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Graduate Interview: Ms. Kasumi Ito, Platform Team Manager, Market Enterprise Corporation and Director, UMM Co.
- June 15, 2022
Profile.
Ms. Kasumi Ito
Born in Fukushima, Japan in 1993, Ms. Ito entered the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies in 2012. after graduating in 2016, she joined Market Enterprise Corporation. in her first year, she won the company's "Rookie of the Year" award. in April 2020, she became a director of UMM Corporation, a group company.
I want to contribute to farmers, the company, and society by expanding the reuse business of used agricultural machinery
Ms. Kasumi Ito has had a brilliant career, starting a new business of buying used agricultural machinery in her first year with the company and becoming a director of a new company in her fifth year. She says that the knowledge she gained from her college days and her experience working in groups with her peers have been useful in various business situations.
The business I launched in my first year with the company has grown to become one of the pillars of the company
I serve on the board of UMM, which operates a platform for buying and selling used agricultural equipment on the Internet. This business started with the purchase of used agricultural machinery, which I launched in my first year with the company. I thought that the market for used agricultural machinery had potential, and that a platform that bridges the gap between buying and selling would be a business that would help realize a sustainable society. My family is a farmer, so I knew that farm machinery is like a partner, and knowing the hard work that goes into making something, I wanted to reuse it instead of throwing it away.
The first challenge was how to transport and where to store the farm machinery, which weighed over one ton. We had almost no knowledge of agricultural machinery, but we developed a system and manuals by forming partnerships with other companies and visiting buy-back operations to accumulate firsthand information and know-how.
After starting the purchase business, we were faced with the challenge of selling the products. Auction fees and storage fees are expensive, and through repeated trial and error, we developed a sales platform. While listening to the feedback of the farmers to whom we sell the equipment, we brushed up on such issues as the level of inspections and repairs that should be passed on to the sales price. As a result, sales of used agricultural machinery have exceeded 250 million yen per year and have grown to become one of the pillars of the company. Although I have not yet reached a sense of accomplishment, I am happy that I was able to take on the challenge of a new business, which I had wanted to do since before I joined the company, and put it on track.
Whenever she makes a mistake or failure, Ms. Ito's rule is to reset her head while she sleeps and not carry it over to the next day.
Four Intense Years at the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies
When I was in high school, I had a vague idea of the direction I wanted to take in the future, working in media or web-related fields, as I had been blogging about beauty, diet, etc., and was getting quite a big response. I enrolled in the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies because I wanted to think carefully about my future and career.
One of the undergraduate classes was "Career Experience Learning," which included a long-term internship at a company and its preparation and follow-up. I was also very impressed with Professor Kennosuke Tanaka's classes, which anticipate changes of the times and try everything by taking on challenges, such as participating in classes remotely from outside the classroom.
Many of the classes and assignments were done in groups, and I found the enjoyment and significance of teamwork through practice, which is very useful now. There were also times when I felt that the marketing and management knowledge I was inputting in class was "linked" to my work.
When I was looking for a job, I applied to venture companies and small and medium-sized companies that would allow me to do a wide range of work. As I went through a series of interviews, I began to think that the people I worked with were more important to me than the content of the work, and I chose Market Enterprise because of the thoughtful feedback I received at the end of each interview.
Classmates from the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Career Studies with whom I engaged in friendly competition (at the Forest Garden on the basement floor of the Boissonade Tower. The second person from the right in the front row is Mr. Ito.)
Always looking two steps ahead of myself to seize opportunities
Not only in new business, but also in business, input of new knowledge is indispensable. I have always studied and collected information even after I became a member of society, but I am conscious of anticipating the knowledge and skills required by my superiors, who are two steps ahead of me, not just those related to the business at hand. This is because when my superiors embark on something new, I am more likely to be able to contribute to it.
However, even if you have skills and ideas, there is a limit to what you can achieve on your own. You have to work together with those around you to enhance your output capabilities. I feel this is where the fun of my job lies.
The used agricultural machinery business was later spun off as a separate company, and I was appointed director of the new company in my fifth year with the company. Although I have more discretion and authority, I also have more responsibility, but I believe that authority and responsibility are given as a set, so they are rather motivating factors.
Practical wisdom that I realized when I entered the workforce
The platform that serves as the foundation for net-based reuse must be responsive to the voice of society and users. As Darwin, who advocated the theory of evolution, said, "It is not what is strong or clever that can survive, but what can change." I want to contribute to society by expanding my business while looking at the world, the environment, and everywhere else and changing flexibly.
It is no exaggeration to say that the foundation of what I am today was cultivated during my college years. Hosei University is a unique place to acquire the ability to think and act. I encourage you to take full advantage of this environment, and when in doubt, use the powerful Hosei network of friends, teachers, the Career Center, and alumni.
My current goals are to expand our platform for buying and selling agricultural equipment worldwide and to become an executive at the head office in order to increase the number of women who want to be active in business. I hope to achieve both of these goals within the next few years.
(First published in the April 2022 issue of Hosei, a public relations magazine)