Interview
First, could you briefly introduce your company?
We are a wholly owned subsidiary of JR East and operate approximately 450 stores, mainly offering food and beverage services and retail such as bento boxes within station premises. We also provide services like onboard sales on Shinkansen trains and operate ekiben (station bento) factories.
What led you to implement GulfNet’s system?
Due to the nature of our business, it is essential to manage part-time staff at each store. At the time, we were using magnetic cards for Time and Attendance Management, but there were issues such as impersonation by part-time employees. One of our employees happened to see fingerprint-based Time and Attendance Management being used at an izakaya (Japanese-style pub), which triggered a full-scale consideration of adopting biometric authentication.
You must have considered several other systems. What made you choose GulfNet’s system?
Of course, timing was a factor, but we focused on how much we could reduce costs while maintaining the same level of functionality as our existing system. What ultimately made the difference was GulfNet’s flexibility and responsiveness—something major vendors couldn’t offer.
What was your impression after actually implementing GulfNet’s system?
We weren’t sure where to turn at first, so we contacted multiple companies after checking their websites. Two key features we were looking for were: “preventing impersonation through fingerprint-based management” and “systemizing shift and work position confirmations.” GulfNet’s proposal met all of these needs. Additionally, they already had a proven track record in biometric authentication, which gave us the confidence to proceed.
You’re also using the sales management system—can you share what led to its implementation?
Originally, we used an in-house developed system. When considering a replacement, we planned to switch to a packaged system. We received proposals from several companies, but ultimately chose GulfNet. While we considered functions and pricing, the decisive factor was that we could integrate both the Time and Attendance Management and sales management into one unified system.
Finally, what are your expectations for GulfNet going forward?
Up until now, we’ve been able to work together with the mindset of “let’s build this together,” even when it came to complex management issues. We’ve asked for a lot, but we hope GulfNet will continue offering new proposals and share other companies’ Case Studies & Expertise and information about the latest systems. We look forward to continuing our collaboration.
That concludes the interview. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Effects of Implementation
- Time and Attendance Management System
We are now able to accurately understand employees’ actual working conditions. The system automatically issues alerts based on the length of work hours, which has shown definite results. It also helps with the management of social insurance for part-time staff by sending notifications based on their working hours. Furthermore, it ensures legal compliance by preventing the creation of shifts that exceed statutory limits within the system. - Sales Management System
Having both Time and Attendance and sales data integrated into a single system enables us to easily monitor metrics like productivity per labor hour. Before implementation, we had to manually calculate everything in Excel, so this has been a major improvement. With the built-in data export function for report items, it’s now easier to process and use numerical data further. - Help Desk Service
Anticipating an increase in inquiries from stores after implementing the sales management system, we also opted to use GulfNet’s help desk service.
