On January 15, Yamato Holdings and Kokubu Group Headquarters signed a partnership agreement aimed at creating sustainable local communities, with the goal of strengthening the food supply chain and increasing the added value of food products produced in rural areas.
<Akira Kokubu, President of Kokubu Group Headquarters (left), and Hiroshi Nagao, President of Yamato Holdings (right), holding the agreement>
At a press conference held the same day, Yamato Holdings President Yutaka Nagao explained that while they have long-standing business relationships with many food producers in various regions, including rural areas, they felt there was a challenge in that the services they provided were limited to transportation. He emphasized that by effectively utilizing Yamato Holdings' management resources based on collaboration with Kokubu Group Headquarters, they believe it will lead to measures to address labor shortages among producers and improve the added value of products.
Akira Kokubu, President and COO of Kokubu Group Headquarters, stated that logistics infrastructure is crucial for contributing to local communities, and expressed his belief that combining Yamato Holdings' robust transportation network with Kokubu's expertise in food distribution would strengthen the food supply chain.
Based on the agreement, the two companies will leverage their strengths and management resources to build a platform that connects producers and consumers in five areas of co-creation: "establishment of mobile and fixed sales bases in areas where shopping is difficult," "establishment of production area-type aggregation bases utilizing regional sales bases and facilities," "expansion of food distribution between distant areas utilizing aircraft and courier networks," "establishment of consumption area-type bases such as process centers (distribution processing facilities) and inventory-type centers in urban areas," and "creation of a direct market that connects producers with retailers, restaurants, and consumers."
Of the five co-creation areas, "Establishment of mobile and fixed sales bases in areas with limited access to shopping" will utilize Yamato Transport's sales bases in areas experiencing aging populations and population decline to support vulnerable shoppers and retailers through mobile and fixed sales.
<Image of "Establishment of mobile and fixed sales bases in areas where shopping is difficult">
In the "Establishment of Production Area-Based Aggregation Hubs Utilizing Regional Sales Bases and Facilities," the Kokubu Group will utilize the low operating hours of the refrigerated and frozen storage facilities at Yamato Transport's approximately 2800 locations and facilities nationwide to perform sorting and simple processing, thereby helping to address the labor shortage faced by producers.
"Expanding food distribution between distant locations using aircraft and courier networks" will utilize aircraft and courier networks to address the shortage of truck transport capacity and contribute to expanding the market area for products with short expiration dates.
In the initiative to "establish consumer-oriented bases such as process centers (distribution processing facilities) and inventory-type centers in urban areas," the Kokubu Group will open a fruit and vegetable processing center in urban areas such as Tokyo, utilizing Yamato Transport's cool facilities, to address issues such as quality deterioration of fruits and vegetables during the distribution stage due to high temperatures in the summer. As the first phase, it is planned to be established in the Yamato Transport Tokyo First Cool Logistics Center, which is close to the Ota Market in Tokyo, the largest fruit and vegetable market in Japan, from spring onwards.
