1. Management Features

High Value-added Management

     The company's core business is the manufacture and sale of wooden toys, childcare playground equipment and childcare furniture, as well as exhibition events and workshops. 

      The toys are wooden toys with a warm touch, intended for children up to about 3 years old. The company developed "Donguri Koro Koro (acorn rolling around)," which comes down the wooden board slope with a unique rattling motion with the marbles inside, and original toys such as trucks that can be loaded with building blocks. "Donguri Korokoro" became a hit product that everyone in the industry knew about, and was sold 1,500 pieces a month and 500,000 pieces to date. As one of the company's management philosophies states, "Continuing to create unique products," the originality of the products is their lifeline, the company boasts that they have no competitors in terms of product competitiveness. The unit price of toys ranges from 2,000 yen to 10,000 yen, which is by no means cheap for 3-year-old children's playthings, but they always receive more orders than they can manufacture. The fact that they have achieved a high value-added ratio of 78% supports their pride.

      All manufacturing processes are done by hand: Sawing a solid board to the required size. → Cutting the material into blocks that fit the width and thickness of the product → Making parts from blocks using a lathe or jigsaw → Polishing with sandpaper etc.→ Painting and coloring. → Final Assembly of parts (Complete). The most time-consuming process is polishing, which takes up about half of the manufacturing time. In order for small children to play safely, it is necessary to proceed carefully to see if there are any hangnails. An employee of the company said that s he had touched the finished product made by the veteran craftsman many times and felt the sense of touch. As for the paint, they use natural paints derived from vegetable oils such as sunflower oil so that children can lick it. For the safety of children, careful handmade products such as these also enhance the product appeal. In addition, although a person in charge is decided for each process, the process in charge is changed at the discretion of the person in charge at the site. It is ideal for employees to be in charge of all processes, and there are employees who can do it.

      The company building is not only a toy manufacturing factory, but also has a direct sales store, a shop/café (Cafe MG), and a space where children can play with toys. It is also a place where local people can have fun with wooden toys and wooden spaces, such as holding regular events. During the interview, I could hear the children's cheerful voices and the sounds of jumping around. It is also the company's management purpose to become a company that is close to the community and is loved. 

      Annual sales are 32 million yen in 2019, 25 million yen in 2020, 42 million yen in 2021, and 52 million yen in 2022, and sales in 2022 are more than 60% higher than in 2019. The decline in sales in fiscal 2020 is due to the closure of retail stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

History of Founding the Company

    Mr. Komatsu Kazuto's family used to make wooden molds for casting. His grandfather from Nagano Pref. opened the business in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Pref. in 1946, and his father took over the business at the age of 30. Mr. Komatsu joined the company in 2001 as a candidate for the third president. However, when the work that was gathered in exchange for the celebration is over, orders came to a halt, followed by weeks of "no work" for him. The peak of casting production in Kawaguchi City was in 1973, when there were more than 600 foundry companies, but today there are said to be around 50. Kawaguchi's foundry industry plunged into a long period of decline after the high economic growth period ended, but in 2001, when Mr. Komatsu joined the company, there was an economic recession known as the IT recession, and the demand for castings is thought to have declined further. His father was a skilled wooden pattern maker, but he was not good at sales. Mr. Komatsu worked hard to get orders, but he was not yet recognized for his ability and could not secure a job order. One day, his father called him and gave him 400,000 yen instead of a monthly salary of 200,000 yen, and told him to do some work by himself. He was annoyed, but he couldn't help it. He was 21 years old then.

      The reason he chose to make toys as his new job was that he was always reassured by the smile of his own child, even though he was in an uncertain situation. When he made a wooden tricycle for his child, his wife and friends were amazed and gained confidence. When he made a mold for casting, he had no idea what the final product would be used for. So, he wanted to make a product that could see the user's face. However, although he had woodworking skills, he had never studied design or toys.  So, he visited designers who made wooden toys and studied toys.  He was then qualified as a toy consultant at the "Tokyo Toy Museum" of the "Art and Play Creation Association", which conducts activities to incorporate art and play into life.  Although he had no income for the past year and a half, he opened his business in 2003 with the help of household goods insurance that came in after an accidental fire at his family's house.

