JCCU announces the progress of the DX-CO-OP Project, ethical products and the reduction of plastic in CO・OP Brand Products
2021.08.25
JCCU has announced progress on its priority measures for FY 2021: the DX-CO-OP Project, a cross-sectional initiative of Japanese consumer co-ops, as well as the CO・OP Brand Products for ethical consumption and the reduction of plastic container packaging.
The DX-CO-OP Project
On the DX-CO-OP Project, JCCU, together with three Regional Business Federations of consumer co-ops, the Co-op Tohoku Sunnet Business Federation（Co-op Tohoku), the Co-opdeli Consumers' Co-operative Union (Co-opdeli), and the Tokai Co-op Business Federation (Tokai Co-op), is promoting the digital transformation of Japanese consumer co-ops with the aim of realizing new lifestyles for its members.
Since April 2021, these three federations have been working on the experiment on digital transformation projects ahead of other organizations. In the future, the projects will be introduced to all consumer co-ops nationwide through JCCU, starting with those that have been proven successful. Specific progress is as follows.
1）"ＣＯ・ＯＰchef": Web service that allows users to order from recipes
Collaboration project with AI Travel inc. and FLYWHEEL, Inc.
This web service allows users to order the ingredients used in a recipe by tapping on the recipe posted on the CO・OP chef website. On May 3, 2021, Miyagi Co-op, a member co-op of CO-OP Tohoku, began using this service, and on May 31, it was introduced to all Co-op Tohoku member co-ops.
・User's Comments.
"I found it very convenient to be able to change the number of orders and to remove certain ingredients from my order."
"It was easy to understand even as a first-time user, and there were many recipes suggestions, so I thought it could be used for more than just purchasing."
2）Optimization of the delivery course:
Collaboration project with OPTIMIND Inc.
The course design for the home delivery of Co-op nationwide is done manually by onsite managers or by a system, but it is not always highly productive. The optimization of the delivery course aims to reduce the burden on the delivery staff by designing a more efficient course.
Since May 2021, a demonstration experiment for optimizing delivery courses has been conducted at the Co-op Aichi's delivery center in Miyoshi City, a member co-op of Tokai Co-op. The AI solution " Loogia " was used to design a more productive course, and the actual course was checked to see if it was effective in reducing delivery times and mileage.
As a result, the total delivery time was reduced by 22 hours and 34 minutes (15.0%), and the total driving distance was reduced by 54 km (9.7%). Based on the results of the demonstration experiment, they will closely examine the effectiveness and issues to be addressed, and keep the verification with a view to introducing the system in the future.
Ethical products：
JCCU's FY2020 sales of ethical consumption products of the CO・OP Brand Products reached 200.9 billion yen (116% of the previous year's total).
Reduction of plastic use：
JCCU is promoting the reduction of petroleum-derived plastics in packaging materials by gradually switching to packaging materials made of recycled and plant-derived plastics for the CO・OP Brand Products. The number of the CO・OP Brand Product items using recycled or plant-derived plastics packages has increased more than 1.5 times in one year, from 172 items (as of July 2020) to 286 items(as of July 2021).
