With the management philosophy of "Growing Together," On the Way Inc. is a nationwide provider of radio sales, rentals, and leases.
The company has steadily increased its market share by renting and selling radio equipment needed for events, sporting competitions, and other large events. since the spread of the new coronavirus infection in 2020, large events have had to be scaled back or canceled, and business opportunities are expanding in the temperature inspection and camera businesses. The business opportunities in the temperature and camera business are expanding.
WE INTERVIEWED MR. NAOAKI TERUYA, MANAGER OF ON THE WAY INC. ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT STATUS OF THE "AI CAMERA SOLUTION TERAS," WHICH IS CURRENTLY UNDER JOINT DEVELOPMENT, AND ON THE WAY INC.'S VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
(from left to right)
On the Way Inc.
Rental Marketing Leader Health and Safety Promoter
Mr. Marcos Asai
On the Way Inc.
Manager Product Development
Mr. Naoaki Teruya
Asilla Inc.
IVA Division Project Manager
Mr. Masahiro Wakasa
On the Way Inc.
Rental Marketing
Mr. Kota Yamamoto
Mr. Teruya (titles omitted): I am mainly in charge of product development. I am in charge of managing the introduction of radio manufacturers' products into our company, joint development, and services, or so-called project management. In addition to product development, I am also involved in a wide range of other activities, such as Olympic and Paralympic Games-related promotion and new graduate recruitment. Our business mainly includes sales, lease, and rental of radios and transceivers, as well as service support, which we can provide to our customers in all situations. In some cases, companies that hold events on a regular basis use our services on a monthly subscription basis. We have several other competitors, but we believe that our strength lies in our ability to handle requests for any occasion. Our clients are located all over Japan, from Wakkanai to Miyako Island.
Teruya: Some of our clients we have never met. We also receive inbound inquiries from our website, but many of our customers are referred to us or have asked us many times. We are very happy to receive referrals from our customers, and at the same time, we feel a sense of responsibility.
Teruya: For rentals, we handle about 6,000 shipments, and for leases, about 20,000 units. The number of businesses we do business with annually amounts to about 15,000 establishments. For spot use, we are also contacted by global sports associations.
Teruya: After all rental equipment is shipped, we have to provide support remotely, including in emergency situations. Therefore, we are conscious of delivering the equipment in a way that prevents problems from occurring after it arrives and setting it up so that it can be used immediately after opening the package.
It is quite common to receive a call on the same day and have to deliver the next day. What we always keep in mind is "the ability to respond to unexpected situations. As a team, we believe that being aware of this will help us develop a sense of responsibility and lead to smooth work.
Teruya: As the basis of the rental business, we have to leave the situation to the customer after arrival. I think it is important to have a configuration that makes it difficult for customers to make mistakes and to have spare equipment available. In addition, since most of our recent rental structure has been events, the cancellation of events has had an impact on us. In the future, we plan to increase the number of cases where the camera is used at construction sites and public facilities. We believe that cameras will become an important device as one way to diversify risk.
TERUYA: AT A SEMINAR HELD IN MACHIDA CITY, I HEARD THAT THERE IS A STARTUP IN MACHIDA THAT IS ENGAGED IN AI BUSINESS. I REMEMBER MEETING HIM AT A RECEPTION FOR THE IP SEMINAR HOSTED BY MACHIDA CITY. I THINK IT WAS VERY GOOD TIMING THAT WE MET AT THE RECEPTION IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE COULD TALK CASUALLY.
TERUYA: SINCE WE WERE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY, WE WERE ABLE TO MEET IMMEDIATELY LOL. AS WE TALKED ABOUT OUR BUSINESS, I REMEMBER THAT WE ALSO HAD A LIVELY DISCUSSION ON THE TOPIC OF "COUNTING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE. AROUND THE SAME TIME, WE ASKED, "CAN YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS USING A VIDEO SOLUTION?" I WAS ASKED TO CONSULT WITH MR. KIMURA, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPANY. I FELT A CONNECTION WITH MR. KIMURA, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPANY, BECAUSE I RECEIVED AN AI-RELATED REQUEST AT THE SAME TIME I WAS TALKING WITH HIM.
TERUYA: I REALIZED THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO DEVELOP AI, LOOK AT A CAMERA, OR JUST LOOK AT A COMPUTER; IN THE END, IT IS OUR SPARK OF INSPIRATION AND IDEAS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR DEVELOPMENT. WE BEGAN TO CONSTANTLY THINK ABOUT HOW WE COULD CUSTOMIZE THE DEMONSTRATION TESTS TO OUR OWN SERVICES AND PRODUCTS. SO THIS IS THE PHASE NECESSARY TO CREATE A FEASIBLE PRODUCT WHILE RECONCILING REALITY AND IDEALS.
Wakasa：I believe that we must avoid a situation where the words "artificial intelligence" and "AI" are used alone. We are always conscious of not developing under any illusions. I felt the difficulty of communicating with the development side when we could not conduct PoC under the envisioned environment or with the restrictions in the field.
Teruya: As we do not have a demonstration site or development site, we think that a place where we can actually conduct PoC will be necessary to expand in the future.
TERUYA: ONE OF THE MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES OF ON THE WAY INC. IS TO "LIGHT A CORNER". THE IDEA OF FOCUSING ON WHAT SOME PEOPLE ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH AND ON THE SMALL THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US IS ALSO IMPORTANT WITHIN THE COMPANY. THE "MOON" IN OUR LOGO IS ALSO A PART OF THE IDEA BEHIND TERAS.
Teruya: We believe that the need for more security-related functions will increase. We also believe that demand will increase for functions that can be used for marketing based on facial expressions and behavior. There has been a need for functions that can be used at events and exhibitions for some time and we would like to consider this in the future.
Teruya: I don't want to describe it yet. I hope that younger employees will become aware that they are a party to the development of a new product. I believe that naming the sub (catching copy) is also very important. We are also considering naming the product in such a way that companies that introduce the product will have a flash of inspiration or an idea that "Oh, it could be used in this kind of situation as well. We would like to grow together with Asilla toward commercialization of the product so that it will become a representative product of On the Way.
*Ajila and On the Way's joint development article was featured in the "Nikkei Newspaper.
*CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PRESS RELEASE FOR THE ON-THE-WAY AI CAMERA SOLUTION, TERAS.
■About "On the Way Inc."
Company name: On the Way Inc.
Business: Sales, rental and lease of radio equipment
Established: January 4, 1991
Representative: Motoki Nonaka, President
Capital: 40,000,000 yen
Location: 5-14-18 Haramachida, Machida, Tokyo
Contact: http://www. ontheway.co.jp/
■About "Asilla Inc."
Company name: Asilla Inc.
Business: Video analytics business with a focus on behavior recognition AI
Established: June 1, 2015
Representative: Daisuke Kimura, President
Capital: 56,125,000 yen
Location: 1-4-2 Nakamachi, Machida, Tokyo
Contact: https:// www.asilla.jp/
