WE DEVELOP SOLUTIONS FOR EVERY PROBLEM, FOR EVERY INDUSTRY.
About the Customer
Who is Sanrio?
The designs of Sanrio are famous all over the world. Everyone knows characters from the Sanrio product range, including the most successful one, the little white cat with the pink bow called Hello Kitty.
The Company was founded in 1962 in Japan and its cute designs, which initially decorated small assecoires, became increasingly popular and soon adorned products from all kinds of fields. For more than a half century the products have delighted customers all over the world.
New Strategy
Sanrio’s new strategy was to license its products. This allowed the company to outsource the production of its products while benefiting from the licensing of its designs. After Sanrio introduced this new strategy, they faced new problems.
- Ensuring that all patterns meet the design standards
- Available to all users and manufacturers worldwide
- Clear, usable and understandable for everyone
- Secure, so intellectual property is protected
Project Background
The Obstacles
The reputation of the company was growing over the years and for a long time the company focused on manufacturing for their own retail shops in order to maintain the image and quality. This strategy had worked well in the past, but it prevented the company from obtaining the full benefit of its capacity and value creation.
> Stagnating profits
> Lack of effectiveness
> High level of risk
The Solution
Sanrio Style Guide Software
We developed a style guide software that enabled all parties involved to retrieve the exact designs and style specifications.
All style characteristics are listed in detail and are easy to retrieve by categorisation.
This central platform, contains all colour patterns, shapes and names of the entire Sanrio product range.
General Benefits of Licensing
> Facilitates penetration of new markets
> Reduces the financial risk
> Lower costs for marketing and distribution
The Outcome
The licensing strategy of designs administered through the Style Guide software was a great success. The company resulted in breakthrough profit maximisation in the following years. Sanrio even became one of the largest licensees worldwide through the licensing strategy.
Through this project, we were able to show that software development can be applied in non-technical fields and that we understand how to benefit customers from all industries.