Taiheiyo Club Corporation

Our company introduced RK in February 2024 and has been utilizing it for about a year. We have one creator license. During the day, we develop scenarios (automation programs), and from 9 PM to 8 AM, we run these scenarios, switching usage based on time zones. Interestingly, the PC dedicated to running RK has been affectionately named "Bryson," after the strategic-minded pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau. Internally, it has become common to say "Let Bryson handle it" when referring to running scenarios (automated workflows within RK).

Currently, about 20 scenarios are operated by Bryson. Here are some main examples:

Scenario Examples

• Sales Report Generation: Extract and aggregate sales data for each course from the core system overnight, compile the data into Excel, and send it to management by 7 AM each morning.
• Cancellation Data Preparation: Extract cancellation data from the core system, calculate a unique "index" for cancellations using our proprietary method, and send this information to the department that consolidates golf course data nationwide.
• Customer Data Management: When customer data in the core system is updated, download the data and update the customer information in a separate system called Kintone.

In this way, Bryson excels at handling daily routine tasks and system integrations.

Our operations include several tasks that must be performed daily without fail. Among them, the task of compiling data early every morning, like example 1, was quite burdensome for staff members. We were interested in automating with RPA and tried several solutions. However, the RPA tools we used before were difficult to operate and required experts for scenario development. Our Business Planning Department manages various systems, including 19 core systems, accounting, attendance, and network infrastructure, and with only two staff members there was no room to add this kind of RPA development to the workload. Ultimately, we concluded that implementing RPA with our current team was challenging.

However, at that time, our parent company Maruhan suggested, "Why not try RK?" After a brief pilot period, we found it to be a very capable tool. We thought that not only the Business Planning Department but also employees in other departments could create scenarios on their own. This led us to commit to adopting RK.

The main point was that even people with little to no programming knowledge could develop scenarios easily through a simple UI. We believed this would reduce the burden on both the Business Planning Department and other departments when creating scenarios. Additionally, we checked the accuracy of button recognition. After testing, we confirmed that RK accurately recognizes buttons not only through image recognition but also via element recognition, which reassured us that as long as the UI of the system doesn't change, RK will continue to perform reliably.

We achieved a reduction of approximately 1,033 hours annually. Calculated at $14 per hour, this amounts to about $14.5k. This is cheaper than hiring an additional part-time staff member. As we plan to add more scenarios, these benefits are expected to grow further.

Another significant benefit is the reduction in system development costs. For example, consolidating and outputting reports from core systems previously required $7k to $14k in vendor development costs. With RK, we can do this task in-house, which means even greater cost savings than the numbers above suggest.

There are three main points:

Versatility, including executing SQL commands

RK can run SQL commands via command line. For tasks like extracting reservation data for each course, directly pulling raw data from the core system using SQL is faster. Currently, about 4-5 of the roughly 20 scenarios utilize SQL for data retrieval.

Automating complex tasks in a short time

For irregular tasks like submitting reports covering the past year, RK has been very useful. By creating a scenario that can dynamically use the date of execution, the RK is able to complete the task at any time. Once familiar, creating this kind of scenario takes about an hour. Once completed, scenarios can be stored as assets for future reuse, enabling faster execution of similar tasks.

Performing error-free work during early mornings and late nights

RK works 24/7 without mistakes or complaints. It handles data entry flawlessly, like a highly reliable assistant working early mornings, allowing us to focus on other priorities.

The support team is impressively intelligent. When we ask questions, they don’t just give straightforward answers but also suggest ways to reuse components across scenarios, helping us develop more versatile solutions. They always respond with information beyond the questions we send. Additionally, both the support team and sales staff are quick to reply—unlike typical vendors that may take a day or two to respond or require weeks for investigations. This responsiveness makes it easy for us to consult with KEYENCE freely.

Absolutely. Even companies managing fewer courses than ours can benefit. There are still many areas in golf course management that can be digitized. Since golf service is customer-focused, accuracy is crucial. Using RK eliminates mistakes and frees up time, ultimately leading to better service. In this sense, effectively leveraging systems like RK will become increasingly important.

We believe there are many more tasks that can be automated. Our plan is to gather ideas and expand scenarios accordingly. We also want to increase RK’s use not only at the headquarters but also at each course site. Our goal is to make everyone’s work easier through automation.

To achieve this, we want to train more staff within the company to use RK. As part of this effort, we leave comments on each command in scenarios so that others can understand what automation is being performed, even if they are not familiar with programming. We hope KEYENCE will offer seminars, training sessions, and videos to help spread RK internally—ideally with beginner-friendly themes like "Introduction to RK" for employees who are not as skilled with computers.