize hiring employees withstrong expertise and skills, and who have a missiondriven attitude that matches our corporate philosophy.
This emphasis stems from our belief that people
whose ideals match our corporate philosophy, such as
our mission, vision, and values, are more likely to be
successful after joining. This mission-driven corporate
culture has been an effective tool for recruiting, enabling
us to hire a range of highly capable individuals. We
are also developing systems and environments that
not only enable our staff to succeed, but also allow ourorganization to absorb their knowledge and promote
their growth and success to also nurture those aroundthem. For example, we have adopted a mission
grade framework for our personnel system, in whichauthority, responsibility, and benefits are determined

We have raised our ratio of foreign nationals to 2.6% asof May 31, 2022. We strive to produce a richly diverse
corporate culture through active interactions between
foreign and Japanese employees around the world.

49

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_DataSpecial Feature

A Conversation Between Outside Directors

In September 2022, Outside Directors Maki Suzuki and Toko Shiotsuki came together for a conversation. All four of
Sansanʼs outside directors work concurrently as Audit & Supervisory Committee members. Suzuki, appointed at
the August 2022 General Meeting of Shareholders, will serve as the Committeeʼs chair. During their discussion, we
asked them to share their frank opinions on topics such as the roles and functions of outside directors, along with
their assessment of Sansanʼs governance structure and the challenges it faces.

Evaluation of Sansanʼs Governance
Structure and Challenges

What roles and functions do you believe outside

What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of thedirectors need to fulfill?

Board of Directors and our governance structure?

Toko Shiotsuki: I believe the fundamental role of an

Shiotsuki: The Board of Directors has a good balance ofoutside director is to supervise management frompeople numbers and skills. The membersʼ personalities

an independent standpoint, without being bound by

make the discussions lively and create an atmosphereinternal ties or interests. We need to express opinions

that, while moderately formal, is also frank, making

and recommendations and contribute to enhancing

it easy to express opinions. I heard about a time

medium- to long-term corporate value. Major

where the Board couldnʼt conclude discussions about

corporate scandals in Japan are often rooted in poor

an important investment project during its meeting,internal practices and corporate cultures that prevent

broke once for the Audit & Supervisory Committee

people from speaking up. Outside directors play a vital

meeting scheduled for after it, and then resumedrole in addressing these weaknesses. I always apply

right afterwards to continue its discussions. Besides anthese basic principles in my duties.

environment that allows for such exhaustive discussions,

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Improved monitoring of the Board of
Directors to enhance corporate value
over the medium- to long-term

The Roles and Functions of Outside
Directors

On Value Creation

Governanceanother strength is that important matters are reported
during the earliest stages of consideration, which makes

those points. After all, the main role shareholders haveit easier to incorporate the substantive aspects into theentrusted us with is supervising management from

Boardʼs discussions. Whenever an outside director has

the viewpoints of sustainable growth and improving

raised an issue, the Board has performed additional

medium- to long-term corporate value. We must

confirmations or reviews and reflected these points oftherefore provide opinions and recommendations

view in its final proposal. The seriousness with which itfrom an objective, outside perspective. As an attorney,

addresses these matters is yet another strength.

Business Strategies by Segment

Maki Suzuki: I agree. We need a keen awareness ofI have been involved in corporate legal affairs related
Suzuki: Overall, my impression from the Board is that

identifying legal risks based on facts and not only

Sansan is an open company. Itʼs easy to ask straightproposing solutions but also working directly with thequestions or give frank opinions, regardless of how longlegal department, those in charge of sales, and otheryouʼve been working there. The Audit & Supervisorydepartments to implement those solutions. These direct

Committee doesnʼt have full-time members and isdiscussions have enabled us to consider what options

composed solely of outside directors, so when I took

are available to achieve a desired situation, and to

this position, I was slightly concerned about whether

choose the best one. I hope to put my experience andwe could collect the information and data we need.

legal expertise to good use.

However, although Iʼve only taken this position recently,

Datamainly to M&A, investment, and labor, specificallythere is, as my predecessor Yasuko Yokosawa told me,
Outside Director, Audit &Supervisory Committee Member

Maki Suzuki

Outside Director, Audit &Supervisory Committee Member

Toko Shiotsuki

Shiotsuki: I feel your experience as an attorney seeing

excellent cooperation between the Internal Auditing

so many companies has given you a very objective

Department and the secretariat. So, I donʼt foresee any

perspective. Iʼm looking forward to combining our skills.

major problems in terms of information-gathering. I
am sure they worked very hard to set up this strong

Suzuki: I firmly believe that scandals arise from being

foundation.

overly accommodating and not being able to speak up.
I also believe that outside directors have to objectively

Shiotsuki: I think the relationship evolved gradually. The

monitor the actions a company is taking to enhance its

week before regular Board meetings, the secretariat

value, consider whether these are optimal, and give ouralso provides detailed explanation to the Audit &honest opinions.

Supervisory Committee about the agenda and issues
to be discussed, which really aids our understanding.
Of course, the company is run with an emphasis on
speed, so some materials come out at the last minute,50

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 202251

01_On Value Creation

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Special Feature

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

A Conversation Between Outside Directors

and I understand that, but still, we are getting that

Suzuki: I agree. Sansan will need to consider aan outside director, I intend to encourage more active

childcare and work. However, it is slower recruiting

information much faster than before. My questions are

specific succession plan. Also, we currently have aefforts on these.

women in software development than in other fields.

looked up and answered immediately, so I think things

non-mandatory management committee comprising

are functioning well.

directors and executive officers, but not a meeting thatʼs

Suzuki: I agree. I believe it is also our role to makehaving science backgrounds in general. Nevertheless,

Maybe hiring is harder partly due to fewer women
firm recommendations on whether the company

companies need diverse opinions and perspectives toneeds to consider something separate from the Board,is contributing to sustainability in society from agrow. We will closely monitor future efforts.

Audit & Supervisory Committee member, Iʼm also

such as a compensation committee, to clarify decision-

stakeholder perspective. Although the companyʼs basic

responsible for auditing the directorsʼ execution of

making processes.

premise is Balancing security and convenience, it goes

Shiotsuki: Remote work, which has become more

without saying that controlling security risks is vital forprevalent during the pandemic, will also help women to

improving corporate value. Security reports are made atcontinue working without interrupting their careers.

their duties, so these information-sharing mechanisms
must function correctly. Chairing the Committee is aheavy responsibility, and I want to ensure that it wonʼtSpecific Recommendations for Improving
Long-Term Corporate Valueeach Board meeting. The Internal Auditing Department
also shares any incident that may impact management

Suzuki: I agree. I think remote work made men realize

explanations. Instead, I want to ensure each member

What are your recommendations for improving

with all Audit & Supervisory Committee members. Still, I

how hard the household is. I hope that, little by little,

can share their expert opinions and to combine these

corporate value over the long-term, including from thebelieve continued close monitoring is warranted.

into proposals to the Board.

perspectives of ESG and sustainability?

Shiotsuki: Iʼve heard that in sales meetings, many

make a big difference to future female employees.

What future governance challenges do you foresee?

Shiotsuki: All companies, including Sansan, need

potential clients, especially large companies, have

I hope Sansan will actively appoint more female
executives

simply listen quietly and approve internal reports andsocietyʼs perceptions will change. Sansan has one
female executive officer. Having such role models willsustainability-related initiatives to be a long-term partpraised the Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design,

Shiotsuki: I think that, as a company with an Auditof society. Sustainability management and ESG issues

Technology, and Entrepreneurship initiative that Sansan& Supervisory Committee, we need to enhance theare ongoing topics of discussion and of great interest

is supporting. I therefore believe that social sustainability

Boardʼs monitoring functions and make it a forum forto stakeholders. Between June and August, the Boardand corporate sustainability are moving in the same

more strategic matters by reviewing what should beof Directors discussed and expressed support for the

direction. However, looking at gender diversity, although

decided by the Board according to the companyʼs

recommendations published by the Task Force on

Sansan has many active female employees, thegrowth stage.

