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Founded in 1940 as a timber mill, Karimoku has grown to become one of Japan’s leading furniture brands. Karimoku Group now encompasses seven furniture factories, four parts factories, 28 sales offices and 26 showrooms. Key to the company’s success is its commitment to using innovative production methods to create elegant, durable furniture.

As lifestyles and demographics have changed in Japan, so has the furniture market. The desire for traditional furniture has given way to rising demand for customization. In addition, Japan’s shrinking population means competition between furniture companies has become even more intense. To survive in such a difficult market requires that companies are flexible and agile.

Karimoku was looking for a partner capable of providing them with new ideas and technology that would enable the company to respond to its current market challenges. Transforming its production process with Industry 4.0 solutions was a critical factor in the decision-making process. That search led them to ����AV and it’s groundbreaking Furniture On Demand by ����AV – Made to Order solution. After seeing a demonstration of the brand new solution, the company was so impressed that they chose to serve as Asia’s first pilot site.

Of the 300 upholstered furniture orders Karimoku produces per day, 80% are customized. With the Made to Order package, Karimoku can connect their ERP to their cutting room therefore accelerating their current process and eliminating the possibility of errors.  The company was particularly impressed by the pattern-matching and skew adjustment capabilities of the solution. The combination of high quality, precise cutting and matching will also enable the company to move their portfolio upmarket. 

Karimoku’s end goal is the creation of a direct link between the customer and the factory. Implementing Furniture On Demand by ����AV – Made to Order is the first step in making that dream a reality.