Walk-in sales, Appearing on TV

     He rented a machine to make wooden molds, made toy products that could be fully loaded into a mini one-box car, and spent the night in the car, rushing into general stores and toy stores around the country to run his business. Since he had only experience as a craftsman, he could not think of any other way of doing business. He visited 300 stores, but not a single door was closed, and acquaintances also introduced stores. In distant areas, the greeting "I'm from Saitama Prefecture" was effective. The store in Kyoto where he stopped at the second or third store bought his toys first. The only reason he went to Kansai was because he believed that Kansai was the home of business. Orders for 10 toys in a month increased to 20, then 50, and the hand-made toys were handed over to each person and gradually spread. In the first year, he had 50 clients, and he was able to make a living and enjoy his work.

      In 2004, he appeared in the TV Tokyo affiliated program "TV Champion" (competitive variety show, every week on the theme of all kinds of events in the world, the masters of the field play a serious match, and the champion is decided while some are eliminated,) he won the championship to become the "Rubber Band Craft King". There, he built a wooden amusement park with rubber-band-powered roller coasters and a Ferris wheel. According to the producer later, he was planning to have Mr. Komatsu disappear in the first round. He was looking for a performer, but there were no wooden toys, so he approached a toy maker but was turned down, and Mr. Komatsu got the chance to appear. Indeed, it was an upset victory.

      This led to an increase in requests for designs and workshops, and several years later he was a toy-making lecturer on NHK. Nursery schools began to ask him to be a lecturer, and more than half of his work was occupied by things other than manufacturing. One way for small business owners whose names are not well known to gain public trust is to win over “influential people” on their side. In the case of Mr. Komatsu, the media was on his side.

      Along with this, aspiring toy makers and designers began to join the company. Mr. Komatsu had them help him with his work, but according to Mr. Komatsu, they left the company after half a year because of his power-harassment. However, he had no sense of danger because people who wanted to join the company would come again, and he thought that those who quit had "no guts!" Founding business owners are full of entrepreneurial spirit and rush forward, but they do not pay attention to their surroundings. Mr. Komatsu also fell into the trap of entrepreneurs in the founding period.

Sudden accident, Company incorporated

       A sudden accident brought about a turning point. Mr. Komatsu cut his finger during the work, and his finger was only joined by skin, resulting in a serious injury. He underwent finger-joining surgery and remained in the hospital for more than a month before being discharged. He also had to continue visiting the hospital after that.

       Since the work came to Mr. Komatsu, the employees did not know what to do, and the company was unable to work for three months. He realized that while he was bothering his customers and putting his employees at risk of cutting off their fingers, he was not taking care of them. When the children who used the toys grew up and said they wanted to work for the company, he wondered if he would accept them.

      Therefore, Mr. Komatsu decided to abandon the artisanal work style and incorporate the company (May 2016) to organize the business, and focus on management. However, Mr. Komatsu did product development and sometimes helped with manufacturing, so he was still a player.

2. Management of Labor

Limit Manufacturing Time

    At the core of the management of "Comomg" is the manufacturing time limit. Of the 40 hours of prescribed working hours per week, the company sets manufacturing hours to around 30 hours. In the past, one day a week was designated as NO manufacturing day.  (Currently, since they are providing services to local residents, the business days have changed from Monday to Friday to Monday to Saturday, and they have a five-day work week by rotation, so they do not have NO manufacturing days).

