Employee Interview by Shotaro Shinohara Image

My seeds are Influencing people
Field power

Shotaro Shinohara

New graduate field sales (cross-business) Macnica Public Solutions Promotion Office

Shinohara, who uses cutting-edge technology to solve problems faced by local governments across the country, has successfully led a rare initiative with a local government, involving people both inside and outside the company. Behind this success lies Shinohara's passion for visiting and interacting with the local community.

Q1: What is your current job and what is rewarding about it?

Bringing the company together to create great value

I joined Macnica as a new graduate in 2018. From the beginning, I felt that since I had joined a trading company, I wanted to be involved in the business comprehensively, not just a specific product, and my desire to be involved in new businesses in particular gradually grew stronger.

At that time, I heard about the redevelopment project in Kure City from the founding members of my current department, and I learned that Macnica had such an organization and project. When I told my current supervisor that I wanted to take on a dual role, he accepted my transfer surprisingly quickly.

Currently, I am working on account sales for promoting smart cities to local governments in order to realize Macnica 's VISION 2030 ^*1. Specifically, I work to solve problems by uncovering unique local issues through interviews with local government officials and on-site staff, and proposing plans that utilize Macnica 's cutting-edge technology.

For example, the 2025 Problem ^*2, a nationwide issue, will see bus service reductions and elimination, driver shortages, and other social issues. To solve these issues, we are collaborating with Macnica 's Smart Mobility Team to propose autonomous driving buses.

In these efforts, we need to bring together all the relevant people in the company across business divisions so that Macnica can provide solutions that satisfy our customers. This job, which involves skillfully leading all the relevant people and controlling the overall process to ensure that we provide the best possible service to our customers, is very rewarding.

*1: The vision that Macnica aims to achieve by 2030. The company aims to transform from a technology trading company into Service & Solution Company that continues to create new value.
*2: Due to labor shortages and aging drivers, it is no longer possible to maintain conventional transportation schedules, and restrictions on travel, particularly in rural areas, are becoming a problem.

Q2: Why did you choose Macnica?

Give young people greater authority

I was looking for jobs mainly in trading companies, and had received job offers from other companies. However, they just didn't feel right, so I was looking for another job when I found out about Macnica. I was attracted by the environment where young employees could work with a lot of discretion, and thought, "A company like this exists? That sounds interesting," so I went for an interview and ultimately decided to join the company.

Macnica, I was able to relax and not feel tense, including the atmosphere during the job interview. Member of the Board interview felt more like a conversation than an interview, and I think they were able to get a sense of my personality and character through casual conversation.

I also had the opportunity to hear a detailed talk about Macnica 's corporate culture, and the word "delegation of authority" made a big impression on me. This is because when I started my job search, I held the value that "in order to become a successful member of society, it is important to be given authority from a young age and to work on tasks that require tangible experience."

I decided to join Macnica because I felt that the company's policy of "delegating authority" would provide an environment where I could thrive from a young age.

Since I started working at Macnica, the situation has not been what I had imagined, and I was actually surprised that so much authority was being delegated to young people. On the contrary, I wondered if it was really okay to leave so much responsibility to them, but it also motivated me to produce results since I was being entrusted with the responsibility.

Daily Schedule

8:00

go to the office

Organize your to-do list and check emails
10:00

Meeting with customers

Hearings on local issues and exchanges of opinions on solutions
11:00

Internal meetings

Conduct meetings with superiors to confirm progress on team strategies, report on the current status of projects, and discuss future response policies.
12:00

Lunch

Lunchtime with colleagues

13:00

Document creation

Creating materials for meetings with customers
15:00

Meeting with customers

Proposing plans for demonstration experiments to solve local issues
17:00

Organizing and preparing tasks for the next day and beyond

Creating meeting materials for the following days and beyond
18:00

Leave work

Q3: An episode that made you grow

Take action and create work

We held a test drive event for an autonomous driving bus for local governments in Miyazaki Prefecture. This was the first such event for the prefecture and a rare initiative nationwide, and was attended by not only representatives from the prefectural government and local government, but also local bus operators, taxi associations, elementary schools, and more.

I think the most important point in our work with Miyazaki Prefecture was the shift to "taking action and creating jobs ourselves." This event began by considering "what is the most appropriate way to proceed in resolving issues in Miyazaki Prefecture," formulating a strategy, and seeking cooperation from the prefectural government, which has broad jurisdiction over local governments.

In Miyazaki Prefecture, we noticed that issues related to transportation, shopping, medical care, and other aspects of daily life in mountainous areas were becoming increasingly serious, and, involving our own company members, we made a comprehensive proposal for medical and lifestyle services centered around autonomous driving buses.

As a result, the event was able to grow into a prefecture-wide event, and was widely covered by news programs and television stations.

Even within Japan, ways of thinking, values, and culture vary greatly from region to region. This made me realize once again that in order to deepen exchanges with local governments with which we have not yet built relationships, it is important to visit the area thoroughly, meet face-to-face on a regular basis, and then make proposals.

MY VISIONFuture goals and aspirations

Through my work, I want to revitalize the local area and, by extension, Japan as a whole, and fulfill my responsibility to ensure a prosperous future. In addition, our department has set a goal of "expanding our service track record in Japan overseas," so I would like to create something in Japan that can be shared with the world.

Recently, I have also started to pay attention to local government. Local government operations are sometimes funded by subsidies from the national government, but the source of their funding is tax money. I want to be conscious of ensuring that tax money is used for something worthwhile.

Message

There are people in all walks of life, some who have already found the job they want to do, and some who haven't. Some young people, in particular, can't find what they want to do and feel anxious about their future. I've been through that period myself. When you feel like that, it might be a good idea to look back on your life and think about the kind of people you want to work with, the kind of environment you want to work in, and the kind of situation you want to work in.

Macnica is a company that not only values the aspirations of each employee, but also provides an environment in which they can realize those aspirations. I think this company is perfect for people who, like me, have had a strong desire to achieve something from a young age and want to play an active role.