Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.

2-12-16 Ginza
Chuo-ku
Tokyo 104
Japan
(03) 3541 3411
Fax: (03) 3541 7579

Public Company
Incorporated: 1929 as Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.
Employees: 39,951
Sales: ¥426.21 billion (US$3.15 billion)
Stock Exchange: Tokyo

Yamato Transport Co. Ltd. (Yamato) is the founder of the private parcel delivery service industry in Japan, and with a 41 % market share it is by far the largest player in the market today. The company delivered 450 million parcels in Japan in 1990. Links with United Parcel International of the United States allow Yamato to deliver in 175 countries. A strong domestic service includes home moving, delivery of refrigerated goods, and facsimile transmission. The large size of Yamato has made information technology an important consideration for management in the control of the vast range of activities in which the company is involved.

Yamato was founded in 1919 in the Chuo ward of Tokyo, although it was not incorporated as a company until ten years later. The company’s founder was a young entrepreneur, Koshin Kogura, who began with ¥100,000 in capital and four new trucks. The establishment of the company came at a time when Tokyo and the rest of Japan, to a lesser extent, were rapidly building the transport and industrial infrastructure necessary to sustain Japan’s growing economic power. Kogura’s business, delivering business documents and parcels throughout the Tokyo area, boomed. It was, in effect, the city’s first courier service. By 1923 the range of delivery was extended to the adjacent city of Yokohama, and in the same year Yamato was contracted by Tokyo’s most prestigious department store, Mitsukoshi, to deliver purchases to customers. Mitsukoshi generally catered to upper-class clientele and the items to be delivered were usually expensive Western imported goods. Yamato obtained its second prestigious client in 1925 when it was appointed by the Imperial household as its official courier and delivery service. The ministry of communications also used Yamato for the speedy delivery of important documents.

By 1929, with Kogura as its first president, the Yamato Transport Co. Ltd. was officially incorporated. A regular Tokyo to Yokohama delivery service was initiated, running several times a day. Customers could rely on Yamato, as opposed to the postal service, for swift delivery of mail within the Tokyo-Yokohama area. In the 1930s Yamato concentrated on expanding its network in the city of Tokyo and surrounding suburbs, and by 1940 claimed that it could deliver anywhere within the Kanto region within one day. Yamato bought a controlling interest in Kawase Cars Co. Ltd., a Tokyo-based operator of taxis and rental cars, to add to its network in the city. This was followed by the purchase of Sanwa Transport Co. Ltd., a competitor in the courier business, in 1944. Like many essential infrastructure-related businesses in wartime Japan, Yamato was forced by the military government to aid in the war effort. This in effect meant that the company’s resources were directed mainly at supplying goods for military use. The company played a role in the military’s communication network within the city of Tokyo.

The U.S. air force’s bombing campaign during the summer of 1945 left Tokyo in ruins and much of its transport infrastructure in disarray. Yamato was asked by the city authorities and the U.S. occupation forces to assist in the transport of vital goods within the city. Yamato’s fleet of trucks was used extensively in the rebuilding of certain areas of Tokyo. Yamato thrived in the immediate postwar period and in 1949 obtained a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the first time. New branch offices were opened in Tokyo near the main stations of Akihabara and Idabashi in 1950. In the same year Yamato signed an agreement with the Tokyo municipal authorities which allowed the company to act as clearing agents at customs. By acting as such, Yamato was in a position to deliver parcels efficiently overseas. The company did this in 1951 by setting up a liaison office in Haneda Airport, Tokyo and forming an agreement with CAT Airlines Co. Ltd. to transport parcels. An overseas freight service from Haneda followed in 1952, allowing Yamato to ship large-scale items for customers. An agreement with the port authorities in nearby Yokohama allowed Yamato to clear goods through customs in this important port. In 1954 Yamato bought a controlling stake in one of its competitors in Tokyo, Teito Transport Co. Ltd. Three years later Yamato made another acquisition, the Tokyo-based Chiyoda Konpo Kogyo Co. Ltd., a packaging and moving company.

Yamato’s plans for developing an international delivery service received a boost in 1954 when the International Association of Transport Airlines (IATA) certified the company as fit to handle packages and goods transported by its member air-cargo companies. Yamato was now in a position to set up representative offices at all of Japan’s major airports. Japan’s largest airline, Japan Airlines Co. Ltd., named Yamato as the internal distributor of its cargo goods in 1958, and in 1960 Yamato began handling freight to New York in conjunction with Japan Airlines and others. The now-familiar logo, visible on thousands of trucks all over Japan, was introduced in 1957. It depicts a mother cat carrying a kitten between its teeth, symbolizing the careful and efficient handling of goods. Yamato’s history of assisting governmental agencies continued in 1965, when the company was involved in helping the post office to ensure that its year-end rush of post was delivered on time. This was to be repeated in the ensuing years.

During this period, Yamato was increasingly expanding its main business—the delivery of parcels within Japan. One of the goals of the company, with founder Kogura still at the helm, was to develop the capacity to deliver goods nationwide. This was achieved by the establishment of subsidiaries throughout Japan and by strategic alliances and acquisitions of regional delivery companies. In 1967 Yamato took advantage of its growing network by diversifying into the travel business and offering package tours. Due to the increasing complexity of its network, Yamato began computerizing all of its operations in 1969. The company was, however, slow to realize the need for this and lagged behind other business sectors, such as retailing, in the introduction of computers. Yamato soon realized that information technology would play a major role in the company’s operations and established a subsidiary, Yamato Computer Systems Development Co. Ltd., in 1973. This company was primarily set up to offer systems support to Yamato but would later also work for other organizations. In 1974 the company succeeded in establishing an on-line system for the control of a package to its destination. This system greatly reduced instances of delayed or lost goods and improved overall efficiency.

