Welcome our global distributor #6 : Haruko MINAMI, Advisor
06/10/2025
This was the last day of training for our North American distributor, DMC, at Sonora’s head office in Tokyo.
Our final lecture covered sales and marketing activities.
Sonora currently obtains the top market share in Japan for manufacturing and selling “Modular fully acoustic anechoic chamber (MFAC)”, “Modular acoustic semi-anechoic chamber (MSAC)”, and “Anechoic box (AEB)”.
Sonora’s salespeople are usually referred to as “sales engineers”, as they have the technical expertise to provide customers with satisfactory proposals. They spend a period of three years training to become independent as sales engineer, ensuring that each project is handled by the same sales engineer from initial enquiry to delivery of the finished product.
Our sales engineer makes the following proposals, which are tailored to the customer’s requirements.
Proposal for a comprehensive technical solution: Combining an acoustic measurement chamber with ancillary equipment.
This includes: Acoustic measurement equipment (sound level meters and analyzers),
Wind tunnel testing facilities,
Constant temperature and humidity management facilities, and a Chassis dynamometer.
In other words, it goes beyond selling products such as chambers and boxes
from the perspective of fulfilling the requirements for customers,
our company has the following unique value:
“Creating an environment that guarantees measurement performance”
New technologies are constantly being adopted and updated based on Sonora’s independently developed technology, through ongoing research and development. Our sales engineers also propose the latest technologies to customers at all times.
The training was coming to an end, after a series of explanations about the key aspects of the technical sales of acoustic anechoic chambers had been given.
Perhaps the empathic conversation they had over Indian curry for lunch the previous day had not yet finished, but still lasted.
Sonora’s founder & chairman himself began to speak passionately about his thoughts on the future of sales.
Sonora obtains the largest market share in Japan for manufacturing and selling acoustic anechoic chambers.
However, as the founder of the company, I myself had mixed feelings about the process that led to this achievement.
Of course, we have made every effort to stay ahead of the competition. However, it is undeniable that our competitors’ ageing workforce and business succession issues have also encouraged us to gain market share.
It is very unfortunate that the expertise accumulated by our competitors has not been passed on to the next generation, resulting in a loss to the entire acoustic anechoic chamber industry.
This is why AI, including pseudo-AI and programs, is so important now, and will surely become even more important in the future.
Everyone will eventually die. However, by utilizing AI, it will be possible to preserve anyone’s expertise indefinitely.
Sonora is currently compiling a large database on acoustic anechoic chambers.
We visualize the knowledge that exists in the human brain, such as technical terms, technical data and sales engineering know-how relating to acoustics and acoustic anechoic chambers. We then use this knowledge to create a large dataset.
Ms. Minami is currently translating what I’m saying into English, but this task may disappear sooner or later. If we allow AI to learn all the technical terms in different languages, it will replace human beings.
Perhaps the AI avatar will soon be able to participate in our video conferences with overseas companies. It will soon be able to give introductory presentations about our company based on the large database. Having an AI avatar participate in actual discussions will probably take more time, but it won’t be impossible to realize it in the future.
If an AI avatar managed the “inquiry contact form” on the website, it could instantly screen inquiries based on their level and content. It could also determine which inquiries should be forwarded to sales engineers.
As our small but powerful group of employees, we can further improve efficiency by sharing the workload with AI.
Applying this concept to Japan, a country with a declining birthrate and aging population, it becomes clear that if AI could replace the labor force, the country would be able to manage its economy and finances more efficiently and effectively than countries with larger populations. In a country like ours with well-developed infrastructure and a high level of education, AI technology increases the feasibility of a “smart society,” regardless of population size.
Our goal is to focus on creative tasks that only humans can perform and entrust AI with tasks that it can perform. Additionally, we aim to lead Sonora Technology’s successful overseas expansion and secure the largest market share in the global acoustic anechoic chamber industry.
While translating Sonora’s founder & chairman’s words, I was reminded of Ray Bradbury’s science fiction novel, “Fahrenheit 451”, which the renowned French film maker, François Truffaut, adapted into a film.
Four hundred and fifty-one degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which books begin to burn.
Set in a near-future society where reading is forbidden and books are incinerated upon discovery, this is a beautiful story about people who become books themselves, engraving literary memories in their minds and passing them on from person to person.
This was precisely what aligns with the founder & chairman’s true message.
“Everyone eventually disappears from this world.
However, with the help of AI, our knowledge can persist indefinitely.”
In a previous article, I expressed my view that founders possess “amazing foresight”, a capability that few others possess.
It has been a year and a half since DMC came to Japan.
The “future” described by the founder & chairman at the time is now becoming a reality, one by one. The AI avatar, named “Shinkai Layla”, is now active on our global website.
Shinkai Layla
Profile Page : https://anechoic-room.com/lyla/
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyla-shinkai-sn/
I suspect that, sooner or later, Shinkai Layla’s translation and Japanese writing skills will surpass mine. She may one day become my colleague or even my boss, and she may assess my skills.
A year and a half later, I can see the founder & chairman’s vision for Sonora’s future becoming a reality. I now understand that “foresight” means acting before anyone else does.
I conclude this “Welcome Our Global Distributor” series with the hope that SMEs with limited human resources envision a bright future with AI.
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Haruko MINAMI (she/her), Advisor
Sonora Technology Co., Ltd.
<Bio> After graduating from Kwansei Gakuin University, B.A. in French linguistics, Minami worked in the commercial section of the Consulate General of Belgium in Osaka. Then she started her own business as a corporate advisor and consultant. While supporting mainly European companies to enter the Japanese market, she met many wonderful small and medium sized Monozukuri companies in Japan and started to support them to expand their business field from Japan to the world. Minami is currently in charge of developing European market in Sonora Technology.