Since the release of the back office software "SuperStream-NX" in 1995, Superstream Co., Ltd. has been developing software specialized in the accounting and human resources fields, and has adopted more than 9,700 companies, mainly mid-sized and large companies. A proud software maker.

​This time, "UC Font (Universal Communication Font)" for embedding Fontworks was adopted in "SuperStream-NX Ver.2".

We interviewed Mr. Makoto Yamada, Director, Planning and Development Division, Super Stream Co., Ltd., and Mr. Kenji Fujikawa, Manager, Development Section 3, Product Development Department, Planning and Development Division, regarding the reasons for adoption and impressions.

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--Your product "SuperStream-NX Ver.2" was released in 2017, but initially other fonts were used. Please tell us the reason why you introduced our UC font this time.

Yamada: appeared in June 2017 "SuperStream-NX Ver.2" multi from the beginning Language had to design a global corresponds to a point.
At overseas subsidiaries of Japanese companies that are expanding overseas, the accounting staff is often local, so we provided Japanese and English so that we could handle Language However, many countries in which Japanese companies are expanding are in Asia, so it is necessary to grow into an accounting system that also supports Chinese (traditional and simplified) and Thai so that it can be used mainly in Asia. was.
I also wanted to be able to integrate accounting systems in Japan and the local area on the cloud.

Multi-Language wall of the continuous form towards the corresponding

Mr. Yamada: Especially in the accounting system, "forms" are the key point.
If you want to correspond to each of Japanese, English, Chinese, and Thai, you have to make four form forms. I can't do such an inefficient thing (laughs), so if possible, why not Language I thought, and proposed it to Mr. Fujikawa, who was the development project manager at that time.

Mr. Fujikawa: When Language, there are about 1,200 accounting system forms, so it's 1,200 x 4.5 languages.

Yamada: That can't be helped! ?? It started from a place like this. At least Japanese, English, Chinese and Thai. On the other hand, it was requested that all be stored in one file. If you make 4,000 same form forms and upgrade them, the layout of the forms may change a little. That work is four times as much as it is (laughs).
So I asked Mr. Fujikawa to come up with a global font that puts together the necessary Language

-- So that's it. There was such a background in making one file. Mr. Yamada asked me in that way, but what happened to Mr. Fujikawa?

Mr. Fujikawa: First of all, since we are one of the Canon Group companies, I thought that I might have some fonts within the group, so I asked related companies variously, but none at all. I wondered if I had no choice but to make an original font. Still, I didn't give up and searched and inquired on the net, but I still couldn't find it easily.

Mr. Yamada: The font maker you contacted first couldn't come to terms with the cost. However, I couldn't stop it, but I couldn't make all 1,000 or more form forms, so I was in serious trouble. You've been up for about two months, haven't you?

Mr. Fujikawa: I'm sorry. Then, Fontworks, which was a hit in the internet search, gave me a consultation.
First talk on the phone and then come to the meeting on the same day or the next day. It was a great help to respond with a sense of speed. We have to hurry because the deadline is approaching, and we have the budget. I heard selfishness.

――You were able to work with each other with a sense of speed. It is said that the amount of money did not match with the font maker who first spoke to you, but did you have any other voices other than our company?

Mr. Fujikawa: I made an inquiry, but there was no place where one file could support multiple Language such as Japanese and Thai. "No", I have already been refused. Everyone was reluctant to respond to Thai.

――Well, Thai is difficult from the layout, so there is a difficulty in merging.

- in the first place multi-Language Why is the reason that has been a corresponding global expansion?

Yamada: Fraudulent accounting and accounting mistakes at overseas subsidiaries can be a fatal story for companies, but they are quite likely to occur. At overseas subsidiaries, accounting software in that country often handles monthly financial statements, income statements, and general ledger, converts them into Excel, and sends them to the head office in Japan. This is dangerous, if you rely on manual labor, you can make mistakes and cause fraud.

Some overseas accounting software can be corrected even after the accounting is closed, and no history is recorded. It is also a big risk for Japanese listed companies.
Therefore, we would like to support Japanese companies that are expanding globally by making the same functions of "SuperStream-NX" Language

Expansion of global market and reduction of development man-hours realized by introduction of fonts

――Please tell us if there are any changes since you adopted our font.

Mr. Yamada: While our products are touted as "globally compatible," for example, in Thailand, we decided to introduce several companies in a year, and in that sense, we were able to expand our global business without stopping. After that, the internal story is big.
Strictly speaking, Language, but since the man-hours were greatly reduced, I was able to concentrate on development as it is without reducing the maintenance and productivity of the form file. It was.

――Given that Mr. Fujikawa originally talked about making fonts, was it okay to recognize that the overall development man-hours were significantly reduced?

Mr. Fujikawa: Yes, that's right.
I also told you one more request and asked for monospaced pitch. Since you have to put characters in a certain range of the form, I think that the productivity was improved even if you made it the same width.

Mr. Yamada: We will start supporting Vietnamese on June 1, 2021, and then we plan to support Language

I want to firmly support overseas Japanese corporations. Toward support for the 2023 invoice system

Mr. Yamada: Globally speaking, the introduction of the invoice system will start on October 1, 2023 in the Japanese consumption tax system. Then, the time will come when it will be possible to exchange invoices and other information overseas, even across countries. Two years later, from October 2023, I think overseas business will accelerate even further.

――If you do so, is there a possibility that not only Japanese companies will leave, but your company's global coverage area will expand?

Yamada: That's right. If Japanese companies go abroad, I would like to improve the mechanism of "SuperStream-NX" accordingly so that they can go out to the same area. This is because our core is to firmly support the Japanese corporation.

By 2030, we will promote cloud computing and global expansion more than ever. We have a passion for using our products by JOCs (Japan-originated Companies) around the world, and we would be grateful if you could support us in expanding them.

As the Japanese software industry goes out into the world, I hope Fontworks will support it. As long as you use this font, I want you to realize that it is systematically okay no matter what country you do business in.

――Isn't it ideal to make fonts seamless? Thank you for your valuable feedback.
We will continue to work to support your company, which supports Japanese companies!

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Fontworks' UC font (universal communication font) is a font with a design concept that is based on many languages such as Japanese, European, Chinese (traditional / simplified), and Thai. All supported languages can be managed collectively, and the range of languages covered is also a feature. We provide font services that can support the ever-increasing globalization. We hope that it will be useful for your global expansion.

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