      There was a model for this management style.　"Hyakushokuya" in Kyoto City was closing its business after selling out 100 meals of three different meat dishes during lunch time. According to web information, restaurants tend to have long working hours, but this is to achieve a work-life balance without overtime work. The work is easy, so the employees can smile, be attentive, and make the customers happy. Since it is limited to 100 meals, there is no need to carry over the purchased meat to the next day, and there is no food loss. Mr. Komatsu sympathized with this management style. If you have a system that provides what you really want in small lots to those who want it, instead of mass production and mass sales like a large company, you can reduce working hours and resource consumption. ----- There was a feeling that such an economic system was necessary. In the development of original products, there are more orders than the production capacity, so the increase or decrease in profit is determined by controlling the production volume. The estimated 30 hours of production time is 75% of the prescribed working hours, and if 70% is devoted to manufacturing, they can make a profit, so they would like to allocate 30% to other activities. 70% of the prescribed working hours are equivalent to 100 meals at the ``Hyakushokuya''. In this way, by restricting production time, "Comomg" has achieved zero overtime while making a profit. They start finishing work 30 minutes before the closing time, and depending on the day, they leave work after closing meeting of 5 to 10 minutes before it. They consider it a worker's right not to work overtime. However, if they want to use the machine because they have something they want to develop, they are free to remain.

      But they don't create situations that make them feel compelled to stay. By the way, the paid vacation usage rate is also high at 70% (according to the company's "2030 Vision", paid vacation shall be 100%). However, if "Comomg" controls the manufacturing time, it may lose the market to other companies. Therefore, if a situation arises in which a customer has to wait a month from order to delivery, they will increase the manufacturing time. There are also realities in which the logic of market competition cannot be ignored.

Divide Work into Hours

      The Manufacturing Time Limit also has the following background. The company does not have business departments, and everyone does other work such as manufacturing and café service. This is because the business scale is not large enough to be divided into business departments. Therefore, from this point of view as well, they must consider how much time is devoted to manufacturing and other activities for everyone. In other words, work is not divided by department, but by time. In addition, there is no need to have a dedicated sales officer, who exists in a normal company, as orders come in even if they do not carry out order-taking activities.

      As a business owner, it is undeniable that he wants to make more profit in today's unstable business environment. However, the people who joined the company are all people who like companies that make toys. He wants employees to decide how to use the remaining 30% of their non-manufacturing time, and use it for their growth. The reason why employees do other work besides manufacturing is because the company is still small, but he wants to maintain a system that allows them to do various jobs even if the scale grows. Unlike animals, humans can do various kinds of work if they can obtain information. Diversity of work is a characteristic of human beings, and it makes them grow and become more human.

Big Aspirations of a Small Company,  Market Strategy suitable for SMEs

    The company's website describes the above work style as follows: 

　　""Comomg" has a production limit. We believe that both wood and the energy used for manufacturing are limited and precious resources. And not only the time of "Comomg" employees, but also the time of all working partners involved with us is also very valuable. We don't make as much as we sell, but we set an appropriate upper limit for the environment and workers. Thanks to all of you, we have been patronized by many customers, and it may take some time to deliver the product. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we will continue to work toward the realization of a society where people can work better, so we ask for your understanding and cooperation."

        I feel the big aspirations of a small company. At the same time, the following points can be pointed out. The slow delivery of goods to customers means that supply is naturally limited, helping the goods to sell at prices that match their value. It means that working hour limits that allow people to work like humans are also in line with the market strategy of small and medium-sized enterprises that produce a wide variety of products in small quantities.

Creating a 2030 vision with employees

      The creation of the "2030 Vision" by employees is another way to use time outside of manufacturing. It was inspired by the participation of Mr. Komatsu in the creation of the 2030 Vision of the Youth Group Liaison Committee of the Chudokyo (the National Conference of the Association of Small Business Entrepreneurs) in 2018. The discussion began with a review of the history of Chudokyo and what kind of company each company wants to be in 30 years. After spending two years creating it, he proposed internally to create a vision for their own company. Mr. Komatsu has an interview with employees once a month, but in addition to that, he also has an interview to create a vision, and he asked his employees what their lives would be like in 10 years, what they want to be important, and discussed with them what the company should be like to make it happen. Since the employees are women, there were many requests for a work style that would allow them to cherish time with their families. Group discussions were also held by employees, and it was created over a year at monthly meetings.

