Japan Post Group and Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce and retail company, have signed a business alliance agreement that will see them collaborate in a number of fields including logistics, mobile and digital transformation.
According to the companies, this new capital and business alliance will enable them to maximize synergies by effectively leveraging the business resources and expertise of both groups to provide greater convenience for customers, give back to local communities, and grow their businesses.
Both Groups will consider business alliance collaboration on the items below:
Logistics
- Creation of shared logistics centers;
- Creation of shared delivery and pick-up systems;
- Sharing of data held by Japan Post and Rakuten;
- Joint commercialization of digital transformation platform for logistics, including the establishment of a new company;
- Collaborations and initiatives between Japan Post and Rakuten to expand usage of Rakuten Fulfillment Centers and Japan Post’s ‘Yu-Pack’ parcels.
Mobile
- Utilization of post office event space to create customer counters to accept new signup applications for Rakuten Mobile and other functions;
- Utilization of Japan Post Group’s delivery network to conduct marketing initiatives.
Digital transformation
- Dispatch of digital transformation specialists from Rakuten Group to Japan Post Group;
- Additional support from Rakuten Group to support the digital transformation of Japan Post Group.
Additionally, both Groups will consider the launch of new business alliances on the following items:
Financial services
- Collaboration in cashless payments and other fields;
- Collaboration in the insurance field.
E-commerce
- Collaboration on product sales.
Both companies will also discuss and consider other strategic collaborations that contribute to increased corporate value.