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About ITO EN

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Management Philosophy and Business Model

Core Management Principles and Key Product Development Qualities

ITO EN's management is based first and foremost on the principle of "Always Putting the Customer First." "Customer" is used in this context in a very broad sense, and refers collectively to six types of customers—consumers, shareholders, retailers, suppliers, financial institutions and local communities. In line with this principle, ITO EN strives to develop close, direct relationships with each of these groups by maintaining dialog at as many points of contact as possible. Through this approach based on grass-roots communication, we aim to achieve constant innovation by always asking ourselves how we can better meet the needs of our customers.

...on the principle of "Always Putting the Customer First."

Key Elements of ITO EN's Business Model

ITO EN's business model is based on constantly asking, "What can be done better?" This particularly applies to looking for the gap between customer needs and expectations and what ITO EN provides at present. Filling the "satisfaction gap" is the value ITO EN adds.

The key components of our business model are:

Route sales system	ITO EN employees directly distribute products to retailers throughout Japan via more than 200 sales offices. In this way, we keep in constant contact with customers to receive immediate and clear feedback, which provides vital information on any customer needs that are not being fully satisfied.
"Voice" system	feedback from retailers via our frontline sales people is constantly incorporated into new products and marketing methods.
Outsourced manufacture of beverage products	most ready-to-drink beverage products are manufactured for ITO EN under outsourcing contracts with beverage plants, which use proprietary recipes developed by ITO EN. Stringent contractual conditions and quality assurance systems ensure that the highest manufacturing quality is achieved.
Research and development (R&D)	ITO EN is the world leader in the green tea market. As well as enhancing the quality of green tea, we have achieved groundbreaking innovation, including development of the world's first ready-to-drink canned green tea as well as green tea sold in PET plastic bottles.
Procurement of green tea ingredients	ITO EN handles over 20% of the green tea grown in Japan. Furthermore, by building close relationships with tea growers, we are able to procure a stable supply of high-quality green tea. ITO EN also undertakes the final processing of green tea leave