NTT DX Partners has launched a “New Product Production Business” that creates products by utilizing the technical capabilities of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies nationwide. The business solves problems faced by manufacturers such as “I want to try something new, but I don’t know where to start,” “I don’t know what the market needs,” and “I developed something, but it didn’t sell very well.”

NTT DX Partners CEO Yutaka Hasebe explains the key points of the new business: “We are focusing on revitalizing the local economy and promoting industry, and our activities are centered on developing local human resources and supporting the promotion of DX. As part of that, we have launched a business to support the planning and development of new products that utilize the technical capabilities of local companies. When local companies develop new products, they face challenges such as a lack of know-how, a lack of human resources, and difficulty in understanding the market. Our goal is to resolve these challenges and boost local companies.”

The new business will be centered around “New Product Consulting” and “Fictional Product Mall.”

New Product Consulting will provide consistent support for manufacturers from planning new products to sales.
For new product consulting, Makuake will work with Makuake’s product production support business “MIS (Makuake Incubation Studio)” to help with product planning, development and sales expansion.
Makuake Executive Officer of Specialty Kitahara Shigenori says, “We have been involved in the launch of over 39,000 products and services to date. Most of the clients have been large companies, but through our collaboration with NTT DX Partners, we will also support small and medium-sized businesses.”

The Virtual Product Mall is a platform that creates experiential value for consumers and gathers many potential fans even before the product is developed.
NTT DX Partner’s Park Jae-moon explains, “The Virtual Product Mall creates fictional products based on common consumer experiences. It can also visualize demand before product development.”
The idea is that consumers upload fictional products to the platform, and companies that are interested in the fictional products buy the idea.
The rights to the fictional products purchased by a company become the company’s property. The consumers who created the fictional products are paid a fee.
NTT DX Partners will focus on expanding the number of fictional products adopted by companies and the number of fictional products submitted by consumers.
Hasebe says, “We would like to increase the number of fictional products adopted by companies to 80 by fiscal 2025, and to around 160 by fiscal 2027. We would like to achieve sales of around 500 million yen by fiscal 2027”.

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