Climate-related Financial Disclosures. It also formulated

percentage of women in management positions is justShiotsuki: Iʼve been a full-time director of an IT

Message to Stakeholders

a Sustainability Policy and came to formal resolutions

16.5% (as of the end of May 2022), which is not high.

company for over 20 years. In this rapidly changing

regarding material issues (priority issues) the company

Although the low numbers of women in engineering

industry, itʼs vital to accurately assess environmental

Supervisory Committee is that the Board can give itself

needs to prioritize. Management needs to steer the

positions in Japan is a challenging factor, I believe

changes and quickly adapt the business andenough time to monitor management by delegatingcompany toward solving these sustainability issues

the group needs to do more, starting with whatever itorganization. In the year since I became an outside

important business execution decisions to the directors

while pursuing profit. Of the material issues identified,can, such as actively promoting women to executive

director, the group marked a major turning point,

through resolutions. Some investment decisions haveitʼs easy to be mindful of issues such as “Ensure robust

positions and adopting flexible work styles.

boldly renewing its existing businesses and offering

already been delegated to directors or executive

protection of data privacy and information security” andofficers in charge. However, we must review the“Promote digital transformation services that improve

Suzuki: The groupʼs policy is to actively hire and promoteand boldly to changes is one of its greatest strengths.

appropriateness of proposal criteria to enhance how

productivity,” in daily work. However, others, such as

talented people regardless of gender, nationality, or

The transition to a multi-product structure has created“Promoting diversity and inclusion,” and “Address

other attributes. In promoting womenʼs careers, themore business opportunities than ever. We hope all

climate change issues,” may be more challenging. As

company has extensive support systems for balancing

stakeholders look forward to seeing Sansan grow into awider-ranging services. This ability to respond swiftly

Data

Shiotsuki: Also, although the nomination andBusiness Strategies by Segment

Finally, do you have a message for our stakeholders?

Suzuki: One advantage of a company with an Audit &each decision is deliberated.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Valuea formal decision-making body. I think the company
Suzuki: Besides being an outside director, as anworld-class SaaS company.

compensation of directors is adequately discussed at

52

Board meetings, it might be worth establishing a non-Suzuki: As Ms. Shiotsuki noted, the group is at a major

mandatory committee to increase transparency andturning point. I believe you can look forward to seeing

objectivity. Also, a succession plan is not an immediate

it swiftly implement growth strategies that also accountconcern, but itʼs probably a good time to consider how

for medium- to long-term challenges. To respond to

Sansan will produce future successors, as the company

environmental changes, the company will need to takeis being managed in a unified manner by members who

more active risks. As outside directors, we will strive

have been present since its founding. I think the process

to provide proposals and advice from stakeholdersʼ

of considering such ideas will produce discussions aboutperspectives, without overly focusing on the numbers

the companyʼs state and lead to improved transparency

and while considering the balance between expected

and a more dynamic organization.

risk and return, and the feasibility of the returns.

Sansan, Inc.

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02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

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04_Data

On Value Creation

GovernanceEfforts to Enhance Corporate GovernanceCorporate Governancestrengthening the directorsʼ supervisory functions.
Through the Committee, we will secure transparency
in management decision-making and supervision ofbusiness execution. We will also establish an internal
control system and ensure it is operating thoroughlywhile striving to maintain and strengthen corporate
governance.

2007

2015

・ Company establisheddirector (bringing the number to two) to increase theBoardʼs diversity. Decisions about remuneration for
directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory Committee
members) will now be decided by a resolution of
the Board of Directors instead of the Representative
Director. The skills matrix of each director will also be
disclosed.

2019

・ Audit & Supervisory

Committee system adopted
・ Outside directors appointed

・ Independent directors

appointed and increased

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

We recognize the importance of sustainably
maximizing corporate value and contributing tosociety, as well as the need to gain the continued trustof all stakeholders. Accordingly, we have adopted
the system of an Audit & Supervisory Committee toimprove our corporate governance and enhance thesoundness and transparency of our management by

We have taken a range of measures for enhancing
corporate governance to achieve managementsoundness and transparency. In 2015, we adopted an
Audit & Supervisory Committee system with four outside
directors. In 2019–2021, we have strived to ensure
independence by selecting and increasing the numberof independent directors. In 2021, we added a female

2021
・ Number of female directors increased
・ Changes to Board of Directors' resolution

on determination of individual
remuneration, etc.
・ Disclosure of skill matrix for each director

Corporate Governance System

Board of Directors

General Meeting of Shareholders
Appointment/
Dismissal

Appointment/
Dismissal

Appointment/Dismissal

Board of Directors
Directors(excl. directors serving on the Audit &Supervisory Committee)

Cooperation

Directors serving on the Audit &Supervisory Committee

Cooperation

Appointment/Dismissal/
Supervision
Direction

Representative Director

Cooperation

Internal Auditing Department
Reporting

ReportingDirection/Commands

Internal auditing

Accounting Auditor

Reporting

Audit & Supervisory Committee

The Board of Directors consists of nine directors
including four (all outside directors) who are membersof the Audit & Supervisory Committee. We have thus
established a system that enables outside directors
to engage in management decision-making from a
broader perspective and to provide external

supervision of management, while drawing on theirinsights on corporate management and their fields ofspecialization based on an abundance of practicalexperience. The Board holds a regular monthly meeting,in principle, as well as extraordinary meetings wheneverneeded.

Business Strategies by Segment

Auditing/
Supervision

Composition of the Board of Directors
Ratio of Outside Directors

Ratio of Independent Directors

Ratio of Female Directors

Auditing

Departments

33%

22%

Data

44%
Status of Corporate Governance Structure
Organizational
Form

54

Company with Audit & Supervisory
Committee

Optional
Committees

Directors

9 (including 4 outside directors)

Incentives
Provided to
Directors

Stock option system has been
introduced

Directorsʼ
Terms

Directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory
Committee members)： One year
Directors serving on the Audit & Supervisory
Committee：Two years

Accounting
Auditor

KPMG AZSA LLC

Audit &
Supervisory
Committee
Members

4 (including 4 outside directors)

Corporate
Governance
Reporthttps://ir.corp-sansan.com/en/ir/
management/governance.html

Sansan, Inc.

None

Audit & Supervisory Committee
The Audit & Supervisory Committee comprises four
directors. All Committee members are outside directors;
three are independent directors. Director members of
the Committee provide oversight from their independent
perspectives on corporate management, bringing
expertise in areas such as legal affairs and accounting,and executive experience at other companies. They
give their opinions on directorsʼ performance of

duties, at meetings of the Board of Directors and othermeetings. Monthly Committee meetings are held tomonitor governance and its operational status, and toaudit and supervise directorsʼ daily activities, including
their performance of duties. The Committee also holds
meetings with the Internal Auditing Department andaccounting auditors, sharing pertinent information forauditing.

ANNUAL REPORT 202255

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03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

Policies and Procedures in Nominating Candidates for Directors and Dismissing Directors

Key Initiatives
to improve its functions and formulate various policies
to ensure our management is highly transparent.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Board of Directors
We conducted an effectiveness evaluation of the Boardof Directors in terms of business management, etc., asdelegated by the shareholders. The Board takes into
account the results when implementing its own PDCA
cycle to enhance corporate governance.
The Audit & Supervisory Committee deliberated
and expressed opinions on the evaluation of fiscal 2021
results for each director. The Board then discussed theresults, reached a shared awareness, and decided
on steps for improvement. The evaluation judged theBoardʼs effectiveness to have been ensured, finding, inmany instances, that its performance was appropriate

or mostly appropriate on the major assessment items:
the Boardʼs responsibilities, its size and composition,
frequency of meetings, its decision-making process, andthe quality of information it receives.
Considering the view that there needs to be deeper
Board discussions and a better training system fordirectors, given the business scale and the increasing
responsibilities of a listed company, we will formulatea roadmap and implement measures to improve theBoardʼs effectiveness, including creating educational
opportunities through more appropriate agenda-setting
for the Board and dialogues based on specific cases.

We consult with our outside directors in advanceregarding our policy for determining base remuneration
amounts and performance-linked and non-monetary

remuneration for directors and other related matters.
After receiving their opinions, the content of thesepolicies is determined through a Board resolution.

Determination of the Amount of Individual Remuneration and Calculation Methods for Basic Remuneration (Fixed
Monetary Remuneration)
Individual remuneration for directors (excluding Audit &Supervisory Committee members) is determined each year
within the limit of total remuneration amounts resolved at theGeneral Meeting of Shareholders. Consideration is given to
factors such as responsibilities and performance, as well as ourbusiness performance and the state of the economy. Meanwhile,
remuneration for directors who are Audit & Supervisory Committee
members is determined based on discussion by all Committee
members, and within the limit of total remuneration amounts
resolved at the General Meeting of Shareholders.

Introduction of remuneration linked to company performanceand non-monetary remuneration will require a Board of Directors
resolution. A Board resolution will also determine how such asystem and the amount (formula) are decided, and the proportionof each remuneration type for each individual. From fiscal 2022,
individual remuneration for directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory
Committee members) may include price-linked stock options as a

medium- to long-term incentive. The ratio to basic remuneration,
appropriate limits, and conditions for such options will be set basedon factors such as the business environment and other companiesʼ
remuneration levels, so as to maximize directorsʼ performance anddesire to contribute, strengthen correlation with the stock price, andencourage appropriate risk-taking.

