Proposals substantiated by future vision

Meisho Unyu Co., Ltd. was founded in 1969. Its main office building is located in the Kaibe district of Aichi prefecture, adjacent to Nagoya. In recent years, Meisho, which was originally a transportation company, has distinguished itself by growing into a 3PL company that takes charge of a wide range of matters related to logistics, including the development and operation of logistics bases, and has achieved a series of successful businesses with major logistics companies.

In 2006, the company decided to build the second building in front of the main building to expand their business. Shinichi Kato, who succeeded the former president in April this year, took leadership of this project as a senior director at the time. He recalls, “In the beginning, our plan was to build a 8,246 m2 one single-floor building with one office on our 19,835 m2 site mainly to serve our clients we had then.”

He continues, “When we consulted F&P for planning and management, we were advised to build a two-story building with two offices. I appreciate F&P for having proposed this versatile and user-friendly design that eventually permitted us to serve multiple tenants at a time, with the future vision of our business expansion in sight.”

The two-story 18,915 m2 Building No.2 was completed in January 2008 and the company was commissioned to work for the logistics for Mitsubishi Shokuhin Co., Ltd., which was immediately followed by order from another company. Building No.2 was highly valued for its usability and has been maintaining a high operation rate. President Kato said, “There was no need for us to give F&P any detailed specifications, such as how high the stairs and eaves should be, etc. Their team of highly experienced logistics professionals prepared us the plan by thoroughly considering the types of operations and the needs of the shippers. What they came up with was something we could not have thought of, including even the external appearance of the building.
This was above our expectation from typical architect office.

For example, an elevator and two/three vertical conveyance machines in each of the two sections, plus the truck berths on the three sides, facilitate efficient operation, while the sophisticated designs of the entrance, the appearance, and even the lounge of the building represent the dignity of Meisho as a company.

Developing into a national 3PL enterprise

Yuichi Yamada, the department head of the F&P design headquarters, who was in charge of designing this project, says,
“The hardest part of the construction was taking countermeasures against the soft ground. We prevented land subsidence by reinforcing the soil and driving a pile into the bedrock.”
He continues, “We put in our best efforts within the limited budget, and achieved the column span for optimal pallet rack layout and secured a traffic line to allow face-to-face truck movements to integrate its functions with those of the existing building.”

Meisho Unyu Co., Ltd. is currently considering building the third new facility in Shizuoka prefecture and has already begun consulting F&P. President Kato says,

“Presently, our company’ slogan is ‘from region-wide to nationwide,’ and is expanding into metropolitan areas. With F&P working for us, it (the third facility in Shizuoka) will undoubtedly serve as another new logistics base designed in a way that leaves no part for us to regret about.” Furthermore, Meisho became the first among the domestic logistics companies to complete the pilot survey of ISO39001 (Road Traffic Safety Management System) which is scheduled to be officially implemented in November next year. The company continues to move forward armed with its differentiation strategy.
(For more information, see the company website at: http://www.meisho-unyu.co.jp)