Since 1958, when it arranged the safe transport of a Van Gogh exhibition to Tokyo from Europe, Yamato prided itself on being able to handle almost any goods for transport. In 1970, when Japan hosted the World Expo, Yamato was responsible for the shipment of works of art and expensive machinery from all over the world to the exhibition site. In 1972 Yamato was asked to aid in the transport of the Chinese National Theater’s set during the group’s tour of Japan. In the same year, founding president Koshin Kogura received the Third Order of Merit from the emperor for his achievements in the Japanese business world. At this time Japan was becoming one of the major exporting nations in the world. Many Japanese companies were setting up subsidiaries overseas, notably in the United States. Mainly to serve this market, Yamato opened a representative office in New York in 1971, which dealt with the delivery of business packages between the United States and Japan. On the domestic front, Yamato established freight train operations between Osaka and the southern island of Kyushu, in conjunction with the regional railway company Shimabara Railroad Co. Ltd.

In 1975 Yamato underwent a reorganization and six divisions were formed, representing the major regional areas of Japan: Hokkaido, Kanto, Tohoku, Chubu, Kansai, and Kyushu. The vast majority of Japan’s population is concentrated within these regions and Yamato planned to develop the capability to reach all of these regions with its delivery services. The year 1976 marked the establishment of the now well-known Takkyubin parcel delivery service aimed at both the business and consumer markets. Initially the service offered to deliver a parcel anywhere in the Kanto area within one working day. This was soon extended to cover most of Japan, with the delivery time varying according to distance and accessibility. The Takkyubin, which means literally “home express post,” is now the cornerstone of Yamato’s business. During the late 1970s the company focused on the expansion of the Takkyubin service, which extended to Niigata on the west coast of Japan, in 1978. The year 1979 marked the delivery of the 10 millionth Takkyubin parcel. In the same year Yamato’s founder and president, Koshin Kogura, died.

At the start of the 1980s, with a comprehensive Japanese domestic network in place, Yamato embarked on a program to establish an international delivery service network. A subsidiary, Yamato Transport USA Inc., was established and based in New York. In the same year representative offices were set up in Singapore and Frankfurt. Yamato used these offices to market its services and coordinate operations with Japan Airlines, and in 1983 the Takkyubin service was extended to include overseas destinations. Yamato’s 1981 upgrade to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange from the Second Section in 1981 was followed by domestic and overseas fund-raising activities on the world’s money markets. The company raised SFr50 million and US$40 million in two separate bond issues in 1982. An agreement with United Parcel Service (UPS), a leading U.S. courier company with its own fleet of planes, marked the beginning of the realization of Yamato’s worldwide delivery service network. Yamato’s Takkyubin could now deliver to 175 countries around the globe. In the same year Yamato established overseas subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. In 1987 Yamato added Cool Takkyubin to its list of services. This offered the delivery of refrigerated goods within Japan. Fresh fruit is transported at 5 degrees centigrade, fish at zero degrees, and frozen goods at minus 18 degrees. The service is served by a fleet of refrigerated trucks.

Yamato is concentrating on improving the efficiency of its operations. Its position as the leading delivery company in Japan is assured, with 448 million parcels delivered in 1991 alone—about four parcels for every man, woman, and child in the country. A major challenge for Yamato, and other labor-intensive companies in Japan, is the availability of semi-skilled and unskilled labor. The company is trying to overcome this potentially serious problem by the use of shift work and the increased recruitment of women and middle-aged persons. In 1990 Yamato solidified its link with UPS by the formation of a joint-venture company, UPS Yamato Co. Ltd. Virtually all of Yamato’s air forwarding operations were transferred to this company, and it manages every step of the shipment process, from receipt to delivery. In the near future, Yamato plans to increase the efficiency of its operations through the use of computers and continue its diversification into such areas as telecommunications. The company is currently headed by Koji Miyauchi as president and Mikihiko Tsuzuki as chairman.

Principal Subsidiaries

Yamato System Development Co., Ltd.; Chiyoda Packaging Industry Ltd.; Konan Industry Co., Ltd.; Kyushu Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.; Kyoto Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.; Shikoku Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.; Kobe Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.; Okinawa Yamato Transport Co., Ltd.; Yamato Shoji Co., Ltd.; Far East Lease Co., Ltd.; Yamato Home Service Co., Ltd.; Chubu Yamato Home Service Co., Ltd.; Kansai Yamato Home Service Co., Ltd.; Chu-goku Yamato Home Service Co., Ltd.; Kyushu Yamato Home Service Co., Ltd.; Tohoku Yamato Home Service Co., Ltd.; Book Service Co., Ltd.; Yamato Collect Service Co., Ltd.; Yamato Parcel Service Co., Ltd.; Food Systems Co., Ltd.; UPS Yamato Co., Ltd. (50%); Yamato Transport U.S.A., Inc. (50%); Yamato Customs Brokers U.S.A., Inc. (50%); Yamato International Forwarding, Inc. (50%); UPS Yamato Partnership USA; Yamato Shoji U.S.A., Inc.; Yamato Systems U.S.A., Inc.; Yamato Transport (Canada) Inc.; Yamato Transport (U.K.) Ltd.; Yamato Transport (Deutschland) GmbH.; Yamato Transport (France) S.A.; Yamato Transport (Neder-land) B.V.; Yamato Transport (Hong Kong) Ltd.; Yamato Travel (Hong Kong) Ltd.; Yamato Transport (S) Pte. Ltd.; Yamato Transport (M) Sdn. Bhd.; Yamato Transport Taiwan Ltd.; Yamato Unyu (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

—Dylan Tanner