Training Policy for Directors
We strive to provide documents, explanations, andrelevant information in advance to facilitate fuller
Board deliberations and help directors fulfil theirauditing and supervisory functions. A secretariat aids
the smooth functioning of the Audit & Supervisory

Internal Controls
We strive to maintain and strengthen our corporate
governance by establishing an internal control system
based on our Basic Policies on Internal Control Systems
and ensuring it operates fully. These same policies
stipulate that directors and employees must conduct
appropriate corporate activities based on high ethicalstandards following our corporate philosophy. We havealso established the Internal Auditing Department, an

members) from fiscal 2022 will be considered based on factors suchas past distributions and years of service. This does not preclude
other costs to be paid as compensation that may arise separately.

Matters Related to Delegating Remuneration Decisions
Individual remuneration for directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory
Committee members) is determined by a Board resolution requiring
approval by a majority of directors and all independent directors.

56

Sansan, Inc.

We have also introduced a Stock Acquisition Rights Trust andPerformance Target-linked Stock Acquisition Rights to incentivize
directors to improve corporate value over the medium- to long-term.

independent body directly under the Representative
Directorʼs control that ensures the thorough operationof the internal control system. Specifically, it conducts
regular audits to confirm that operations comply
with laws, the Articles of Incorporation, and internal
regulations. It also provides direction on improving
any uncovered issues and confirms the status of these
improvements.

Strengthening of Group Governance
We have established the Rules on Managementof Subsidiaries as the basic policy for managing
our subsidiaries, and strive to have a system thatstrengthens governance, including managementagreements with subsidiaries pursuant to these Rules.
The Internal Auditing Department regularly audits
subsidiaries to verify that operations comply with laws,
the Articles of Incorporation, and internal regulations.

Policies Regarding Tax
We strive to maintain and improve our tax complianceand pay taxes fairly, based on a strong sense of ethics
and our responsibility to contribute to national andDetermining the Timing and Conditions of Payment/Distribution of Director Remuneration
Directors receive fixed monthly remuneration. The timing of
distribution of price-linked stock options adopted as individual
remuneration for directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory Committee

Committee, comprising outside directors. With access to
key meetings and documents, it can promptly provide
reports and other information as required. It also
arranges third-party training for outside directors, withthe company covering the expenses.

Data

Introduction and Determination of Remuneration Linked to Company Performance and Non-Monetary Remuneration

or experts in law, accounting, and compliance.
For (non-Committee) directors, the Representative
Director proposes candidates who meet our policies.
After obtaining opinions from the Committee, the Board
discusses the candidates and submits them to the
Shareholdersʼ Meeting for resolution.
For the Committee, the Representative Director
nominates candidates who meet our policies. With theconsent of the Committee, the Board discusses thecandidates and submits them to the Shareholdersʼ
Meeting for resolution. The Board and the Committeemonitor and supervise each directorʼs performance,
and will deliberate the dismissal of any director not
meeting requirements.

Business Strategies by Segment

Policy and Process of Determining Remuneration

The Articles of Incorporation stipulate that the numberof directors (excluding Audit & Supervisory Committee
Members) and the Committee Members shall not
exceed eight and five, respectively. We balanceexperience, knowledge and skills, and value diversity
when appointing them. For the non-Committee
directors, we nominate people with extensive andrelevant business knowledge and experience, whoshould contribute greatly through the relevant business,
fulfill their duties as directors, and contribute toimproving our corporate value. For the Committee, we
nominate individuals who can comment on our overallmanagement using their abundant practical experienceand knowledge, such as executives at other companies

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

To further enhance the level of corporate governance,
we evaluate the effectiveness of the Board of Directors

On Value Creation

Governance

Methods of Addressing
Taxationcommunity development. Specifically, we comply withlaws and regulations applicable to all countries andregions where we conduct business activities.

• We aim to reduce our taxation risks through taxation planning, fulfilling our responsibility as a taxpayer
through appropriately declaring and paying taxes.
• We do not engage in tax planning intended to avoid tax, such as using non-substantial entities in tax havensor arbitrarily avoiding tax in a manner that is abusive and inconsistent with our business objectives.
• Transaction prices applying to foreign transactions are calculated under each country or region's relevantlaws and regulations and the arm's length principle.
• We will respond sincerely to requests for information disclosure from taxation authorities and maintain good
relationships with them.
• We will endeavor to clarify how transactions for which tax interpretations are unclear should be processedby thoroughly reviewing them with our tax advisors.

ANNUAL REPORT 202257

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02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

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On Value Creation

GovernanceDirectors

Position

Responsibilities
and signiﬁcantconcurrent positionat outside company

Kei Tomioka

Kenji Shiomi

Yuta Ohma

MuneyukiHashimoto

Representative Director &CEO*1

Director, Executive Officer,
CRO*2, Managing
Executive (Business Division)

Director, Executive Officer,
CISO*3, DPO*4, Managing
Executive (Engineering
Division, Eight Division)

Director, Executive Officer,
CHRO*5, Managing Executive(Human Resources Division)

Outside Director of Unipos
Inc.

−

−

−

Maki Suzuki

Toru Akaura

Director, Executive Officer,
CFO*6, Managing Executive(Corporate Division)

Outside Director, Audit &Supervisory Committee
MemberOutside Director, Audit &Supervisory Committee
MemberIndependent

OutsideOutside Director of Unipos
Inc.

Attorney at Shintaro Sato Law
OfficeOutside Director of S-Pool, Inc.
Representative Director of
Incubate Fund KK
Outside Audit & Supervisory
Board Member of Double
Standard Inc.

Director (Full-time Audit
and Supervisory Committee
member) of CyberAgent, Inc.

Representative Director of dof
Inc. Outside Director of CARTAHOLDINGS Inc.
Director of CC Corporation
Outside Director of forStartups, Inc. Outside Directorof ZOZO, Inc.

OutsideToko Shiotsuki
Outside Director, Audit &Supervisory Committee
MemberOutsideIndependent

Taro Saito
Outside Director, Audit &Supervisory Committee
MemberOutsideIndependent

Kei began his career with
Oracle Corporation Japan,
and was based in Shanghai
and Bangkok, taking chargeof market development acrossGreater China (China, Hong
Kong, Taiwan), Southeast Asia,
and India. In 2007, Kei cofounded Sansan, Inc. and ledbusiness efforts for Sansan,
the sales DX solution. Now as
CRO, he oversees companywide operating revenue.

Kenji co-founded Sansan, Inc.
in 2007, after working withBussan System Integration
Co., Ltd. (now Mitsui
Knowledge Industry Co.,
Ltd.), where he designed anddeveloped mail systems for
major mobile carriers. Since
2012, he has been in chargeof the Eight B2C contact andcareer management app.
Now as Engineering Division
Head, he oversees thecompany-wide technology
strategy and strengthens its
engineering group.

Yuta began his career at ahuman resources company,
where he helped launch aconsulting service. He thenwent independent and served
as a director for a ventureﬁrm in recruitment. Yuta
joined Sansan, Inc. in 2010 asa Manager in sales and later
became the head of HR. As
CHRO, he leads strategies
for optimizing the value andproductivity of Sansanʼsworkforce.

Muneyuki worked for foreign
securities companies in Tokyo
and New York for nearly 9
years, providing M&A andﬁnancing advisory services.
He then moved to a groupcompany of the Development
Bank of Japan to work in
private equity. He joined
Sansan, Inc. in 2017, and was
appointed CFO in 2018 tolead the companyʼs ﬁnancial
strategy.

Maki, an attorney at law,
was admitted to the New
York State Bar Association
after working since 2003 at
TMI Associates. She joined
the Shintaro Sato Law Officein 2017 and has been amember of the Dai-Ni Tokyo
Bar Association since 2021.
She became an Outside
Director of Sansan, Inc. inAugust 2022. Her expertiseis in corporate legal affairs
and compliance, and she
provides recommendations
from a legal and diversity
perspective.

Toru is a General Partner at
Incubate Fund. Following his
involvement in investment
development tasks at Japan
Associated Finance Co.,
Ltd. (now JAFCO Group Co.,
Ltd.), he founded his own
venture capital company.
Having become an Outside
Director of Sansan, Inc.
in August 2007, he makes
general management
recommendations.

Toko is a Director at
CyberAgent, Inc., a Junior
Accountant, and a Juris
Doctor. After working withJapan Airlines Co. Ltd., shejoined CyberAgent as aStanding Auditor, and in 2017
became a Director. Tokobecame an Outside Directorof Sansan, Inc. in August2021. She gives guidanceon auditing and diversity,
applying accounting andlegal knowledge along withcorporate experience.

After working with DENTSU
Inc., Taro founded dof inc.
in 2009 and became its
CEO. He is also working asa Communication Designer.
He became an Outside
Director of Sansan, Inc. inAugust 2022. He provides
recommendations on generalmanagement issues basedon his extensive experience
as a communication designer
and the insights he has
acquired as a board memberof several companies.