       The management philosophy created by Mr. Komatsu played a leading role, but every word was written by the employees. Mr. Komatsu only requested corrections in one place. 

      The vision consists of 13 items, and items 1 to 5 are about contributing to the earth by caring for trees, harmonious coexistence with the region through activities that become the core of the region, contribution to children through toys and play, creating products that are passed down for generations, and cooperation with distribution (dealers).  Items 6 to 10 are related to labor. They aim to create a comfortable working environment, work-life balance, good relationships between workers, treatment suitable for their work, and a company where employees demonstrate their autonomy. 11-13 include the determination of the next management candidate, the creation of the next vision, the profit target to make the company last for 100 years, and the construction of a financial base that can respond to changes.

      Nowadays, "Stakeholder Management" is recommended, which means that companies should fulfill their social responsibilities to various stakeholders, and 1 to 5 represent contributions to the earth, local communities, children, manufacturing, and distribution.  6 to 10 mean contributions to employees, 11 to 13 can be interpreted as the company's development goals necessary for that purpose. I can feel the great aspirations of the employees who are trying to fulfill their social responsibilities.

       "Stakeholder Management" in large companies has a strong sense of a bulwark that fends off public criticism and ostentatious. However, the vision of "Comomg" created by the employees themselves is based on the actual voices of consumers and workers, so it is highly serious. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are working remotely, which is said to be difficult for the manufacturing industry, and are working on product development using wood from Kawaguchi to make the most of local resources.

The Effect of Creating a Vision

      According to Mr. Komatsu, employees believe that the management philosophy is true, and they say that the vision is the result of their ideas. I can't say that the vision has become a standard for employees to make decisions, but it works close to it. They felt that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had tainted the Vision's ambition: "Let's aim for a society where play is the norm." With the consensus of the employees, they started selling charity goods, donating part of the sales to Ukraine to protect children's right to play. They had 1,500 people buy their popular product "Acorn Mushroom" colored in Ukrainian blue and yellow, and donated 1.5 million yen, half of the sales, to an international non-governmental organization (NGO). They think it is meaningful that the amount was not just a donation of money, but an amount obtained by appealing to people for their values.

In this way, the vision is a common interpretation base for the people who compose "Comomg". In addition, it is also the basis of the medium-term plan and annual management plan, and it can be said that it is the foundation of "Comomg" management. Mr. Komatsu sets numerical targets for sales, added value, and profits in the management plan, but full-time employees are the leaders of public relations, service improvement, and manufacturing, and the leaders of the departments in charge plan to set numerical targets. and confirm with Mr. Komatsu.

Future Tasks

       "Comomg" seems to be managed by employees, but Mr. Komatsu says that the company is still in the state of top-down style management. The management is leading the way, and the employees do not have the power to solve problems on their own. For example, when a problem occurs in a certain process, they do not consider why it occurred, but only discuss what to do if it occurs. Since the result is the responsibility of the person in charge of the process, there is no discussion of the cause of the defect. When they were creating the vision, he thought there was a candid relationship between the employees, but it didn't lead to deeper relationships.

Mr. Komatsu says he still has a long way to go. He believes employees should be seen as trusted partners, but that is not yet possible. The problem isn't that the employee lacks the ability to be a partner, but that he still has an employer-consciousness somewhere in him.

"Comomg" hired 7 new graduates 5 years ago, but 3 retired. The above may be the reason why new graduates are not taking root. 

Development activities are biased toward Mr. Komatsu, and product development by employees is not progressing.

Seven years have passed since the company was incorporated and Mr. Komatsu began to focus on management. Pursuing high-value-added management and management that is friendly to workers and the environment is the correct path for SMEs, but the president and employees are still growing on the way.