Digital Technology & Innovation
Digital technology is transforming conventional thinking and reshaping the frameworks of business.
As a partner driving this transformation, Yokogawa Rental & Lease provides digital solutions that enhance corporate competitiveness and value.
How Digitalization Is Transforming Business Structures
In traditional business models, many intermediary processes and distribution channels were required before products could reach customers.
While these channels helped maintain efficiency, they also limited direct connections between manufacturers and end users, making it difficult for companies to fully understand customers’ real needs.
Through digitalization, companies can now connect directly with customers via the cloud and the internet.
By reducing intermediary processes, costs can be significantly lowered, and services can be delivered more quickly and flexibly.
Moreover, by engaging directly with customers, companies can provide higher-value services that are better aligned with their needs.
Digitalization significantly enhances both cost competitiveness and product value.
It enables companies to respond quickly to market changes and accelerate business innovation.
Driving Continuous Value Growth
The Value of Physical Products Declines Over Time
With the growing demand for subscription-based services, more users are choosing to “use” products rather than own them.
However, as time passes, the value of these physical products gradually decreases.
This creates a gap between the subscription fee paid and the perceived value of the product, which can lead to lower customer satisfaction and, eventually, service cancellation.
Enhancing Value Through Digital Technology
Digitalization enables continuous updates to the services we provide, allowing their value to be maintained or even increased over time compared with when they were first launched.
Rather than simply selling physical products, this approach delivers value continuously by keeping services up to date — a model known as “As a Service.”
Examples include Software as a Service (Saas) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), which make subscription-based service delivery possible.
Digital Transformation of Our Business
In recent years, amid the shift from products to experiences and from ownership to usage, Yokogawa Rental & Lease has expanded its rental business by adopting new business models such as subscription and the sharing economy.
To achieve continuous growth in the future, the use of digital technology is essential.
So, what does “digitalization” mean for a company whose core business is the rental of physical products?
Our answer is “Cotoka™,” a proprietary digital solution that embodies the digital transformation we are pursuing.
Cotoka™ (Device as a Service)
As work styles have diversified following the COVID-19 pandemic, new approaches to time management and business operations have become essential.
“Cotoka™” is a new solution service created to meet these changing needs.
Building on the know-how accumulated through years of experience in the rental business, it combines asset management tools with Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services to optimize the entire lifecycle of IT equipment.
This contributes to greater business efficiency and the realization of “value-in-use” — maximizing the value derived from utilization rather than ownership.
Looking ahead, we will continue to develop new solutions centered on Cotoka™ to support the next generation of business.