Date of appointment
as director

June 2007

June 2007

June 2007

August 2019

August 2020

August 2022

August 2007

August 2021

August 2022

Number of shares held*7

41,432,920

4,160,000

2,320,000

88,00067,20001,720,000

00

17 of 17 times

17 of 17 times

17 of 17 times

17 of 17 times

17 of 17 times−

17 of 17 times

13 of 13 times−

Corporate management

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

Data, information security

●

●

●

Data

Chika began his career with
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. After moving
to the IT Marketing Division,
he relocated to Silicon Valley
to work with local venturecompanies to develop their
Japan-focused businesses.
After returning to Japan, Chika
launched an internal venture
and worked for an affiliatedcompany, after which hefounded Sansan, Inc. in 2007.

Business Strategies by Segment

ProﬁleChika Terada

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Name

Attendance at Board of Directors meetings
FY2021
Skills, diversity●

Finance, accounting, legal●

Personnel, HR development
Global-mindedness●

Sustainability●

Primary reasons for above
designation- Founder- Representative Director- Worked in the U.S.
- Chairperson, Kamiyama
Marugoto College of
Design, Technology, andEntrepreneurship●●- Co-Founder- Director- Worked for a company
focused on Asia

- Co-Founder- Director- Launch of services- CISO, DPO, and leads
the Engineering Division- Worked in the U.S.

●●●

- Director- CHRO- Director at anothercompany●- Director- CFO- M&A and ﬁnancing
advisory services inJapan and the U.S.

●●

- Attorney in Japan and
New York- Legal expertisein corporate law,compliance, and labormatters- Representative directorof a venture capitalcompany operating
domestically andinternationally●- Full-time auditor at acompany- Assistant public
accountant- Doctor of Jurisprudence- Representative directorof a company- Has lived in the U.S.

*1 Chief Executive Officer *2 Chief Revenue Officer *3 Chief Information Security Officer *4 Data Protection Officer *5 Chief Human Resources Officer *6 Chief Financial Officer *7 As of May 2022

58

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 202259

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data8) COVID-19
pandemic• Negative impact on new Sansan sales
activities due to cautious investment bycompanies• Reduced growth of Eight's recruiting
services due to companies' reluctanceto recruit• Develop services and functions suited to societal
changes• Develop and implement a Business continuity planfor dealing with infectious disease spread9) Upfront
investments inadvertising andpromotions• Significantly increased expenditures due
to changes in advertising policies andplans• Monitor cost effectiveness of advertising activities

10) Investments
such as corporate
acquisitions• Delayed business planning after anacquisition or investment• Conduct sufficient due diligence on target
companies• Carefully monitor and follow up with target
companies

11) Systeminfrastructure
investments• Unexpected additional investments in
hardware and software to ensure stable
operation of services• Carefully monitor external access• Design appropriate system infrastructure
investments to accommodate business expansion12) Establishmentof management
control system• Delays in building a business structure
and internal management system toaccommodate expansion of the scale ofour business• Develop rigorous internal control systems in linewith business and employee growth13) Training andsecuring humanresources• Lack of qualified personnel• Delays in securing sales personnel
for Sansan/Bill One, and loss of sales
personnel• Actively recruit human resources• Strengthen systems through internal training, etc.
• Improve working environments

14) Dependence on
specific individuals• Occurrence of any event that makes
it difficult for Representative Director
Chika Terada to continue working for
any reason• Ensure company structure is not overly reliant on
the Representative Director• Strengthen information sharing among board
members and the managing organization

15) Laws andregulations• Impacts of new privacy-related laws
and regulations in Japan and overseas,
as well as laws regulating internetrelated businesses, etc.

• Gather information on legal regulations, etc.,
identify issues, and implement solutions16) Intellectual
property right
infringement, etc.

• Claims for damages or injunctions fromthird parties for patent or trademark
infringement• Third-party infringement of ourintellectual property• Conduct patent infringement searches throughpatent firms• Apply for and register trademarks• Implement legal measures

Overseas risks17) Launchingoverseas• Difficult to address risks specific toforeign countries• Delays in monetizing overseas
businesses• Gather information and identify issues in regions
where business is to be developed, and formulate
appropriate business plans

Others18) Granting
incentives• Dilution of existing shareholders' sharesfrom exercising issued stock options• Design stock options with due considerationof market conditions and impacts on existing
shareholders

frameworks. We have also identiﬁed thoroughcompliance as one of the key governance issues wemust address, and we will use various measures tostrengthen our managerial foundations, supporting
rapid business growth under a multi-product structure.
Investment risks

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value• Increased competition from existing
operators and new entrants

Risks fromexternal
environment

Addressing Risk and Compliance
We strive to stay aware of potential risks that could
severely impact our business management, and toeither prevent them from manifesting or respondto them if they become a reality. We, therefore,
maintain a risk management system and risk response

7) Competition• Create new value• Proactively introduce new technologies• Protect our intellectual property rights by obtaining
patents, etc.
• Promote M&A, and capital and business alliances

On Value Creation

GovernanceRisk and Response Categories

Classiﬁcation

Item

Response• Leaks, loss, falsification, or unauthorized
use of customer information due tonatural disasters, accidents, malicious
and/or unauthorized access byexternal parties, and intentional acts or
negligence by inside parties• Establish and operate a personal information
protection management system• PrivacyMark certification• ISMS, ISO27017 certification and SOC2 reports• Require all employees to acquire certification as a
Protection of Individual Information Person• Gather information on new legal regulations inJapan and overseas, and implement necessary
responses• Ensure compliance with laws and regulations andmanage contractors' safety• System failures due to natural disasters
such as fires and earthquakes, external
damage, human error, or otherunexpected events that interfere withthe use of our equipment and network• Conduct load balancing and periodic backups
across multiple servers• Set up real-time access log checking functions
and an immediate notification system for software
failures• Conduct recovery training based on failure
scenarios3) Service failures,etc.

• Problems arising in our applications,software, and systems• Major defects identified that could
interfere with our business operations• Build and maintain a highly reliable development
system• Develop and implement incident guidelines forservices

4) Internet accessenvironments• New internet usage regulations being
introduced and having adverse effects• Gather information on internet-related legal
regulations, identify issues, and implement
solutions

Information
security risks

2) Equipment andnetwork stability

Risks fromexternal
environment

60

Sansan, Inc.

5) Cloud business• Increased competition due to theemergence of groundbreaking services
from other companies• Demand for our cloud services fallingsignificantly below our expectations

6) Responding
to technologicalinnovations• Slow responses to technologicalinnovations, etc.
• Unexpected development costs, etc.

• Create new value• Proactively introduce new technologies• Protect our intellectual property rights by obtaining
patents, etc.
• Promote M&A, and capital and business alliances

Human risks

Legal risks

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

Details1) Handlingof personal
information

Risks to services

pandemic. We strive to stay aware of potential risks that
could severely impact our business management andto either prevent them from manifesting or respond tothem if they become a reality. We, therefore, maintain arisk management system and risk response frameworks.

Business Strategies by Segment

Our software is cloud-based, so the management andbusiness risks we face primarily relate to information
security and technological innovation. Yet we also facerisks in areas of high uncertainty, such as changing
business practices and user trends due to the COVID-19

61

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02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Governance

Addressing Antisocial Forces
Our policy against antisocial forces and groups thatthreaten social order and safety is defined in our Basic
Policy regarding Antisocial Forces. We fully recognize
the importance of cutting all ties with antisocial forces

Compliancethis approach, we have identified “Ensure compliance”
as one of our material issues to prioritize. In line with
this, we are making efforts to instill an awareness ofcompliance among all employees.

Department, Legal Department, and Human Resources
Division. The Compliance Committee helps formulate
related policies and measures and provides overall
compliance monitoring. In principle, the Committee
meets once a year, but it also meets as needed in theevent of misconduct or other irregularities.

Establishing Internal Reporting Contacts

Moreover, to further reinforce ethical conduct andattitudes, we will use our guideline to do our utmost
to prevent bribery-related acts (including facilitation
payments).

also Committee members.
In accordance with the Whistle-Blower Protection
Act, the content and privacy of consultations areprotected at the reporting stage, and those making
reports are fully protected from prejudicial treatment.
Also, the external contacts are fully independent fromthe company. In addition to the Internal Reporting
Contacts, a Harassment Consultation Contact has been
established and is managed by the Human Resources
Division under strict confidentiality, so employees canfeel comfortable about discussing harassment issues
with us.

The Internal Auditing Department reports directly
to the Representative Director. It conducts periodic
internal audits of each department and organization
to confirm their compliance with internal regulations.
Specifically, it prepares an internal audit plan for eachfiscal year and provides suggestions and guidance for

improving operations as required. It also confirms thatsuggested improvements are made. Results are thenreported to the Representative Director and the audited
departments. Additionally, it holds regular dialogues
with the Committee and shares information necessary
for audits.

