TOKYO — Sansan Inc. announces it has now surpassed 1,000 users of its Eight Company Premium service.Especially for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Eight Company Premium was introduced in October 2017 as an enhanced version of Sansan’s business card scanning and management app, Eight.
Background: Business encounters’ special value for SMEs
Eight Company Premium is designed to help increase productivity for SMEs,1 which number over 3.8 million in Japan, and account for over 99% of Japanese companies.
A survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan found productivity has not improved in Japan’s SMEs, with a particular problem in that IT implementation is delayed.2 In the survey, 43.3% of respondents noted a lack of human resources who can implement IT, while 26.3%3 reported they could not shoulder the costs of implementation. These issues pose clear barriers.
Eight Company Premium, based on the personal business card scanning and contact management app, Eight, gives the ability to manage and share customer data within a company, thereby boosting operational efficiency and creating new business opportunities. Eight already boasts two million users in Japan, which is a testament to its ease of use and low operating cost. These factors make it easy for SMEs to introduce it the service.
Business cards are proof of business encounters and are exchanged at the very site where business takes place. The Eight Company Premium services demonstrates Eight’s contribution to helping improve productivity in domestic SMEs.
From the Eight Company Premium business manager
“Eight Company Premium lets us give strong support to SMEs across Japan,” Eight Company Premium Business Manager Katsuya Ohnishi says. “I’m thrilled that in just two years since its release, we’ve attracted over 1,000 companies. Local and small-scale companies often cite insufficient human resources and high costs as barriers to IT introduction. Eight Company Premium offers a way beyond both these problems. We’ll continue our efforts to increase the productivity of the 3.8+ million SMEs hard at work every day across Japan.”
Campaign to celebrate the 1,000 companies using Eight Company Premium
Sansan has launched a promotional campaign to commemorate Eight Company Premium clients surpassing 1,000. Companies contracted with the service as of October 31 will be able to choose from the following gifts:
・Dedicated business card scanner
・Processing of 10,000 cards
・Free use for 1 user of Eight Company Premium for 1 year
Click here to view the campaign site (Japanese only)
Notes
1.“2017 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises” (submission of the 193rd Diet), The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency
2.“Productivity Improvement of SMEs and Small Businesses” (October 2017), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan
3.“FY2015 Survey Report on Small Business Growth and Investment Behavior” (March 2016), Teikoku Databank, announced by the The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency
About the Eight App
Starting with business cards, Eight forms the largest business social network in Japan. The Eight app allows users to simply scan and digitize business cards, accurately converting them into valuable contact data, which can then be easily managed. As a business communication tool, it offers functions such a feed with shared news and updates, text messaging, and continually updating personal profiles to track career progress. As of October 2018, Eight had over two million users.
About Sansan Inc.
With its mission of Turning Encounters into Innovation, Sansan has developed its namesake Sansan service for corporate clients and the Eight business card and contact management app for individuals. Sansan provides services that can be used in Japan and overseas as a business platform that begins with business card management.
Founded: June 11, 2007
URL: https://www.corp-sansan.com/
Address: Aoyama Oval Building 13F, 5-52-2 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0001, Japan
Business scope: Planning, development, and sales of cloud-based business card management services
Sansan for business users: https://www.sansan.com
Eight for individual users: https://8card.net
Contact for press inquiries
Sansan Inc. Brand Communication Dept., PR Team (Koike, Nagakura, Ishizuka, Taketa)
Email: pr@sansan.com; Tel.: +81 (0)3-6316-3121; Fax: +81 (0)3-3409-3133