TradeWaltz Inc. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Hirohisa Kojima) ("TradeWaltz"), which operates "TradeWaltz^®," a trading-related information-sharing platform, announced that it has raised an additional 900 million yen from five companies: Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho"), Toyoshima & Co., Ltd. ("Toyoshima"), Kamigumi Co., Ltd. ("Kamigumi"), FUJITRANS CORPORATION ("FUJITRANS") and Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation ("Mitsubishi Logistics"). This makes a cumulative amount of funds raised by TradeWaltz of 3.9 billion yen.

Aiming to fully digitalize analog trade procedures conducted in Japan and around the world, the prototype of “TradeWaltz^®”, a trading-related information-sharing platform, was born through trade consortium activities in Japan. Past demonstration tests have proven that the platform digitalizes the work of users, generating increases in operational efficiency of over 44%.

Being responsible for commercializing the prototype, TradeWaltz, the operating company, launched business operations in November 2020 through joint investment by seven companies, including NTT DATA Corporation. Since then, it has received government support and also joint investment by the University of Tokyo’s venture capital, two logistics companies, and others in August 2021. It is currently active as a startup supporting all sectors of Japan that is funded by ten corporations involving industry, government and academia.

In April 2022, it was able to release the “product version” of TradeWaltz with basic export and import functions reflecting customers’ opinions, and the number of users who pay service fees and use the product in actual operations has been increasing gradually. To accelerate this trend, TradeWaltz has now raised an additional 900 million yen, with the aims of reinforcing the sales and development structures and creating value added services.

Initiative with Toyota Tsusho

Toyota Tsusho is a general trading company that has participated in formulating the plan since the trade consortium was created. It was an initial investor that started its investment in November 2020, and has also been a TradeWaltz user since the end of FY2021. Trade Waltz’s unique strength shown through past initiatives is that the platform “functions as a hub where all trade-related information is gathered and is a DX platform that can create new business fields.” Aiming to evolve its trading company business, Toyota Tsusho has deployed various DX measures and created a platform for the sales management of automobiles, used cars and auto parts in countries including Japan and countries in Africa. TradeWaltz is an important hub for DX measures because it becomes a platform to connect such initiatives in each of those countries. In addition, Toyota Tsusho will contribute to the further expansion of the platform’s possibilities, starting with a collaborative experiment with the Thai trading platform “NDTP,” which has already expressed its intention to use TradeWaltz.

Initiative with Toyoshima

Toyoshima is a lifestyle products trading company, focused on apparel, that is located in Nagoya in the Chubu area, the center of manufacturing in Japan. It imports reasonably-priced, high-quality clothing from China and other Asian countries and brings color to consumers’ lives in Japan. On the other hand, apparel trading procedures are cumbersome and voluminous because 1) the number of items, including samples, is large, and 2) declarations are required for each item. Increasing the efficiency by digitalization is an urgent issue in order to continue to provide Japanese consumers with affordable products in a timely manner. While using TradeWaltz in trading flows with China and Vietnam, Toyoshima will define functions for apparel trading. It will also contribute to apparel DX throughout Japan and value provision to consumers by promoting and popularizing TradeWaltz in the apparel industry as a whole.

Initiative with Kamigumi

Kamigumi was born together with the Port of Kobe and provides a broad range of services including port transportation business and forwarding services, mainly in ports, which are the nodes of logistics, an important social infrastructure, in Japan and countries around the world.

By fusing its logistics knowledge cultivated from the perspective of assets with the advanced technology provided by TradeWaltz, Kamigumi will strive to deepen logistics DX and create new services.

Initiative with FUJITRANS

FUJITRANS is a comprehensive logistics company that has expanded its business types and bases while engaging in port transportation business, domestic shipping business, international logistics, and packing business as major pillars in the Port of Nagoya. It operates globally, using its comprehensive strength covering land, sea and air as well as its global networks. It aims to develop services in line with industrial transformation and diversified logistics. TradeWaltz uses blockchain technology and is a standard bearer service responsible for transformation in the trade industry. It will not only increase operational efficiency for FUJITRANS but will also help in the creation of new business models.

Initiative with Mitsubishi Logistics

Mitsubishi Logistics was founded in Fukagawa, Tokyo, in 1887 and is a comprehensive logistics company engaging in warehouse business as its core and logistics in Japan and overseas for over 130 years. In the Management Plan for 2022-2024, it aims to visualize supply chains and measure CO₂ emissions by developing a logistics platform with digital technologies such as blockchain. As Trade Waltz is a logistics platform supporting all sectors of Japan using blockchain technology, it will support the development and popularization of Mitsubishi Logistics’ platform from the planning and sales aspects.

Ichiro Kashitani, President & CEO, Toyota Tsusho Corporation

“I am delighted that we can make an additional investment in TradeWaltz. As a general trading company handing various commodities, we will enlarge the platform so that it can be effectively used by more people and expand it further as the main axis of trade infrastructure for connecting with the world from Japan.”

Hanshichi Toyoshima, President, Toyoshima & Co., Ltd.

“In the apparel industry, where over 95% of the products are produced overseas nowadays, digitalizing trade operations is inevitable. Speeding up logistics distribution and increasing the efficiency with digitalization is essential in order to instantly capture consumer trends and put trendy products on the market based on appropriate and economical production plans. We will contribute to the realization of this by participating in the TradeWaltz project.”

Yoshihiro Fukai, President & Representative Director, Kamigumi Co., Ltd.

”Kamigumi supports logistics, which is a social infrastructure, through the port transportation business. With this investment in TradeWaltz, we will strive to improve public convenience by realizing logistics DX, and also take responsibility for realizing a sustainable society.”

Tatsuo Keii, President, FUJITRANS CORPORATION

“Thorough optimization of the whole supply chain through promotion of logistics digitalization is required. Using the logistics knowledge and on-site know-how we have cultivated, we will contribute to the digitalization of trade operations.”

Masao Fujikura, Representative Director, President, Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation

“I am aware that a solution enabling us to track and monitor cargos and ensure the locations in the cargo transportation process is required more than ever. TradeWaltz is a platform that provides necessary and reliable information for grasping the locations and conditions of customers’ precious cargos. We will collaborate with TradeWaltz to strongly support customers’ global supply chains.”

Hirohisa Kojima, President & CEO, TradeWaltz Inc.

“I sincerely appreciate that leading trading companies and logistics companies in the industries have participated in the investment. Together with a total of 14 shareholding companies at present, we will further push forward functional development that helps to solve trade issues in Japan as well as providing services.”

（Note） An abbreviation for “Software as a Service.” It is a structure where users use necessary software functions via the Internet.
*”TradeWaltz” is the registered trademark of TradeWaltz Inc. in Japan.
*Other product names, company names and organization names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.