Security Audits
Through independent and objective audits, the Internal Auditing
Department confirms the status of compliance with our personal
information protection management system ( JIS) and the status

of JIS operation. It also monitors whether the management of
information systems for handling information assets is adequately
maintained and performed.
Business Strategies by Segment

We have established internal reporting structure
regulations for promptly assessing and dealing withinformation on violations or potential violations of laws
and regulations. We have also established internalreporting contacts available to all employees (including
contract, temporary, and part-time employees) andformer employees.
We have established three contact points alongside
the Internal Reporting Contacts handled by the Internal
Auditing Department. Others include an external contact
outsourced to an outside law firm and an external
contact handled by the Audit & Supervisory Committee,
which is composed entirely of outside directors who are

We believe raising awareness of bribery is vital to
our accelerated business development in Japan andoverseas. In response, we have established basic antibribery principles and specific behavioral guidelines.

Conducting Internal Audits

Compliance Structure
In line with our Compliance Regulations, which
stipulate basic matters related to compliance, we haveestablished a Compliance Committee. The Committee
is chaired by the Representative Director who also has
ultimate responsibility for compliance. It comprises fulltime directors and the heads of the Internal Auditing

Addressing Bribery Risks
Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

In line with our philosophy, our basic policy is to conduct
appropriate corporate activities based on high ethicalstandards. We believe it is essential to develop ourbusiness fairly and responsibly, using the added value
we generate as a source of competitiveness. Based onfrom the perspective of social responsibility, compliance,and corporate defense, and all our directors, officers,
and employees will strive to ensure the appropriatenessof and safety in our duties by complying with this Policy.

Comprehensive Auditing
Th ro u g h i n d e p e n d e nt a n d o b j e c t i ve a u d i ts , t h e Inte r n a l
Auditing Department confirms that our business operations andmanagement of assets and facilities are being appropriately
executed and managed.

Holding Compliance Training
We ensure all officers and employees undertake
training on preventing various types of harassment in
the workplace and that they correctly understand thefactors of harassment, such as abuse of oneʼs position of
power and a lack of awareness of power dynamics,
as well as inadequate understanding and knowledge

about different values. Furthermore, in addition toformulating management policies for insider trading,
we strive to improve employeesʼ awareness andknowledge of legal compliance by holding regularseminars and training sessions on insider trading
regulations.

Data

How Internal Reporting Works
Each contact enables whistleblowers to make anonymous reports byemail, using a dedicated form, or by postal mail. After receiving thereport, the contact will make a report to the Compliance Committee
and the Audit & Supervisory Committee and conduct a fair andimpartial investigation based on the reportʼs content and a detailed

hearing with the individual filing the report. If the investigation
uncovers illegal activities, necessary corrective measures and otherrelevant responses will be implemented. Prompt steps will also betaken to prevent recurrence and ensure that similar problems do notarise.

Reporting/Consulting Contacts

62

Contacts

Section in Charge

Internal Reporting Contact

Internal Auditing Department

External Contact (Law Firm)

Outsourced law firm

External Contact (Audit & Supervisory Committee)

Audit & Supervisory Committee

Harassment Consultation Contact

Human Resources Division

Sansan, Inc.

Compliance Training for New Graduates and Mid-career Hires
We offer a variety of training programs for new
graduates and mid-career hires over set periods.
Specifically, we incorporate lecture-style and e-learning
programs to ensure an even deeper and broader
understanding of information security and compliance.
New employees are also required to take tests on topics
such as JIS, information security, insider trading, and theuse of social media.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

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01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_DataSpecial Feature

A Message from Our Business Managers

Developing Products and Functions tocontact information within organizations to increase

Support Our Growthsuitable for customer management and marketing, such

From Link Knowledge to Sansan, then Eight and Bill

who oversees Eight and the Engineering Division, discuss our past and future, and shed light on the companyʼs vision.

transfers and the ability to send bulk emails, enhancing
companiesʼ sales abilities.

technological developments to date.

Shiomi: Back then, I was already concentrating on Eight,
Kei Tomioka: Our CEO, Chika Terada, came up with thewhich we launched in 2012. At the time, we felt Link

concept for Link Knowledge to overcome challenges he

Knowledge was expanding too slowly as a business. So,

experienced while working at a trading company that

we decided it would be better to release a product for

had a wealth of human networks but couldnʼt shareindividuals, broadening our base all at once. To achieve

them effectively because of its organizational structure.

this goal, we established a new compact business

Chika realized that sharing the information on thedivision and proceeded to develop Eight, a businessbusiness cards each employee held would create hugecard management tool aimed at individuals.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Two of our founding members, Kei Tomioka, who oversees the business side of Sansan/Bill One, and Kenji Shiomi,

their revenue. Specifically, we now provide functionality
as automatic sharing of information about personnel

One, tell us about your respective businesses andMajor Shift After 15 Years:
Moving to our Next Business Phase with a
Multi-product Structure

On Value Creation

Individual Business Strategies

sales opportunities for the company. Thatʼs how ourbusiness started.
Kenji Shiomi: In the beginning, we called it Business
Card OS. The idea was to make business cards anoperating system for corporate activities. We decided on

Synergy Between Sansan and Eight
What are the synergies between these two major
businesses?

the product name Link Knowledge only after founding
Tomioka: There has been tremendous growth in Eight

Business Strategies by Segment

the company.

users since its release as an app for individual users.
Tomioka: Link Knowledge was launched on October 1,

This has also majorly impacted Sansan.

2007. The functionality was very simple – users would

Sansanʼs TV commercials produced outstanding results,

scan a business card, then, on the back end, we would

but again, as a service for businesses, its reach isconvert it into data that could be searched for andlimited. Eight, however, is for individuals, so its user basereferenced online. Our daily efforts, such as sales

is an order of magnitude broader. This has positively

activities and technological improvements, led to more

impacted Sansan, too. Many people use Eight yet they

than 1,500 companies adopting our service by April

have never heard of Sansan. Eightʼs reputation and2013. That made us the market leader. In August 2013,

brand recognition have created a great deal of businesswe changed the serviceʼs name to Sansan. This namefor Sansan.

embodies our vision of changing the way people work
Shiomi: Of course, these are the synergistic effects webusiness cards, into assets and connecting one person

had hoped for, but we still need to make much more

to another (or one San with another San, in Japanese).

progress. Right now, Eight has about three million

We therefore decided to promote its value as being ausers, but unless we increase that number significantly,

B2B cloud-based business card contact management

we wonʼt make exchanging business cards on Eight

service. We also launched our industryʼs first TV

commonplace.

Databy turning business encounters, as represented bycommercial as part of these efforts. This led to muchwider recognition, and it felt as though our business had

Tomioka: Weʼve also had requests from Sansan users.

leaped ahead by one or two phases.

For example, we were asked if updating business cards
on Eight could also update information on Sansan

As Sansan has developed, how have its functions evolved?
Director, Executive Officer, CISO, DPO,Managing Executive (Engineering Division, Eight Division)

Kenji Shiomi

64

Sansan, Inc.

Director, Executive Officer, CRO,Managing Executive (Business Division)

Kei Tomioka

regarding personnel shifts. In this way, there are areasof overlap between businesspeople and companies,

Tomioka: Alongside building accurate databases

and there are synergies between the two products or

through the use of human data entry operators, we

aspects that can be linked to value for our users.

decided to create the ability to share business card

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03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Special Feature

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate ValueA Message from Our Business Managers
Shiomi: Invoices can be physical documents sent by

response, we brought together our sales and marketingbigger challenges. I also believe our business concept

post or PDFs sent by email, with the format varying

divisions to produce the Business Division and ourhas become clearer. Therefore, I think weʼre ready to

What role do you think the customer success approachfrom company to company. So, our initial idea was todevelopment and research organizations to produce

progress one more step toward our mission of Turning

take advantage of Sansanʼs technology and operations,

the Engineering Division, shifting to a structure inencounters into innovation, so this will be my area of

which weʼve used to accurately digitize business cards,

which these two divisions work reciprocally to lead our

focus.

Tomioka: Customer success entails a straightforwardanother non-standard document, for over a decade.

productsʼ growth.

task. As the name implies, it supports our usersʼ success.

In the future, we plan to incorporate invoice issuing

Users need to accurately input information about theirfunctions, alongside the receiving options, to comply

Shiomi: Our initial product-based structure was thecompany. I want to put my energies into finding the best

connections and continuously update it. Supportingwith the new Japanese invoice system scheduled to be

most logical way to find solutions for each division.

method for relaunching Sansan, the sales DX solution,

habitual use is the key to achieving this behavior.

introduced in October 2023.

However, as we increased our product numbers, it

which we recently revamped, to enable change andfelt like our engineers were becoming too dispersed.

thus contribute to our mission and vision. I hope youʼll

We believed that bringing them together to create

keep following our progress.

plays in Sansan’s growth?

