Tailoring Research to Support Departmental Challenges

—You joined Marubeni as a new graduate and are currently overseeing research and knowledge management (RKM) within the Digital Innovation Department. Many members of the Digital Innovation Department were hired mid-career, each with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Erika Kuroda:I’ve worked in a number of roles and departments since joining Marubeni as a new graduate. In the Sales Department, I dealt with beverage ingredients and grains, and have also held roles as a secretary, at the Marubeni Institute, and in back-office operations.

Two years ago, I moved to the Digital Innovation Department and joined the Data Analytics Section, where I became responsible for RKM operations. Like me, the members who transferred to this department after starting their careers within Marubeni have had diverse roles in areas such as risk management, information planning, and ICT business—areas not confined to digital technology in the narrow sense.

—Could you describe the specific roles of RKM operations?

Kuroda:As the name suggests, our primary responsibility is research to support new initiatives by business divisions across the company. Because each department is constrained by regular workloads and limited resources, the Digital Innovation Department steps in to conduct the initial research, enabling new ventures to roll out faster.

Of course, we sometimes engage external consulting firms to advance a project, but our initial tasks include researching market size and trends, examining regulatory environments in various countries, identifying competitors and potential partners, and gathering information on best practices. Our research spans a wide spectrum.

Image: Erika Kuroda

Customized Insights through In-Depth Interviews

—Given that Marubeni operates across such a broad range of industries, the scope of your research must be quite extensive.

Kuroda:That’s true. Our process begins with comprehensive interviews to identify the core problem and define the research scope. Each project is unique, requiring us to address a wide variety of fields daily.

Each sales department faces its own challenges. Sometimes, they ask us for specific data and we deliver results within a day or two. Other times, we spend weeks researching the market environment’s growth potential and scale. As industries and businesses evolve, so do their challenges, requiring us to tailor our research each time through detailed interviews.

──Are there any projects that have left a lasting impression on you?

Kuroda:RKM is generally done on a spot basis, so we aren’t always able to follow through on entire projects, which can be somewhat frustrating. However, I recall an insurance project we worked on last year where we conducted research in four stages. Initially, we identified existing websites and then delved into competitor case studies. The whole process was very fulfilling, with each stage bringing new subjects and deeper understanding.

Adapting to a Rapidly Changing Business Landscape

—The business environment is evolving rapidly due to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of generative AI. Are the requirements for RKM work shifting as well?

Kuroda:Initially, we were focused mostly on digital transformation (DX) given our role in the Digital Innovation Department. But as I took on more projects, I came to feel that fostering innovation requires research that goes beyond just digital domains. We need to tap into ever-wider expertise and knowledge, as launching new initiatives requires diverse types of information besides a digital strategy.

—Given your frequent communication across departments, how do you accelerate digital transformation throughout the company?

Kuroda:Within a large trading company like Marubeni, each department operates with a high degree of autonomy, making interdepartmental moves feel akin to changing careers. That said, the Digital Innovation Department fosters an environment where we are all building a culture from scratch. Many members of our department joined Marubeni mid-career, which gives the department a less hierarchical culture and enables us to venture into new challenges.

Flexibility is key when working on digital transformation. While digital knowledge is essential, RKM in particular requires the ability to listen closely to the issues facing Sales Department members and view problems from a broad perspective. This adaptability is a critical business skill, especially when working across diverse domains.

Driving Company Growth Through Strategic Information Sharing

—As you are exposed to cutting-edge technologies through your research, are there specific areas that pique your interest?

Kuroda:Specialists in AI, marketing, and other fields may have deeper knowledge of individual technologies, but from an RKM perspective, we need to focus on areas like AI, mobility, sustainability, and security—key themes highlighted at CES this year—even when they are not direct requests from the sales departments. I aim to proactively gather information in these domains.

While gathering data, I often sense shifts in market trends or the ebb and flow of startups. Particularly with fast-evolving fields like generative AI, the landscape changes daily. From an RKM standpoint, I hope to take a more proactive role in information gathering and enhance opportunities to share this intelligence across the company, independent of specific department requests. For example, we aim to prepare comprehensive reports and disseminate them throughout Marubeni to foster broader understanding and collaboration.

In fact, we’ve created a group on Teams within the Digital Innovation Department, open to all Marubeni employees interested in digital topics, where we share articles and information on startups that we discover.

—It seems that if information gathered as part of RKM operations is shared across the company, it could have an even larger impact.

Kuroda:Indeed, each department is often so focused on its own work that it lacks opportunities to learn about others. Since we operate from a back-office position, I believe that sharing insights from our database can foster cross-departmental collaboration. For example, Marubeni plans to integrate our information into the Marubeni Chatbot, which was launched last year for internal use. Increasing touchpoints will likely increase requests.

Multiple departments often face similar challenges. By effectively sharing information horizontally, we can create opportunities for more streamlined problem-solving. I hope to enhance the company’s research capabilities by speeding up how we share information.