ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has entered into a capital and business alliance agreement with SORAMICHI Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Koji Kawamoto, President & Representative Director; hereinafter “SORAMICHI”), a consulting company that provides end-to-end support to corporate business divisions, including marketing and sales divisions, from the planning of businesses and the design of initiatives to the design and implementation of systems. Through this alliance, ITOCHU will strengthen its consulting capabilities for business divisions under the ITOCHU Digital Business Strategy and expand its ability to provide integrated support from concept development and planning to system implementation and operation.

In recent years, advances in digital technologies, including generative AI, have expanded the scope of corporate digital transformation (DX) beyond the renovation of core systems and the improvement of operational efficiency to include the data-driven growth of business and the enhancement of customer touchpoints. In particular, in the marketing and sales domains, which are directly linked to the growth of revenue, there is an increase in demand for partners able to provide end-to-end support from the identification of business issues and the formulation of concepts to the redesign of customer touchpoints and business processes and the improvement and implementation of initiatives.

SORAMICHI is a consulting company whose specialists possess a deep understanding the functions of businesses that facilitates DX by bridging the gap between the functions of businesses, such as the functions of the marketing and sales departments, and their system development and other IT functions. Its strengths lie in its ability to provide one-stop services ranging from the formulation of strategies and specific measures to the development of data and AI infrastructure, the implementation and operation of CRM and marketing tools, data analysis, and system development. SORAMICHI has an extensive track record in providing support to major companies, particularly in the financial services, insurance, real estate, and service industries.

In line with its ITOCHU Digital Business Strategy, ITOCHU has been working with group companies, including
ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (hereinafter “CTC”), which handles the design, development, and operation of IT systems, BELLSYSTEM24 HOLDINGS, INC., which provides comprehensive BPO services such as customer and marketing support services, and AKQA UKA, Inc., which designs customer experiences, to provide comprehensive support spanning consulting, data analysis, business design, and the design, development, and operation of IT systems and operations. Through this alliance, ITOCHU will strengthen its consulting functions for marketing and sales divisions and further expand its ability to meet a broader range of customer needs. In addition, ITOCHU aims to provide SORAMICHI’s consulting services to the ITOCHU Group’s customer base and to create new services that contribute to the growth of clients’ companies through collaborations with the ITOCHU Group.

Under its management policy, “The Brand-New Deal: Profit opportunities are shifting downstream,” ITOCHU is working to build and transform business models by identifying customer and market needs based on a market-in approach. Going forward, ITOCHU will continue to bring together the diverse capabilities of the ITOCHU Group to contribute to the growth of the businesses of its customers and the enhancement of their competitiveness.