Cinnamon AI and Trusco Nakayama announce a capital and business alliance to promote “Trusco DX 2.0”, a strategic DX of the distribution industry.

Cinnamon Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Miku Hirano, hereinafter referred to as “Cinnamon AI”) announced on June 15, 2021 that it has received an investment of 500 million yen from Trusco Nakayama Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Tetsuya Nakayama, hereinafter referred to as “Trusco Nakayama”) and will enter into a capital and business alliance (*1).  This alliance will promote the creation of an open distribution platform to permanently support the manufacturing activities of Trusco Nakayama in Japan, and will also greatly support the realization of Cinnamon AI’s value proposition of “innovating the core operations of our customers and promoting digital transformation (hereinafter referred to as DX)”.

Cinnamon AI provides AI consulting and AI products with the mission of “Extend Human Potential with AI”, aiming to innovate our clients’ core business and promote DX.  To date, Cinnamon AI has worked with more than 100 major Japanese companies, and its strength lies in its ability to handle a wide range of unstructured data, which is the key to promoting DX.  In the future, we will continue to develop AI strategy designs that will give our clients a competitive advantage by connecting their “Purpose” with the harvest loop (loop structure: architecture that automatically accumulates data and leads to sustainable business growth) that we advocate as the core of corporate growth strategies. By linking the Harvest Loop (a loop structure that automatically accumulates data and leads to sustainable business growth), which we advocate, with the “paths” of our client companies, we will create AI strategy designs that give our client companies a competitive advantage, and strengthen our efforts to support their sustainable growth.

 

With the aim of reforming and developing its own distribution infrastructure, Trusco Nakayama has announced the development of a new distribution platform, the Trusco Platform.  In addition, it has designated its efforts to realize this new “Trusco Platform” as “Trusco DX 2.0” (*2).  It aims to create a new distribution platform where the best is already there.

 

Cinnamon AI will promote the realization of “Trusco DX 2.0” by providing AI models focusing on the utilization of a wide range of unstructured data.  The two companies have decided to form this alliance based on the understanding that deeper collaboration in strategy development and execution is essential to further increase the driving force for the realization of “Trusco DX 2.0”.  This alliance is a very important step for Cinnamon AI, as it will greatly support the realization of our value proposition “to innovate and promote DX in our customers’ core businesses”.

 

Specifically, we plan to expand the scope of AI utilization, starting with the expansion of product data, inventory optimization, and automation of operations.  In addition, we will strengthen our business in the medium and long term by introducing AI, which is indispensable in all management fields such as technology, human resources, and organization, in order to realize the vision of Trusco Nakayama, the vision that aims to create an open distribution platform to permanently support manufacturing in Japan.

 

<Comment from Ms. Miku Hirano, CEO at Cinnamon AI>
Trusco Nakayama’s passion for the strategic challenge of DXing the entire manufacturing tool trading industry and Cinnamon AI’s diverse technologies, track record, and potential for the future met and led to this bold partnership.  With the scale to revolutionize the industry itself and the speed that a start-up can achieve, we feel that the management team is complementary and compatible with each other.  Cinnamon AI’s AI strategy based on the Harvest Loop (a loop structure: architecture that automatically accumulates data and leads to sustainable business growth), which we advocate as the core of business growth strategy, is expected to make a significant contribution.  We are starting with the three themes of product data expansion, inventory optimization, and business automation, and I feel that there are infinite possibilities for the expansion of these areas.

 

I met Trusco Nakayama at a breakfast meeting hosted by Mr. Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, after Trusco Nakayama won the DX Grand Prix, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the IPA Exploratory Software Creation Project, NEDO, J-Startup, etc., as well as this meeting and the various support from the Japanese government, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.  I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and other Japanese governments.

 

We believe that this partnership is the embodiment of the teaming of diverse participants from large corporations, academia, and startups that are transforming logistics and digital in our country, while taking advantage of support from the government.  We will do our best to make this an example of how multi-stakeholders can work together to tackle global challenges and help create a sustainable world.

 

<Comment from Mr. Tetsuya Nakayama, President at Trasco Nakayama>
We have been investing in logistics and digital technologies to improve the convenience of our customers.

 

Cinnamon AI has a clear track record of introducing AI to financial institutions and other organizations, in addition to about 100 highly skilled AI personnel, and is practicing its own theory called Harvest Loop.  We have been investing in digital technology for some time now, but in order to further expand our product data and improve operational efficiency, advanced AI technology is essential.  Since Cinnamon AI has developed an AI model that is suitable for solving our problems, we have decided to enter into a capital and business alliance with Cinnamon AI with the aim of further developing both companies.

 

In the future, we will work with Cinnamon AI to expand our product data, which is the source of our competitiveness, optimize our inventory, automate our operations, and strengthen our business over the medium to long term by introducing AI, which is essential in all areas of management, including technology, human resources, and organization.

 

 

1: The investment and capital and business alliance will be approved at the general meeting of shareholders and the board of directors meeting scheduled for late June.
2: “Trusco DX 2.0”  Trusco Nakayama has been promoting and reinforcing DX since 2018, including the renewal of the core system, and has positioned its past efforts as “Trusco DX 1.0”.

 

 

【Corporate Profile of Trasco Nakayama Corporation】
Company Name: Trusco Nakayama Corporation
URL: http://www.trusco.co.jp/
Location: Tokyo Headquarters: Tokyo Head Office: TRUSCO Fiorito Bldg. 4-28-1, shimbashi , Minato-ku, Tokyo
Date of establishment: March 1964
Representative: President, Tetsuya Nakayama

 

【Corporate Profile of Cinnamon Inc.】
Company Name: Cinnamon Inc.
URL: https://cinnamon.is/
Location: Spirit Building 6F, 3-19-13 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Established: October, 2016
Representative: CEO, Miku Hirano