Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. and Palantir Technologies Inc. to Begin Work Accelerating Digital Transformation of the Logistics Industry in Japan

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Yamato”) and Palantir Technologies Inc. (“Palantir”) have announced the beginning of their work to accelerate the digital transformation (“DX”) of the logistics industry by transforming Yamato’s internal operations. Yamato will deploy Palantir Foundry to spearhead the connectivity of their operations and the entire industry.

Currently, many Japanese companies are promoting DX efforts, but the results are often not as successful as expected. Issues such as complex supply chains, legacy organizational structures, and difficulty gathering and using large amounts of data scattered within and outside of the company all contribute to the challenges facing DX initiatives.

On January 23, 2020, Yamato announced its Corporate Transformation Plan “YAMATO NEXT100”. This plan outlines three key pillars of transformation, including "Shift to data-driven management." Upon recognizing the power of Palantir’s technology, Yamato intends to deploy Palantir Foundry internally to transform its operations, propel its own success, and lead the broader transformation of Japan’s logistics industry. Specifically, Yamato’s work with Palantir will focus on the construction of a digital platform by using Palantir Foundry to create new pockets of value for Yamato and its customers. Yamato will aim to transform its forecasting workflows into highly data-driven operations that take internal and external data into account. By integrating its operational data into Palantir Foundry, including real-time parcel trucking data, Yamato also aims to optimize resource allocation, streamline the supply chain, and improve service levels for customers.

To accelerate these initiatives, Yamato established a CVC fund (KURONEKO Innovation Fund) on April 1, 2020 of 5 billion yen promoting open innovation. Over the next four years, Yamato intends to invest 100 billion yen in digital technologies. As part of this initiative, Yamato has also invested in Palantir.

At the start of this initiative, the representatives of each company commented as follows.

Yutaka Nagao, President, Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd.

“It is a great honor to start working with Palantir, a leading data analysis company. By fusing Yamato’s data base and know-how in the logistics field and Palantir’s technology, we will accelerate our DX, provide supply chain optimization solutions to a wide range of customers, and contribute to the realization of a better society.”

Alexander Karp, CEO, Palantir Technologies Inc.

“We founded Palantir to build software for our most critical institutions,” said Alexander Karp, co-founder and chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies Inc. “Our partnership with Yamato, whose work in logistics has reshaped the sector, reflects our commitment to Japan and to supporting the country’s essential infrastructure.”