Customer Case Studies

Ryohin Keikaku Using HULFT and HULFT-HUB


Using HULFT to Optimize File Transfers to Overseas Systems, and

Using HULFT-HUB to Integrate Domestic and Overseas Systems

In recent years, MUJI’s management company, Ryohin Keikaku, has seen considerable growth in its overseas business. As such, the company is taking steps to enhance its global file integration platform by consolidating to HULFT the various file transfer systems previously used at its many overseas locations. Furthermore, to efficiently operate and manage its HULFT network, which has expanded to include both domestic and overseas systems, Ryohin Keikaku introduced HULFT-HUB. In the future, the company plans to further optimize its file integration system by making full use of HULFT-HUB.



USER PROFILE

Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. is the manufacturer and retailer behind the global brand “MUJI.” The company handles the entire manufacturing and retail process, from planning, development, and production, to distribution and sales.

Mr. Toshiharu Yasuda
Manager
Infrastructure Department
IT Planning & Service Business Division
Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.

Mr. Masaki Onozuka
Infrastructure Department
IT Planning & Service Business Division
Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.

Mr. Ryo Nonoyama
Assistant Manager
Network Solutions Division
NTT Data Corporation


Background: The systems used to transfer files internationally varied from country to country, and data was sometimes lost


Today, MUJI is known worldwide as a brand offering more than 7,000 products, ranging from household goods to food, stationery supplies, and even houses. The company behind the planning, development, production, distribution, and sale of those products is Ryohin Keikaku. The company’s overseas business centers mainly around MUJI, with 439 stores in 27 countries and regions overseas, a figure that surpasses the number of MUJI stores in Japan (as of November 2017).

In light of this expanding overseas business, it is essential that the company be able to exchange files (such as those containing master data) with its overseas systems. Although the sites in each country were using the same systems, Ryohin Keikaku still had no mechanism for transferring files between those systems and the system used by the global headquarters in Japan. As a result, the company faced a host of problems.

“At the time, to transfer files between Japan and our overseas sites, we were using a tool (developed overseas) that was well known to many of the technicians at our local subsidiaries,” said Mr. Toshiharu Yasuda (Manager, Infrastructure Department, IT Planning & Service Business Division, Ryohin Keikaku). “However, the tool’s functions were difficult to set up, leading to some problems during operation. It was quite a shame that we were not able to get much use out of that tool. Another issue was that the tool used FTP. With FTP, the loss or corruption of imported data is not all that uncommon. We considered developing a mechanism to detect the loss or corruption of data, but that would take time. Furthermore, depending on how the mechanism was designed, there would still be a risk of detected problems being overlooked.”


Reliable File Transfers with No Data Loss


Less Trouble Due to Centralized Management and Visualization


Reduced Management Man-Hours Due to Lighter Maintenance Load

Introduction:HULFT (which has proven results in Japan) was deployed for overseas use and centralized management was achieved by using HULFT-HUB


“In 2016, as part of a project to establish an IP-VPN for our international communication lines, we considered using HULFT for overseas file transfers,” said Mr. Yasuda. “On the one hand, because the settings are easy to understand and configure, we were able to easily customize HULFT to fit our business operations, and thus more and more of our operating load shifted onto HULFT. Around the same time, we received a proposal regarding the use of HULFT-HUB to centrally manage our many instances of HULFT. We decided that, along with deploying HULFT to our overseas sites, we would also introduce HULFT-HUB.”

HULFT not only ensures data consistency, but also performs retries if a file transfer is unsuccessful. Thus, by introducing HULFT at overseas sites, the “reliable file transfers with no data loss” that Mr. Yasuda hoped for could be achieved. Furthermore, by routing file transfers through HULFT-HUB, all HULFT operations could be centrally managed, and files could be sent and received even if a system was undergoing maintenance. These benefits, such as being able to check the overall transfer status, would be very hard to accomplish by using FTP.

In this way, Ryohin Keikaku began the installation of HULFT-HUB and the implementation of HULFT at its overseas sites. As of April 2017, HULFT is used for file transfers between systems in 6 countries. According to Mr. Masaki Onozuka (also of the Infrastructure Department of Ryohin Keikaku), the team in Japan took extra steps to lighten the workload of on-site technicians, for example, by preparing the configuration files to be used when implementing HULFT at overseas sites. This effort paid off: Even without any hands-on training, the technicians at overseas sites were able to smoothly master the use of HULFT. The fact that no one raised any concerns or complaints regarding HULFT can be seen as proof of HULFT’s ease of use. Moreover, the configuration of environments for HULFT and HULFT-HUB by a few engineers took only 2 to 3 months to complete.


Result: The amount of traffic on the network can be easily checked, and causes can be identified when problems occur


For this project, NTT Data was involved in the implementation and operation of HULFT-HUB. Regarding the operation of HULFT-HUB, Mr. Ryo Nonoyama (Network Solutions Division, NTT Data Corporation) said the following: “A year has passed since the start of operation, and we have yet to run into any major issues. Since introducing HULFT-HUB, not only can we assess the amount of traffic on the network, but we can also easily identify the causes of problems when they occur.” Mr. Onozuka added that HULFT-HUB was also useful in resolving some of the issues unique to international communication lines.

“Maintenance work for international communication lines needs to be performed relatively frequently. To accommodate that, we previously needed to figure out when the maintenance work would take place. Then, either we had to send data outside of that time frame or we had to use alternate lines. Either way, making those arrangements was a bit of a hassle.

Now, we can trust HULFT-HUB to make those arrangements for us!” In the future, Ryohin Keikaku plans to continue expanding the use of HULFT and HULFT-HUB. “As we continue to unify the systems used at our sites around the world, the use of HULFT will surely boost our efforts,” said Mr. Yasuda.

“It might be difficult to install HULFT’s agent product in a system developed by an overseas company. In such cases, we are thinking of using HULFT with HULFT-WebConnect.” Regarding systems in Japan, which previously used only HULFT for data transfers, such systems are now using HULFT-HUB as well.

Based on the results of overseas projects, the benefits of using HULFT-HUB are becoming more widely recognized, and more and more companies are adopting its use.

“With our current HULFT systems, file transfers are performed on a one-to-one basis. Thus, even if the number of systems with which files are to be exchanged increases, we can centrally manage those systems by using HULFT-HUB, thereby improving the visualization of the status of file exchange. We will continue to use HULFT-HUB in our projects, starting with the new data integration projects to be carried out in Japan,” said Mr. Yasuda.

It seems that the reliable and efficient file transfer offered by HULFT and HULFT-HUB will continue to contribute to improving the operating efficiency of Ryohin Keikaku, as the company expands its global business.

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Notes:

  • HULFT and other products related to HULFT are registered trademarks or trademarks of Saison Information Systems Co., Ltd.
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  • The information in this document is current as of March 2017, and is subject to change without notice.