60% of companies say 'we implemented it, but it's not used'—what to do before digitizing

'We implemented a convenient tool, but in the end, no one is using it.' I am hearing this more and more from small and medium-sized business owners.

According to a survey conducted by kubell Co., Ltd. in November 2025, targeting 1,093 business owners and employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (10–299 employees), 57.5% of companies responded that they had experienced failure after attempting to digitize. About 60% feel that 'we tried it, but it didn't go well' (Source: kubell Co., Ltd., 'Questionnaire Survey on Digitalization in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,' December 2025).

So, why does 'we implemented it, but it's not used' happen? Hidden there is not a problem with the tool, but a problem with the work itself.

The cause of failure is not 'tool selection'

Let's look at the top reasons for failure revealed in the same survey.

・'Usage was limited to a few people and could not be rolled out company-wide' 34.2%
・'The expected results were not achieved' 27.5%
・'It could not be integrated with existing systems, increasing the workload' 26.2%
・'It was left unused and abandoned' 17.7%
・'Employee resistance was strong, and the operation did not take root' 16.9%

What is noteworthy is that most of the reasons for failure are not 'the tool's performance was poor.' 'It wasn't used,' 'it didn't take root,' 'the workload increased.' In other words, the tool and the actual work on the ground were not aligned.

Don't you have similar experiences at your company? You implemented a cloud-based attendance management service, but in the end, you are still managing it in duplicate with Excel. You introduced a chat tool, but important communications are still flying back and forth via email and phone. With the same work flow as before the introduction, only the tool is layered on top—there is no way you can feel that 'things have become more convenient' with this.

'First, organize the work' is the top priority

So, what are companies that are succeeding in digitalization doing? In the same survey, the number one initiative to increase productivity was 'simplification of work and elimination of unnecessary procedures' (37.7%). The second was 'review and improvement of work styles' (36.3%), and the fourth was 'creation and standardization of work procedure manuals' (27.8%).

On the other hand, items such as 'introduction of digital tools and cloud services' and 'utilization of AI' remained at less than 20% each. In other words, many companies are choosing the order of 'reviewing how work is done before introducing tools.'

This trend is also supported by a management issues survey conducted by Teikoku Databank from January to February 2026 (5,241 valid responses). In the 'Business Reform/DX' category, the most selected item was 'standardization of work' at 58.3%. This significantly exceeded 'AI utilization' (40.4%) and 'DX of business processes' (40.1%) (Source: Teikoku Databank, 'Questionnaire on Corporate Management Issues,' published March 2026).

More than half of business owners feel that 'we must first standardize our work.' I believe this is a very important message.

Results of companies that changed after 'visualizing' their work

I will introduce a concrete example. At Daido Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture), which manufactures motorcycle chains and automotive parts, quality evaluation work in the technical department was dependent on veteran employees. Paper work manuals could not convey detailed know-how, and it took a huge amount of time to train new employees.

The company first started by filming the work of veteran employees to 'visualize' it. Instead of introducing a high-level system right away, they started by recording 'who is doing what and how right now.' After that, they organized video manuals, resulting in an 80% reduction in training man-hours. The man-hours required for manual creation itself were also reduced to less than half (Source: tebiki Co., Ltd., Daido Kogyo implementation case study).

The point is that they performed an 'inventory of work' before introducing the tool. What is being done, by whom, and in what procedure? Where is time being spent, and where are mistakes occurring? By grasping this before taking action, the effectiveness of the tool was maximized.

'Organizing' is plain, but it has the largest return

What I strongly feel after seeing these survey results is that 'the success or failure of digitalization is determined by the organization of work before introduction, not by whether the tool is good or bad.'

In the kubell survey, 24.7% of companies cited 'personalization of work and lack of standardized procedures' as an obstacle to productivity improvement. Furthermore, 23.3% cited 'always busy and no time to devote to business improvement.' In other words, even if they know that organization is necessary, they are chased by daily work and cannot get their hands on it. If you introduce a tool in this state, it will only increase the confusion.

Here, I will outline the specific steps for 'inventorying your business operations'.

・Step 1: List all daily tasks for each department (bullet points are fine to start).
・Step 2: Add 'who is doing it' and 'how many hours it takes per month' to each task.
・Step 3: Mark tasks that 'only that person can do' (= points of individual dependency).
・Step 4: Start creating procedure manuals and checklists for the marked tasks.

There is no need to try to create a perfect manual from the start. Starting with a single A4 sheet checklist is enough. The important thing is to turn 'tacit knowledge' into 'written text'. That alone will dramatically change how easily tasks can be handed over.

Start by 'writing down' just one task

To maximize the effectiveness of both digitization and AI utilization, organizing the foundational business operations is essential. The reality that 60% fail, conversely, means that 'if you organize before you start, you can be on the side that succeeds'.

There is no need to make it a large-scale project. First, choose one task in your company that is most dependent on specific individuals and write down how it is done. That will be the first step toward leading your digitization to success.

ShakeHands LLC

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