Establishment of the Consumer Goods Supply Chain Council

The Consumer Goods Supply Chain Council (hereinafter referred to as the 'Council') held its inaugural meeting on May 27, 2026, and was officially established. The Council is a collaborative body representing 43 companies across the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sectors of the consumer goods industry. By transcending industry boundaries, it aims to promote the social implementation of digital standardization and data integration, while also providing policy recommendations to the government to drive a comprehensive transformation of Japan's consumer goods supply chain.

Establishment Rationale Since its inception in 2011, the Manufacturing-Wholesale-Retail Collaboration Council has aimed to achieve fundamental innovation and improvement in Supply Chain Management (SCM) through collaboration among manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. It has worked on promoting the introduction of Distribution BMS, reducing returns, improving delivery efficiency, reviewing commercial practices such as relaxing delivery deadlines, and formulating policies toward the realization of the Physical Internet.

Meanwhile, the environment surrounding the consumer goods supply chain has changed significantly. Diverse challenges have emerged, including the quantitative contraction of the domestic market, increased risks in raw material procurement, demands for decarbonization and resource circulation, and labor shortages in distribution and logistics. Addressing these issues requires stronger collaboration among the three layers of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, as well as closer cooperation with the government to facilitate opinion coordination.

Therefore, leading companies and industry associations in Japan's consumer goods supply chain have gathered to redefine areas of cooperation and competition, fundamentally review commercial, logistics, and information flows, and implement necessary standards and data integration. The Council was established to realize both diversity and efficiency—the characteristics of the Japanese-style consumer goods supply chain—and to contribute to the realization of a rich lifestyle for consumers.

We expect all players in the consumer goods supply chain to engage in fair and frank discussions and execution from the perspective of overall optimization, based on the spirit of 'coexistence and co-prosperity.'

Overview of the Consumer Goods Supply Chain Council Name: Consumer Goods Supply Chain Council Established: May 27, 2026 Purpose: To realize the digitalization of the entire supply chain through collaboration among manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, fundamentally reform commercial, logistics, and information flows, and provide policy recommendations to the government. Secretariat: Distribution Economics Institute of Japan (commissioned) Main Activities: The Council will promote six key themes toward the social implementation of standards and data integration.