Vol.48

As an online shipping manager, I'll take care of each and every one.

IKEUCHI ORGANIC's online store receives various orders from all over Japan. Ms. Nakayama, who has worked for more than 10 years as a staff member supporting the backstage of the online store, such as handling product shipments and handling inquiries, spoke about what she is conscious of in her work.

WEB Inspection and shipping Nakayama

Sending each shipment with care

My name is Nakayama, and I am in charge of shipping and inspection at the Imabari Head Office.

I joined IKEUCHI ORGANIC (then Ikeuchi Towel Co., Ltd.) in 2009, and as the person in charge of the online store, I have long been working to support the backend of the store, such as confirming order details, shipping products, and handling inquiries.

At the time I joined the company, my main job was to input inventory at the Kaitan, and I only helped out with the online store in my spare time.

However, as online shopping spread throughout society, the number of orders arriving at IKEUCHI ORGAINC’s online store gradually increased, and I gradually started spending more and more time working on the online store.

In the beginning, we received many inquiries asking us to send catalogs of our products, and we mainly sent catalogs to customers and received orders by fax or telephone. Gradually, the online store became the only place to complete orders, and as the store structure itself evolved, the content of our business changed considerably.

However, the one thing that has remained unchanged is that we still ship orders by hand. We ship our products with the hope that they will enrich the lives of our customers.

Encouraged by customers who remember our names

Mr. Ishikawa has now taken over the job, but he used to handle the online store’s inquiry desk as well.

IKEUCHI ORGANIC offers a wide range of products, so we often receive inquiries from customers saying, “I am not sure which one to choose.

At our stores in Tokyo and Kyoto, it is possible for us to suggest the most suitable products while allowing customers to actually experience a variety of products. However, we cannot provide such an experience over the phone.

I try to understand what kind of products the customer is looking for through conversation, and then introduce products that I think are most suitable. As I had been mainly engaged in clerical work up to that point, I sometimes found it difficult to respond to customers in this way.

However, as I continued to serve as the contact person for inquiries, some customers remembered my name, contacted me regularly, and made purchases.

I always answer the phone by saying, “My name is Nakayama,” but I had no idea that some customers remembered my name when I first started, and it was a very pleasant surprise.

I was worried about whether I was doing a good job as a contact person for inquiries, but the presence of such customers was the most encouraging thing for me.

Doing what I can in my own way

When I joined IKEUCHI ORGANIC, I was not that interested in towels, and I chose this company because it was a place where I could make use of my past experience.

However, as I worked there for a long time, I gradually developed a kind of attachment to the products.

Now, when we give something as a gift to our relatives and acquaintances, we take the initiative to give our own products. Towels are not something you can’t have too many of, and it makes me happy when people praise the quality of our products.

I also feel that my attachment to the company has deepened over the more than 10 years I have worked there.

Actually, I have a qualification in flower arrangement and hold simple flower arrangement classes about twice a month. I do this during my lunch break, and it is mainly attended by members of the part-time staff working in the shipping and inspection departments.

I started these flower classes a few years ago, thinking about what I could do for the company with my special skills.

I would like to continue to think about what I can do in my own way and do each of them carefully.

Interview May 2023
Interview and text by Keiji Ide
Photographer/ Yuji Kimura