Customer success helps support this goal in a down-toearth way. Kenji actually first established the Customer

What are your thoughts on Sansan?

Tomioka: Weʼre at a significant turning point for our

a common foundation for our products would help

Success Department.
Shiomi: Sansan and Eight arenʼt instantly useful or

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

The Need for Customer SuccessTomioka: We have redefined Sansan, turning it into a

accelerate product launches and growth. This structure

sales DX solution. For the first time since our founding,would also let us share technologies that had only

valuable after you install them. They only produce value

weʼve shifted away from the keywords “business card”

been used on Sansan with Eight, and bring Bill Oneʼsafter you import contact information. Thatʼs why Chika

and are now betting on something else entirely. This

technologies to other products. We still have a long way

has asked us to focus on making sure this initial step

shift involves producing more value from more complex

to go, but this new structure is helping us redeploy andtakes place.

encounters by including a corporate database as

improve technology throughout the company.

standard and enabling customer information from email
From your respective standpoints, what do you hope toworking on Sansan for 15 years and weʼre determinedachieve in the future?

into Sansan. Simply urging people to use our product byto create a foundation for the next 10–15 years throughsaying, “All you have to do is scan them in,” isnʼt enough.

this relaunch.

Initially, we went to usersʼ offices to scan and digitize
enormous numbers of business cards. It was so muchBusiness Strategies by Segment

signatures and web forms to be stored. Weʼve been

business cards from different departments and staff

Tomioka: We understand that itʼs a hassle to import

Shiomi: Fifteen years have passed since our founding.
We now have enough members to take on even

What about Eight?

work that my fingers got tired.
Shiomi: Currently, weʼre shifting toward the concept of
Shiomi: I think such down-to-earth actions are vital andEight as a tool for shaping your own career, and weʼrethe best way to achieve customer success. In fact, weʼreevolving it into a tool you can use throughout yourstill scanning business cards on behalf of our users.

meshes well with factors like career changes, learning,and event participation. Based on these developments,
we hope to double our current number of users,

Bill One, the cloud-based invoice management solution
is seeing excellent results. How do you view its future inincluding those outside Japan.

light of COVID-19?

The Aim of Our Multi-product Structure

Tomioka: We released Bill One in 2020, and as of May

The new multi-product structure consists of three31, 2022, it has 776 paid subscriptions. It was in the works

organizations: the Business Division, Product Unit, andfor three or four years. We kept going back and forth on

Engineering Division. Why was it arranged that way?

it internally, and finally completed a simple but excellent
product. That was at the onset of the pandemic, andTomioka: Before the change, we had a product-based

we launched it believing it would help our users workbusiness structure with salespeople and engineers

remotely. We also feel that revisions to Japanʼs lawsin each organization. However, as we increased ourhave given it a boost.

product numbers, we had redundant resources andOur reportable segments consist of the Sansan/
Bill One and Eight.
Sansan/Bill One provides services to businesses,
and our founding service, the Sansan sales DX
solution, accounts for about 87% of consolidated
net sales and is a pillar of our growth. Bill One, acloud-based invoice management solution within
the same market segment, has continued to growat a high rate since its launch in May 2020.
Eight is a contact and career management app.
Weʼre monetizing its network of more than 3
million registered users by providing a variety ofcorporate facing services.

Net Sales by Segments*1(millions of yen)

Data

Product Management During COVID-19

working life. Specifically, weʼre focusing on ensuring it

Structure of Reportable Business Segments■ Sansan/Bill One Business■ Eight Business■ Others/Adjustments

2,213

121

18,105*1 As of May 2022. The few other services not included in reportable segments
are recorded in Other, while elimination of intra-company transactions(sales), and costs not allocated to segments are recorded in Adjustments

operations that slowed us down in certain areas. In

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ANNUAL REPORT 202267

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

Solutions for Promoting Corporate DX
solution; and Contract One, our cloud-based contract
management solution. Each solution resolves businesschallenges by digitizing analog information to increasebusiness efficiency and enable effective data use.

Technology for Digitizing Analog
Information

Strong Recognition of Sansan inJapan

One of the Largest SaaS
Companies in Japan

Our unique operations combine
technology and manual human input toachieve highly accurate digitization.
(→ p.18 Business Model）

Since Sansanʼs first TV commercial wasaired in 2013, we have gained a high levelof recognition in Japan. This recognition
has contributed significantly to thecredibility of our services.

Our position as one of Japan ʼ s largest
SaaS companies has provided us withstrengths in sales and marketing.

Main Services

Financial Results*1

Sales DX Solution

Net Sales(millions of yen)(millions of yen)

■ Bill One■ Others(Contract One, etc.)/
Adjustments(millions of yen)
5,290

5,752

A System for Business Operations That Supports Multiple Products

14,60521,9982022

18,1052021

2022

2023 (forecast)

2021

2022

*1 Graph shows for each year ended May 31

Even today, companies still incorporate paperbased analog processes in their workflows. Delays
in digitization are a major barrier towards improved
operational efficiency and effective data use.
Obtaining accurate information, such as company
names, customer names, titles, and contact details,
and using it efficiently are crucial for sales activities.
However, in most cases, customer contact information,such as exchanged business cards, e-mails, and records
of prior meetings, is managed by individual employees.
Thus, this valuable information is not effectively
utilized within companies. In addition, management
methods are often analog. These limitations create
significant space for improving operational efficiency

through digitalization. Since the COVID-19 pandemic,
opportunities to exchange business cards havedecreased due to the spread of online meetings. This
shift makes it more crucial than ever to obtain accurate
information on business partners and manage andutilize information on contact points. For companies
that are being contacted for the first time, detailed
information on sales, industry, employee numbers,
and regions is not available. These limitations make itchallenging to select appropriate targets for new sales
and to develop efficient sales strategies.
In addition, paper invoices are still more common
than digital ones for many businesses. A reliance on
paper-based processes such as managing mailed

With Sansan as our core business, we arefocused on expanding our business fields andcreating new services by leveraging the strengths
we have cultivated. This focus has resulted inincreased service value and has also increased
the importance of the synergy between these
services. As a result, we now believe we haveproduced a multi-product business portfolio.
This multi-product structure is supportedby three organizations: our Product Unit,
Engineering Division, and Business Division. These
organizations function as a business management
system to efficiently increase the speed of ourbusiness growth.
Specifically, the systemʼs function starts with
GMs being assigned to each major product. The
GMs have essential roles and responsibilities
related to planning business strategies,
monitoring earnings, and making commitments
to business plans, allowing each product togrow independently. Next, the Engineering
Division̶where the engineering functions foreach product are focused̶works to further
improve our technological capabilities, which arealso the source of our competitive advantage,by providing high-level employee training andeffectively utilizing our R&D resources. Finally, theBusiness Division brings the sales and marketing
departments for Sansan, Bill One, and otherproducts together under the control of a single
headquarter. This configuration means we canallocate sales and marketing resources to highgrowth products in an agile and flexible manner.
Due to their nature, the recruitment-related
services, business events, and other services weprovide through Eight are not sold under our
multi-product structure. For this reason, nondevelopment-related resources are managed
within Eight Division.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Data

Social Issues/Needs

Sansan, Inc.

Cloud-based Contract
Management Solution

Adjusted Operating Profit

22,632

17,214Cloud-based Invoice
Management Solution

8.7% year on year, primarily due to enhancements toour sales structure and marketing initiatives mainly torealize further growth of Bill One. For the fiscal 2022, we
expect sales growth of between 21.5% and 25.0%.

18,105

826 63Comprehensive Business
Card Making Solution

Business Strategies by Segment

Sales Breakdown■ Sansan/Sansan Meishi Maker

68

Competitive Advantages

Our Technical Organization ̶ Past and Present

In the fiscal 2021, net sales for our Sansan/Bill One
business increased 24.0% year on year, mainly due tosolid growth from Sansan and continued high growthfrom Bill One. Our adjusted operating profit increased

to diversifying work styles. The public and private
sectors work together to computerize invoices in Japan.
Companies must also adapt to new frameworks, suchas the recent revisions to Japanʼs Electric Book Storage
Act and the introduction of a new invoicing system.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate ValueOur Sansan/Bill One business includes Sansan,
our sales DX solution; Sansan Meishi Maker, ourcomprehensive Business Card Making Solution;
Bill One, our cloud-based invoice management

documents, circulating invoices for internal approval,
and manually entering invoice details to pay themcreates a substantial barrier to efficiency. Since
employees are forced to come to work to deal withpaper invoices, analog processes also create a barrier

On Value Creation

Sansan/Bill One Business69

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Sansan/Bill One Business

Performance*1

Sales DX Solution: Sansan

The Database toPower Your Sales

Sansan Recurring Sales(millions of yen)
■ Sansan recurring sales● Ratio of Sansan

recurring sales■ Sansan others

95.0%
95.1%
14,519707

17,214865

customers.
As a result, Sansan sales increased 18.6% year on
year, within which recurring sales increased by 18.4%
and other sales increased by 22.3%.
To further increase sales, we are working totransform Sansan from a cloud-based business card
contact management service to a sales DX solution andproduced new functions in the lead up to the service
being made available in June 2022.

