Aggressive Management Strategies Utilizing IT (Information Technology)
Winners of 2013 IT Management Awards for Small and Medium Enterprises Announced

The business environment for companies is rapidly changing, driven by advances in information technology (IT), including the Internet.
In order to enhance their business management capacity, more and more companies are dramatically developing their efforts by regarding IT as a new business tool and using it in the areas that require aggressive management, such as moving beyond the subcontracting business, meeting short delivery times and high-mix low-volume production, and promoting strategic management by visualizing operations. METI calls such efforts "IT management."
In FY 2007, METI established the "IT Management Awards for Small and Medium Enterprises," which aims to honor, in the names of the METI Minister, etc., SMEs that have achieved outstanding IT management and are acting as role models for other SMEs that endeavor to implement IT management. In this fiscal year, METI has held the sixth "2013 IT Management Awards for Small and Medium Enterprises."

• see Appendix 1 for detail(PDF:289KB) (in Japanese)

(1) Grand Prize (METI Minister's Award): Two winners

• Happy Co., Ltd. (Uji City, Kyoto)
• Moritekko Co., Ltd. (Kurume City, Fukuoka)

(2) First Prize (Co-sponsor heads' awards): Ten winners

The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President's Award

• FIVE IS HOME Co., Ltd. (Gyoda City, Saitama)
• Tosu Souko Co., Ltd. (Tosu City, Saga)

Central Federation of Societies of Commerce and Industry Chair's Award

• i-ject Co., Ltd. (Hidaka City, Saitama)
• Ishido Co., Ltd. (Shiroi City, Chiba)

National Federation of Small Business Associations Chair's Award

• Yamazen Communications Co., Ltd. (Utsunomiya City, Tochigi)
• Togo Shoji Co., Ltd. (Ueda City, Nagano)

Information-Technology Promotion Agency Chair's Award

• Nagoya City Medical Services Association for the Elderly (Nagoya City, Aichi)
• Welfan Co., Ltd. (Neyagawa City, Osaka)

IT Coordinators Association Chairman's Award

• Kyowa Dental Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Matsudo City, Chiba)
• HIROSE MFG. Co., Ltd. (Kyoto City, Kyoto)

(3) Special Prize: Two winners

Small and Medium Enterprise Agency Director-General's Award

• Mr. Takuya Iwai (Kyowa Kogyo Co., Ltd.)
• Mr. Yoshihiro Murakami (Matsushima Machinery Laboratory Co., Ltd.)
  * Commerce and Information Policy Bureau Director-General's Award special prize was not applicable.

(4) Jury's Encouragement Prize: Seven winners

• Minamisanriku-cho Tourism Association (Minamisanriku-cho, Motoyoshi Gun, Miyagi)
• Dunksoft Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
• Soen Nojo (Shibata City, Niigata)
• Kyowa Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Obu City, Aichi)
• Fukui Prefectural Washi Cooperative Association (Echizen City, Fukui)
• Showa Denki Co., Ltd. (Daito City, Osaka)
• Matsushima Machinery Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka)
  *Addresses in parentheses "()" indicate the locations of the head offices or the names of enterprises or organizations to which the winners belong.

• see Appendix 2(PDF:217KB) (in Japanese)

Besides the above awards, METI recognized companies and cooperatives that are practicing IT management in a way that meets certain criteria, such as optimizing IT in the company, and certified them as "Certified IT Management Companies/Organizations." METI hereby also announces such companies.

Date:

Thursday, February 21, 2013, 15:00-18:00

Venue:

Nissho Hall, Nihon Shobo Kaikan (9-16, Toranomon 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo)

Application:

For attending the ceremonies, visit the following portal website for register (admission free).

• http://www.it-keiei.go.jp/award/2013/commendation.html (in Japanese)

February 4, 2013

Local Informatization and Human Resource Development Office, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau