An easy-to-read and easy-to-use website.
Behind the scenes of the first renewal in nine years
~ Interview with Kawaguchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. ~

Hello. This is the Monosus BtoB team. We are always working on proposing the creation and operation of websites for BtoB companies. As part of our activities, we conduct interviews with the people in charge of the renewal of the companies we have worked on to look back on the project.

The company that cooperated with us this time was Kawaguchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., which completed the renewal of its corporate website in May of this year. The company has its headquarters and factory in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, and is a manufacturer that conducts research, development, manufacturing, and sales of chemicals. Monosus' sales representative Sakamoto and Hamabata, who was in charge of design, gathered together the members involved in the renewal and spoke to them.

People we spoke to

• General Affairs Group Leader, General Affairs Department, Mr. Sekino
• Internal Audit Department Manager Ryuzen
• Mr. Uemura, Accounting Group Leader, Accounting Department
• Mr. Kikuchi, Accounting Group Manager, Information Systems Division, Accounting Department
• Mr. Takamatsu, Deputy Chief, General Affairs Group, General Affairs Department

My first encounter with Monosus was during an interview in 2015.

Kawaguchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (From left: Mr. Sekino, Mr. Ryuzen, and Mr. Kamimura).

Sakamoto :The first time we met was two years ago. We were working on compiling a report on the operation status, issues, and trends of B2B websites , and we asked him to do an interview for that.

Uemura: Yes, I received a call from someone who wanted to know about the status of our site. I also wanted to know how other companies were doing, and I met with them because they said they could provide me with materials.

Takamatsu: At that point, there was no talk of us renovating.

Sakamoto: Some time after the interview, when I brought you the completed report, there was no mention of a renewal. I explained the trends of BtoB websites and other data.

That's right, Uemura-san .

Sakamoto: Then about half a year later, the renewal started. What was the actual process?

Mr. Sekino: There were voices saying that the existing website was already outdated. There were suggestions from the association, and I think customers had also said the same thing.

Uemura: Those two things happened to coincide. The sales department was also saying that it was about time to renew the site.

Takamatsu: Our previous site was something we built ourselves. At the time, internet speeds weren't as fast as they are now, so we didn't want it to be too heavy, so we tried to make it as light as possible.

Sakamoto: That's right. In the past, websites were all narrower in scope and the way they were made was completely different from today.

Before

After

Kawaguchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Corporate website https://www.kawachem.co.jp/

From finding a production company to making a presentation

Sakamoto: Once you decided to renew the series, how did you go about finding a production company?

Sekino: Actually, we were frequently approached by various production companies. We picked out a few companies and got quotes. However, we decided that we wanted a company that we could talk to face-to-face like this, so we had them come to our company and listened to their plans. We then narrowed it down to Monosas and one other company and held a competition.

Sakamoto :We were the second company to present, so how did the competition go?

Sekino-san
It was during the first company's presentation, and since it was the first time I saw their new design, I could see it clearly. I felt like, "Oh, this company is good enough for me. I don't need to look at Monosus, the next company..." (laughs).
However, when I saw Monosus' design, I was like, "Wow!" I realized that you can't really understand it until you see it in person.

Sakamoto : We brought two proposals, Plan A and Plan B. Plan A was a plan that was within the initial budget, and Plan B was a proposal that suggested we do it properly since we were going to renovate it anyway. We were very happy that they ultimately decided on Plan B.
Since I was given the opportunity to make a presentation, I wanted to show something good, so I worked on the design quite a bit. After consulting with the designer Hamabata, I revised it three or four times, and finally came up with something close to the current design.

Mr. Sekino: The images were large and the layout was innovative, and the blue color was nice. After seeing Monosus' presentation, everyone, including the executives, said it was great!

Thank you, Sakamoto . At that time, about 10 people were in attendance, and Hamabata was so nervous that he was quite tense, and I was nervously telling him, "Hamabata, calm down!"

Hamabata: I'd never given a presentation in front of such a large crowd before, so I was so nervous I don't remember much... but I'm glad I got to hear it again today (laughs).

Designer Hamabata (left) and sales representative Sakamoto (right)

Since I'm going to do it, I want to make it a good one.
The direction of renewal has changed

After Sekino and Monosas made their proposal, the discussion shifted within the company to, "Since they've come up with such a proposal, let's spend the money."

As we considered Takamatsu-san's proposal, we realized that the original budget was not enough. So instead of spending the original budget, we made a new one.

Ryumae: At first, we thought we would do as much as we could ourselves. But then we thought, if we're going to make it anyway, we might be able to make something better if we leave it to the professionals, so we increased the budget.

Sakamoto: I'm grateful. Thanks to everyone's hard work, it took about six months from the presentation to receiving the order. Hamabata was feeling a bit frustrated the whole time (laughs).

Kawaguchi Chemical Industry's renewal project members. From the left: Sekino-san, Ryumae-san, Uemura-san, Kikuchi-san, and Takamatsu-san.

Sakamoto : I imagine that you had a lot of things to do after the renewal began. Is there any episode where it was difficult?

Mr. Uemura, all the coordination work was done by Mr. Sekino.

Sekino: We all divided the work among ourselves and proceeded with a schedule of "do this by this date." It's true that there was a lot of work to do. Some of the members were knowledgeable about the web, but for me, everything I saw was new to me. First of all, it was hard to understand the terminology. What is coding? (laughs)

Hamabata Sekino-san prepared the product information registration data for us, but I thought it would be a lot of work to compile it.

Sekino: It was certainly difficult. We are a company that produces a wide variety of products in small quantities, so we have a wide variety of products.

Sakamoto: What about the rest of you?

Was it not that hard for you , Mr. Uemura ? (laughs)

Takamatsu-san might have been there, but now that I think about it, I can't remember him.

Sekino: Well, I think there was a little bit (laughs). I myself was also in a rush to meet deadlines. It took up time outside of my normal work, but I think the only time I spent time was on the final touches.

Sakamoto: That was something you managed to adjust very well.

The meeting with Mr. Ryumae also went smoothly because Monosus came to our office. I felt at ease knowing that any points I didn't understand were answered right then and there.

Hamabata : If we only communicated by email and phone, there would inevitably be gaps and oversights, and the speed at which things progressed would be completely different. I'm glad we were able to meet face-to-face like that.

Response to the renewal and future challenges

Sakamoto: Has there been any change since the renewal? For example, how about inquiries?

Sekino: The inquiry form is great. More and more people are applying for jobs through the form. In the past, applications were made by email, and we would sometimes get phone calls asking, "What should I do?"

Takamatsu: It seems that other departments are also receiving inquiries. I feel like we are getting more responses than before.

Sekino : Also, we received an inquiry from overseas for the first time in a while. I don't know if it's directly related to the renewal, but I wonder if it's easier to find in searches. The impact when you open the top page is also good.

Ryuzen-san: Compared to other companies, I think our new site is good (laughs).

Sekino: From now on, we need to think about how to utilize the renewed website. For example, on the CSR page, other companies have information on disaster prevention and social responsibility, but we still lack that. There is a challenge to increase the number of such pages.

Sakamoto: Now that you have created a wonderful website, we hope you will make good use of it. We can also help with access analysis and suggestions for adding content, so we hope to continue supporting you. Thank you for your continued support.

Kawaguchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

https://www.kawachem.co.jp/
Head Office/Kawaguchi Factory 〒332-0004
4-6-42 Ryoke, Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture Phone: 048-222-5171 (main office)
Business description: Manufacturing and sales of chemicals including organic rubber chemicals