Number of Sansan Subscriptions/
Monthly Recurring Sales per
Subscription(subscriptions)

7,744

13,811

2021

2022

Last 12 Months Average ofMonthly Churn Rate for Sansan

8,488■ Number of

16,349

0.63%

0.62%

2021

2022

170,000 yen
Subscriptions
162,000 yen● Monthly Recurring
Sales per Subscription
2021

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate ValueIn the fiscal 2021, despite some negative impacts fromthe pandemic, Sansan subscriptions increased 9.6% year
on year, and monthly recurring sales per subscription
increased 4.9% year on year. These increases were theproduct of new subscriptions from medium and large
companies that we acquired thanks to improvements
to our sales structure. In addition, our last 12 months
average of monthly churn rate for Sansan*2 remained
low at 0.62%, down 0.01 points from the same period lastyear, due to ongoing efforts to expand use by existing2022*1 Graph shows for each year ended May 31 *2 Ratio of decrease in monthly fees associated with contract cancellations to total monthly fees from existing Sansan
subscriptions

a unified database unique to the userʼs question,enhancing the sales capabilities of individuals andorganizations.

Service Overview

Corporate database

A Database for Powering Sales
Sales DX Solution

Contact database

Data item
・Trade name・Location・Teikoku

・Representative

officer
information
・Executive
informationand more*Some information is linked only tobusiness cards in user ʼ s possession.

Sansan allows users to build their own unique databaseby combining our database of companies, whichcontains more than 1 million pieces of information, witha contact database that accumulates and visualizes allof their companyʼs contact points with customers, suchas business card exchanges, e-mails, participation inseminars, and website inquiries. This database enables
the efficient discovery of new sales contacts and thesharing of up-to-date information on client companies,
thereby enhancing individual sales representativesʼ
sales abilities. In addition, utilizing data through links

70

Sansan, Inc.

Business cards

EmailWebsiteinquiries

Virtual cards

Phone calls

Seminars

Although Sansan targets all companies, only about 3%*3of the working population in Japan uses our services,leaving ample room for development.
We have been adding new functions to Sansan aspart of its transformation, and, to achieve future growth,
we will promote such efforts even further, thereby
enhancing Sansanʼs value as a business database.
We will also expand our monthly recurring sales per
subscription by strengthening our sales structure toincrease subscriptions, as well as by acquiring newcustomers and promoting expanded use by existingcustomers based on the idea that all employees at user
companies will utilize our services (company-wide use).

Sansan Potential Market Size
Company Size

Sansan Coverage

Sansan Coverage

1,000+

16.1 %(+0.5 pt. YoY)

4.1 %(+0.9 pt. YoY)

100 to 999

3.9 %(+0.5 pt. YoY)

3.0 %(+0.6 pt. YoY)

99 or fewer

0.3 %(+0.0 pt. YoY)

1.1 %(+0.2 pt. YoY)

(Number of employees)(Company)*3(Employee)*3*3 The denominator is calculated based on statistics from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communicationsʼ 2016 Economic Census for Business Activity Survey.

Data

Databank code
・Establishmentdate・Industry・Employees
・Sales・Capital

Strategy

Business Strategies by Segment

Sansan is a sales DX solution. Based on the concept
of “The database to power your sales,” it combinescompany databases and contact databases to create

with external systems enables advanced planningand execution of sales strategies that suit customersʼ
needs, helping to maximize sales results across theorganization.
The serviceʼs business model includes a basic planfor company-wide use. Monthly fees consist of licensing
costs calculated based on the size of the user company
and the usage, plus scanner rental fees, etc. When acompany introduces Sansan, we also offer additional
paid services such as converting large numbers of
paper business cards and installation support.

Comprehensive Business Card Making Solution: Sansan Meishi Maker
Sansan Meishi Maker is a comprehensive business card
making solution, ordering, and administration based on
the concept of “A better way to make business cards. A
better way to work.” Users can use Sansan and otherplatforms for ordering business cards, applying forrenewals, approving them, and printing them.
Since its launch in May 2021, we have been working
to enhance functions to improve convenience andhave strengthened compatibility with external services,such as Google WorkspaceTM,*4 Microsoft Outlook,*5 andMicrosoft Teams.*5

Use for Printing
Paper Business Cards

Centralized
Management of
Business Card
Masters

Register Own
Business Card
Information

Use As an Online
Business Card

*4 Google Workspace is a trademark of Google LLC.
*5 Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams are either registered trademarks ortrademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

ANNUAL REPORT 202271

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Sansan/Bill One Business

Performance*1

Cloud-Based Invoice Management Solution: Bill One

Receive, digitize &centralize your invoices.
Fast monthly closing

Bill One ARR(millions of yen)

1,392

year and ARR*4 was 1,392 million yen, far exceeding ourtarget of 1 billion yen.
Bill One has established an invoice network that
includes paying and free subscribers who receive
invoices and users who send invoices to other users. The
number of companies participating in the network wasapproximately 41,000 as of May 31, 2022. The total valueof invoices exchanged on this network exceeded 670
billion yen for the single month of May 2022.

Bill One Number of Paid
Subscriptions/Monthly Recurring
Sales per Paid Subscription(subscriptions)● Monthly recurring

sales per paid
subscription

237

2021

Last 12 Months Average ofMonthly Churn Rate for Bill One
As of the end of May 2022

776

■ Number of subscriptions
105,000 yen
188

2022

2021

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Enhancements to our sales structure in fiscal 2021,
including hiring and expanded functionality, resulted
in new contracts from medium and large companies,
increasing paid subscription numbers and monthly sales
per paid subscription by 312.8% and 41.9%, respectively,
year on year. Our last 12 months average of monthly
churn rate*2 was just 0.49%.
As a result, Bill One sales increased 878.1% year on
year. In May 2022, our MRR*3 increased 486.3% year on

0.49%

149,000 yen

2022*1 Graph shows for each year ended May 31 *2 Ratio of decrease in monthly fees associated with contract cancellations to total monthly fees from existing Bill One
subscriptions *3 Monthly Recurring Revenue *4 Annual Recurring Revenue

Strategy
streamlined billing and is based on the concept of“Receive, digitize & centralize your invoices. Fast monthly
closing.”Service Overview
Side issuing the invoice

Postal mailUploadOne-stop receipt

Sansan, Inc.

Companies in Japan*5

Approximately
2 million

Companies in Bill One network

41,000Bill One paid subscriptions 776*5 The denominator is calculated based on statistics from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communicationsʼ 2016 Economic Census for Business Activity Survey

On behalf of users, Bill One aggregates invoices sent
in various formats and by various methods.

Digitization of invoices with 99.9% accuracy
AI, OCR, and input operators digitize invoices with high accuracy of 99.9%. Email notification
to person in charge that invoice has been received or that digitization has been completed.

Centralized management by database
In addition to the digitized invoices being centrally managed in a dedicateddatabase, provide functions to enable connectivity with other systems.

Bill One can accept invoices in various formats (paper,
PDF, etc.) from numerous locations and departments,
converting them into data with high accuracy. Thisaccuracy vastly reduces user workloads, enablingthem to complete various workflows such as content
review and approval in the cloud. In addition to invoicereceipt functionality, an optional issuance function is
also available. Since the digitized invoice informationis centrally managed in a highly searchable database,customers can use the data to control costs, produce

72Bill One Potential
Market Sizesales opportunities, and maximize future revenue
opportunities.
Its business model consists of an initial fee that
includes installation support and a monthly fee
calculated based on the number of invoices converted
to data by the user company. However, for corporations
with 100 or fewer employees, we offer a Small Business
Plan with no initial and monthly fees, subject to certain
conditions.

Cloud-Based Contract Management Solution: Contract One
Contract One is our cloud-based contract management
solution. It centralizes the management of contracts inpaper and electronic formats, simultaneously improving
efficiency and managing risk, based on the conceptof “Digitally transform your contract management to
reduce risk.” Users can complete analog tasks, likestamping, storing, and managing paper contracts,just by issuing online instructions. Since contracts areaccurately converted into data, all contract information
can be managed centrally and digitally. We haveengaged in various marketing activities and improved
Contract Oneʼs functionality since its launch in January2022, and we now have 88 subscriptions as of August
2022, getting the service off to a good start.

