CLIENT INTERVIEW
TOPPAN Inc.
Information Solutions BU
Marketing DX Business Division
Engagement Design Division
Takatoshi Keino
Experts we can turn to without hesitation
Tell us about the background to your work with SSS.
They support our team in a new style, different from conventional "on-site" staffing.
Keino: Our relationship with SSS has continued for about four or five years now. Unlike conventional on-site staffing, where someone is stationed in the office all the time, SSS joins the team at the moments we need them, which I feel is a new style of engagement. This arrangement was quite unusual for us, and I believe it was a first.
How has your day-to-day work changed since SSS became involved in this way?
Expert, yet approachable. People we can consult without hesitation.
Keino: The biggest change is that we now have more members we can consult casually. They have specialized knowledge, yet they immediately show us a path for how to proceed with a strategy, which makes them a reassuring presence for our members. For our younger female members in particular, there were few senior women within the organization they could turn to for advice, so filling that gap was significant. I hear that some even use them as a reference for how to build their careers. Recently, they have begun preparing AI-based strategies and action plans a step ahead, and even a step beyond that, and I feel the pace has picked up further.
Is there an episode from a client proposal that stands out?
A calm way of speaking and real expertise build clients' trust.
Keino: Their calm, unhurried style when presenting to one client left an impression on me. It was a reassuring pace that even someone without expertise could easily follow, and I myself now use that style as a reference in other proposals. Also, during a proposal for a technically demanding website build, an SSS member joined us when detailed questions came up and explained web trends and mechanisms in an easy-to-understand way on the spot, firmly winning the client's trust. That also stood out. Recently, more clients use AI to judge the merits of proposals, and even in that context, I feel that being able to explain properly in your own words on the spot is what leads to trust.
How is SSS viewed by the members around you?
The first name that comes up for difficult projects.
Keino: The junior members of our team often travel together with SSS members on business trips, and I hear that they find them easy to consult as senior women. I also hear that when a difficult project comes up, SSS is often the first option named, which tells me they are trusted enough to be put forward as a candidate. I have even heard comments like "When we work together with SSS, I can perform at my very best, too," so I think they have earned considerable trust from those around them.
What would you like to take on with SSS going forward?
We want to pioneer the cutting edge together, with AI at the core.
Keino: Going forward, the keyword we cannot leave out is AI. We would like SSS to run alongside us in pushing how far we can take proposals in the most advanced areas of web and digital. At the same time, raising the overall level of the whole team is an important challenge. They already run AI study sessions for us, and if they continue to support us on the development side as well, I feel the organization as a whole can move up to the next stage.
Finally, do you have a message for the SSS team?
A partner we want to keep moving forward with, as people as well as professionals.
Keino: A new project is about to get under way, and as we have more opportunities to work face to face, I would like to ask for your cooperation not only in expertise but also on the human side. A fresh breeze that comes from another team joining, not closed within TOPPAN, will surely be a good stimulus for our younger members too. I would be glad if we could build interaction outside of work together as well. We look forward to continuing to work with you.
