[Publisher] ORIX Group
In recent years, natural disasters which used to be viewed as "once in a few decades" events, have been striking various regions of Japan every year. Add this to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is clear that we are facing a wider variety of "unforeseen circumstances.”
Companies are now expected to flexibly handle such unforeseen circumstances while continuing to provide services that are essential to our daily lives.
For example, financial institutions, which are an essential part of our basic infrastructure, are increasingly adopting mobile branches to support people's lives even in the event of a disaster, enabling them to conduct financial business outside of their main and branch offices.
ORIX Auto Corporation's "mobile bank branch vehicle" has helped make this service possible. The trucks are customized to meet the needs of each financial institution and are provided as mobile branches.
Realizing the desire to "quickly provide living funds to those affected by disaster”
In 2018, Soja City in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan was hit by extreme rainfall causing widespread flooding and other disasters. The Kibi Shinkin Bank's mobile financial vehicle "Smile Consultation Vehicle" is active here, equipped with ATMs and a counter where financial services can be performed, providing financial services to customers at the city's sub-branches, such as receiving pensions and consulting on housing loans.
Yoshiyuki Kanzaki, Managing Director of Kibi Shinkin Bank, explained the motive behind the introduction of the "Smile Consultation Vehicle."
We had known about mobile bank branch vehicles for a long time and were considering introducing them as a commemorative project for our 70th anniversary in 2020 to use in areas that were not covered by our branches.
In the midst of this, two branches in the town of Kibi, Okayama Prefecture were damaged by the heavy rains in western Japan of 2018 and had to be rebuilt due to flooding.
The rebuilding process would take six months to a year at the earliest. Since the neighboring branches were far away, we needed a replacement for the branch during that period. We considered building a temporary branch, but it would have taken about four months to build and we would have had to dismantle it, which would have been very expensive. That's when I remembered the existence of mobile bank branch vehicles.
Our priority was speed. We wanted to provide living funds to people affected by the disaster on the spot as quickly as possible.
In fact, until the Smile Consultation Vehicle was completed, we were able to borrow a bus-type mobile branch vehicle from the Shingu Shinkin Bank in Wakayama Prefecture through the Shinkin Central Bank. This was a great help in the hectic times after the disaster. However, we could not continue to borrow it indefinitely.
Other companies told us that it would take more than a year from the time we placed the order to deliver the vehicle, but ORIX Auto Corporation handled it with the greatest speed, saying they would "manage to deliver it in a few months."
After using it as a temporary branch, we wanted to use it more as a place where we could consult with customers on various issues rather than as an ATM, so we ordered the specifications with that in mind.
Flexible Approach to Regional Issues Such as Depopulation and Aging Population.
The "Smile Consultation Vehicle" was completed in October 2018. It served as a temporary branch for the two branches affected by the disaster and became a favorite among local customers. For example, many people chose to use the "Smile Consultation Vehicle" even when it was operating near a supermarket where ATMs were available.
“Since it is always staffed, customers visit us to talk. It has become a place where customers can interact with each other, and it is not only a place to withdraw money, but also a part of the local community. We also prepared chairs and handed out drinks, which were appreciated by the customers.”
*Mask was removed only during the shooting of this photo.
After the reconstruction of the branch was completed and its role as a temporary branch ended, it served as a place to provide mortgage consultations at model homes. Also, as of 2020, in order to avoid creating crowds in the COVID-19 pandemic, the vehicle regularly operates at city sub-branches in areas where there are many elderly people, on days when the main and branch offices are likely to be crowded, such as pension payment days.
“As the population ages, the number of people who do not have access to transportation is likely to increase. I believe that we will be required to provide a variety of services in such areas. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of consultations about inheritance and wills as part of end-of-life activities, and we need a place to provide consultations for the elderly.
At the same time, we are living in an era where financial institutions are making major changes in their branch strategies. In some cases, there is the possibility of consolidation and closure. I believe that the Smile Consultation Vehicle will play an increasingly important role in this situation.”
The Great East Japan Earthquake Triggered the Development of the Project by Combining the Strengths of the Group
How did the new solution of "mobile bank branch vehicles" emerge? According to Daiki Ichikawa from Logistics Sales Department, Lease Sales Headquarters, ORIX Auto Corporation, it dates back to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
“Our development started when a financial institution in the Tohoku region asked us if we could create a mobile branch to replace their branch that was damaged by the tsunami. Although it was necessary to rebuild the damaged branches urgently, permission for construction was not immediately granted due to urban planning. That's when we were approached by ORIX, who we had a regular business relationship with.”