Data

Email
attachment

Bill One user companies

Bill One targets companies of all industries and sizes.
However, even with 41,000 companies in our invoice
network, this is only around 2%*5 of all companies inJapan. With vast potential for growth, we are working
to continue high sales growth through further market
penetration and expansion, aiming to have more thandoubled ARR, year on year, in May 2023. Specifically,
to maximize sales, we have enhanced sales activities,
and advertising/marketing activities centered on TV
commercials, and expanded functionality ahead ofJapanʼs introduction of a new invoicing system.

Business Strategies by Segment

Bill One is a cloud-based invoice management solutionthat supports the making of faster managerial decisions.
It does so by digitally transforming accounting throughApplying Stamps and Seals

Binding

Printing

Sending andReceiving

Storing Contract
Originals
Complete All Contract Work Online
Centralized Management of Contract Information

ANNUAL REPORT 202273

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

On Value Creation

Eight Business

Main Services
Contact and Career Management App

Event Transcription Services

Personal Career Management App
developing a range of paid individual and B2B services.
We also offer event transcription services through thelogmi series of services.

Overview of Eight Business
Financial Results*1
In the fiscal 2021, we augmented the monetization of
our B2B services (paid services for corporate), thereby
increasing Eight business net sales by 39.9% year-onyear. This increase resulted in a reduction of the adjusted
operating loss by 367 million yen compared with the

Net Sales(millions of yen)(millions of yen)286

■ B2C services(millions of yen)

2,213

3,010

1,927

2021

Eight is an app geared toward individuals rather thancompanies. When first time users open Eight, theyscan their business card and create a profile. Doingso gives them free access to the basic features. The
app is useful for accumulating and managing contacts
with its business card management functions, yet it
also lets users build their own career database byimporting their own past and present contacts. Users
can also efficiently identify useful career informationand opportunities and other information to help career

B2B
services

2,900

1,582

2022

Service Overview

Adjusted Operating Profit
2,213■ B2B services

Contact and Career Management App: Eight2022

2023 (forecast)

-732

2021

development, previously inaccessible company alerts,
and job openings. If users display their intent to seek
new employment, they can also receive job offers or beheadhunted.
The business model is based on providing paid
services to individuals and businesses. Our B2B offerings
include a recruitment platform, advertising service,business events, and contact management service. Our
B2C (paid, direct-to-consumer) service allows use ofpremium contact management features.

Recruiting
Platform

Eight Career Design

Fixed monthly fee*3 (fixed-term
subscription)

A recruiting platform that companies canuse to approach Eight users.

AdvertisingService

Eight Marketing Solutions

Usage feebased on number of ads sent*4(fixed-term subscription)

A service for advertising toEight users.

Business Events

Meets, Climbers, DX Camp,
Business IT & SaaS EXPO

Fixed fee*5 (pay-per-use)

A business events service for companies tooptimize how they attract customers, as wellas their marketing, using the Eight network.

Business Card
Management
Service

Eight Team

-355
2022

*1 Results for fiscal years ended in May

B2C
services

Eight Premium

Business Strategies by Segment

Sales Breakdown

same period last year.
The net sales growth rate is forecast to rise from
31.0% to 36.0% in fiscal 2022, and we are aiming adjusted
operating profit.

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate ValueThe Eight business offers the Eight contact and career
management app for individuals, with free basic
features. Eight has more than 3 million users and is

A service for intra-company sharing ofbusiness card information registered within
Eight.

Fixed monthly fee (annual
subscription)

This service includes all optional features,such as downloading business card data.

*3 Additional fee when a hiring decision is made. *4 Minimum ad placement fee. List of direct advertisement options. *5 Multiple fee settings depending on the type of event
held, etc.

Social Issues/Needs
Meanwhile, securing talented staff is an urgent
challenge for businesses. There is a growing diversityof recruitment methods, from job advertisements toemployment agencies, social network services, andword of mouth, yet they are failing to attract sufficient
workers amid a declining productive population. New
methods to reach quality talent are needed.

Competitive Advantages

74

Technology for Digitizing Analog
Information

Network of More than 3 Million
Users

Unique User Base of
Businesspeople

Our unique operations combine
technology and manual human input toachieve highly accurate digitization.
(→ p.18 Business Model）

At the end of fiscal 2021, Eight had 3.1
million users.*2

A key feature of Eight is that users mustenter their business card data to start
using the service. This means the majorityof its userbase is businesspeople.

Sansan, Inc.

*2 Authenticated users who have downloaded theapp and registered their own business card in theirprofile.

Performance*1
In the fiscal 2021, we focused on our B2B services.
This resulted in a 49.9% increase in net sales of B2B
services year on year. Moreover, the number of Eightusers increased by 180,000 year on year. However, the
COVID-19 pandemic brought changes in user behavior,causing a 3.6% fall in B2C net sales year on year.
Seeking further growth, we revamped Eightʼs concept
in April 2022, with it now acting as a contact and career
management app.

Data

Faced with a rapidly changing business environment
in recent years, more people are valuing career
independence – taking charge of their own
development instead of leaving it to their employer.
Nevertheless, thus far, few businesspeople have actually
managed to design their own careers. There is demandfor opportunities to actively do this and for the rightconditions to be established.

Net Sales

Number of
Eight Users(millions of yen)

2,213

■ B2C services■ B2B services(millions of users)
2.92

1,582

3.10

1,927

1,286
296

286

2021

2022

2021

2022

Strategy
Revamping the Eight product, as well as developing andenhancing features to help users design their careers,
will lead to the Eight Career Designs further growth. We

also aim to achieve a positive adjusted operating profit
in this fiscal year by harnessing our three-million-stronguser network and boosting monetization of B2B services.

ANNUAL REPORT 202275

01_On Value Creation

02_Business Strategies toIncrease Corporate Value

03_Business Strategies by Segment

04_Data

Main Shareholders

Company Information*1
Sansan, Inc.

Head Office

Aoyama Oval Building 13F, 5-52-2 Jingumae,
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

Number of shares

Shareholding ratio

Chikahiro Terada

41,432,920

33.16%The Master Trust Bank of Japan ,Ltd. (Trust Account)

17,699,800

14.16%DCM Ventures China Fund(DCM VII), L. P.

5,420,000

4.34%

A-Fund, L. P.

5,120,000

4.10%

Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust Account)

4,859,900

3.89%

Kei Tomioka

4,160,000

3.33%

Kenji Shiomi

2,320,000

1.86%

CNK, Inc.

2,047,080

1.64%

BBH BOSTON CUSTODIAN FOR NEXT GENERATION CONNECTIVITY ASIA FUND A SERIES T621052

1,772,100

1.42%

Toru Akaura

1,720,000

1.38%

Sansan Global Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
Sansan Corporation (United States)
logmi, Inc.

FoundedJune 11, 2007

Capital6,426 million yen

External Evaluation

Stock Information*1

Business Strategies by Segment

Stock CodeAnnual Report4443
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Prime Market

Fiscal Year

June 1 – May 31

Shareholder Registry Administrator

Tokyo Securities Transfer Agent Co., Ltd.

Number of Shares Constituting
One Trading Unit

100

Total Number of Issued Shares

124,963,596

Number of Shareholders

9,773

The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)
selected Sansan, Inc.ʼs Annual Report for 2021 as a“most-improved integrated report.” We also received an

Honors Award in the Traditional Annual Reports category
at the International ARC Awards, hosted by MerComm,
Inc., an independent awards organization in the U.S.

Corporate Website
Our corporate website was selected as an “Excellent
Site,” an overall award given as part of the “Fiscal
2021 Corporate Website Quality Ranking Survey of All
Japanese Listed Companies.” The survey is published by

Nikko Investor Relations Co., Ltd., which conducts surveys
and evaluations of the quality of the websites of all listedcompanies from an independent perspective. Surveys
are published annually.
Data

Stock Exchange Registration

Distribution of Shares by
Shareholder Type

Name

Business Strategies to Increase Corporate Value

Company NameGroup Companies

On Value Creation

Company and Stock Information

ESG Indexes■ Individuals and others 47.85%

We are listed in the MSCI Japan Empowering Women
Index (WIN), composed of the top 700 Japanese stocks
by market capitalization with high percentages offemale employees/managers, and the S&P/JPX Carbon

Efficient Index, which is based on TOPIX component
companiesʼ disclosure of environmental information,
carbon efficiency (volume of carbon emissions relative torevenues), and other factors, (as of September 30, 2022).

■ Foreign financial

institutions and individuals 28.47%■ Domestic financial institutions 20.19%■ Other domestic corporations 2.17%■ Securities 1.32%

Website Information

・Corporate Website

https://www.corp-sansan.com/

・Investor Relations

https://ir.corp-sansan.com/en/ir.html

・Sustainability

https://www.corp-sansan.com/sustainability/*1 As of May 31, 2022

76

Sansan, Inc.

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

77© Sansan, Inc.