3 Service-Related Industries in Japan That Utilize Robots

In recent years, Japan has experienced rapid technological innovation, and robot technology has made remarkable progress as part of this advancement. Robots are being introduced in various service industries to improve operational efficiency and the customer experience. With Japan's declining and ageing population, labour shortages are a serious issue, and the use of robots is attracting attention as one means of solving this problem. The following is a ranking of service-elated industries that are actively introducing robots to take on tasks.

Industries That Utilize Robots

1. Logistics
2. Retail
3. Restaurants

1. Logistics

In the logistics industry, robots are helping to eliminate the problem of manpower shortages by ensuring that warehouse operations are carried out quickly and accurately. The use of picking robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) is streamlining the sorting and transport of goods and improving overall productivity.

Case Studies

• Rakuten: Automated delivery robots are used to deliver products from Seiyu and Starbucks stores in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, to local residents.
• Yamato Transport: A demonstration test of a personal delivery service using automated delivery robots on public roads was carried out.

2. Retail

In the retail industry, guidance robots and inventory robots are making a significant contribution to improving customer service and the accuracy of inventory management. Customer service robots such as ‘Pepper’ facilitate communication with customers and improve the in-store customer experience. In addition, the introduction of inventory robots has automated stock checks that used to be carried out manually, saving time and effort. This allows staff to focus on more value-adding tasks.

Case Studies

• Family Mart: Beverages are taken from replenishment shelves in the walk-in walls and fed in one by one from the back of the refrigerated cases displayed on the sales floor.
• Aeon: Aeon Retail is incorporating AI into its ordering process to improve sales and profits.

3. Restaurants

In the food industry, cooking and serving robots are assisting shop operations and enabling efficient service delivery. For example, sushi chain Kurazushi has introduced a system to automate the production and serving of sushi, significantly improving operational efficiency. Fast food giant Yoshinoya has also introduced cooking robots to automate some of its cooking processes, reducing the workload of employees and improving work efficiency. Robot technology is thus an important key to improving productivity in the service industry.

Case Studies

• Kurazushi: The combination of systems such as ‘automatic guidance’ and ‘self-check’ makes it possible to provide service without the need for employees from entering to leaving the restaurant.
• Yoshinoya: The robot ‘CORO’ is used to pick dishes after washing and sort them by type.

Conclusion

The introduction of robots in the Japanese service industry has made a significant contribution to improving operational efficiency and the customer experience. Robots are active in the logistics, retail and food and beverage industries, and further advances are expected in the future. It is important to use these case studies as a reference to explore the possibilities of using robots in other service industries.