They escalated the issues they learned about at the branch offices to the head office, and discussed the possibility of creating a business that would be useful to our customers by combining the group's comprehensive strengths. As a result, they decided to develop "mobile bank branch vehicles" with ORIX Auto Corporation, a company that specializes in vehicles for mobility, playing a central role. This was the first time for ORIX Auto Corporation to take on such a challenge, and the company faced many obstacles in its fast-paced development.
“The biggest obstacle was the procurement of vehicles. There was a shortage of vehicles due to the disaster and there was also a demand from logistics, so there were not many new vehicles on the market.”
ORIX Auto Corporation's truck rental business contributed greatly to overcoming this challenge. By using the vehicles owned in the truck rental business, we were able to shorten the two to three months it would normally take to procure the vehicles.
It was also the first attempt to develop a vehicle body (frame) for a financial institution branch.
"The first step was to find a manufacturer that could build the body for the stores. There are many manufacturers that build bodies for logistics vehicles such as aluminum vans and freezer trucks, but there are very few manufacturers that build bodies for stores. What is very different from logistics vehicles is that we need to develop the vehicles with consideration for how our customers will feel in them. For example, we need to consider the arrangement of furniture and financial terminals as well as brightness, and ambience."
They were able to advance the development by working with a reliable body manufacturer.
“We gathered information within the group and consulted with the builders of bodies across the country, and were able to get the support of builders that were suitable for this development. I believe that we were able to realize the development of both the vehicle and the body for the branch by combining the power of the members and the wisdom of the group.”
Mobile Office Vehicles to Support Work Style Reform
The solutions that combine "mobility" and "service" created by ORIX Auto Corporation and its know-how are expanding to meet the needs of the times.
One such vehicle is the "mobile office vehicle.” It is a special vehicle that has been converted from a sales vehicle and equipped with the functions of an office. The company started renting these vehicles in 2016 as a service to help improve work efficiency in cases where a large portion of time is spent traveling to the office to work in distant locations.
One of the companies that uses the vehicle is DAIKIN AIRTECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING CO., LTD., which is involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of air conditioning systems. The department to which Koichi Miyazaki of the Tokyo Branch's Second Construction Department (stationed at the Saitama Sales Office) belongs covers a wide area of the northern Kanto region, and he is sometimes in charge of sites that take about two hours each way by car.
“Previously, after construction management at the site, I would return to the office to prepare documents. Since a large amount of time was spent on transportation, I often got home late. Now, with the mobile office vehicle, I can go directly from my home to the site, do office work in the vehicle, and go home directly from the site. I feel that I have been able to save about two hours each day.”
“I used to have to work on my computer in an uncomfortable position in the driver's seat or the passenger seat, but the large working space of the mobile office vehicle allows me to spread out large drawings and concentrate on my work. The vehicle is also equipped with solar panels and a dedicated battery, and there is a separate power source to charge the computer for extra reassurance.”
Masashi Kikuchi of Safety and Quality Management Division at DAIKIN AIRTECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING CO., LTD., explains how the mobile office vehicles were introduced.
“In response to feedback from younger employees who are participating in the work style reform project, we decided to introduce mobile office vehicles for use at sites with long travel distances. In addition to shortening travel time, the mobile office vehicle will also be useful in some cases where we cannot set up an office when required.
We have used the mobile office vehicles in Saitama, Kyoto, Niigata, and many other places, and ORIX has offices all over Japan, so we can get support easily at any branch or region.
We also like the fact that we can rent the vehicles as needed, since construction periods and locations vary from site to site.”
The range of applications for mobile office vehicles will continue to expand as they support the work style reform.
Mobile CT Scanner/MRI-Equipped Vehicles, Mobile Destruction Vehicles... Further Development of "Mobility" and "Service"
The value created by the combination of "mobility" and "service" is endless.
The "medical mobile service" provides rental vehicles equipped with CT scanners and MRI equipment. The service is offered to medical institutions that do not have these pieces of equipment, as a substitute during maintenance, or when additional equipment is being installed, as well as for traveling medical checkups for companies, depending on where, when, and for how long the equipment is needed.
There are also mobile destruction vehicles that destroy HDDs, SSDs, and other ROMs at the customer's site in order to safely erase data when disposing of computers. These are also solutions provided by ORIX.
“Until recently, the question has been, ‘How can we get customers to come to us?’ However, with the aging population and other changes in society, it is becoming more difficult to get customers to come just by waiting. I believe that the idea of ‘improving satisfaction and usage share by going out of the way’ is becoming more widespread.” (Ichikawa, ORIX Auto Corporation)
The integration of "transportation" and "service" still holds great potential for innovation. ORIX will continue to create new value by addressing the challenges of our customers and combining the power of the group.
