Major Japanese Corporation Scales Mobile Reseller Business with Blancco

GEO Mobile, part of the Japanese retail media titan, GEO Group, is the major mobile reseller in Japan’s booming reusable mobile market.

To meet the demands of its network of nationwide stores and processing centers, GEO Mobile works with Blancco to scale its operations while guaranteeing data security, driving operational efficiency, and making customers excited to buy and sell used handsets with GEO Mobile. Learn how this leading mobile processor reached the top.

Highlights

Using a range of Blancco’s mobile solutions, GEO Group has:

• Standardized mobile processing procedures at all GEO Mobile stores and four main processing centers.
• Reduced lead time from used handset purchase to availability on store shelves.
• Increased profitability by enabling staff to focus on customer service.
• Created a hassle-free branded app that motivates used device owners to sell to GEO Mobile.

Streamlining in-store operations boosts profits

GEO Mobile turned to Blancco’s certified mobile diagnostics and erasure solutions as soon as it began trading used handsets. As operations ramped up, however, other tools also became essential to efficient trading.

Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure was introduced to improve diagnostic accuracy when purchasing mobiles from consumers, but there was still a challenge.

Processing operations were centralized in processing centers, which increased the time between the purchase and when the handsets could be available for sale again.

A huge win for GEO Mobile has been the introduction of Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure to all GEO Mobile stores nationwide. In-store employees now complete processing onsite, reducing lead time and boosting efficiency.

Mr. Ryo Fujimaki, Manager of the Mobile Products Section in the Mobile Store Sales Promotion Department said, “Blancco was originally introduced to our stores because we wanted to reduce the opportunity losses by shortening the lead time as much as possible, from the time the handsets were purchased to the time they were placed on the store shelves. We were able to significantly reduce opportunity losses by immediately processing and selling the handsets purchased at the store, rather than sending them to a processing center.”

He added that Blancco’s solutions have positively impacted the company’s bottom line.

In addition, Mr. Fujimaki shared that Blancco’s intuitive solutions empower busy store staff without creating obstacles.

“Blancco’s operation is so simple that it is easy to understand and learn. We have prepared manuals for store staff, and anyone can use Blancco right away with the manuals, so individual training is unnecessary.”

Scaling efficiencies in mobile reseller processing centers

The company also consolidates handsets purchased from stores other than GEO Mobile into four processing centers nationwide for data erasure, diagnosis, cleaning, and more.

Mr. Kento Totsuka, who oversees mobile processing at the largest center, in Iwakura, Aichi Prefecture, said that the center works continually to shorten the time it takes to get handsets back into stores for resale.

Totsuka also said that the center’s processing speed has improved over the years with the introduction of Blancco.

“Blancco’s evolving erasure methods speed up the erasure process. The erasure speed of iPhones has increased significantly, and with the new erasure method for Android, the average speed will further improve.”

Blancco’s ease of use is also important in ramping up employee productivity:

“All they [employees] have to do is connect the handset to their PCs and follow the on-screen instructions. Even one-day, temporary staff can quickly get up to speed after a little instruction.”

Connecting stores and processing centers

Blancco’s workflows, ease of implementation, and centralized management of erasure reports are also connecting the company to great effect.

Mr. Fujimaki said, “When we want to change store operations, there is no need for new development. We can flexibly reconfigure workflows within our existing solutions and quickly deploy them to stores in batches, which I think has greatly improved operational efficiency.”

He added that all centers have individual workflows tailored to the size of each center, while standardizing quality.

“Each of the four centers is a different size, so the processes handled by staff members are different. At the larger centers, the work is divided among several employees, but at the smaller centers, one person may be in charge of all processes. For this reason, each center has its own workflow.”

Blancco’s solutions are easy to implement and operate in mobile reseller retail stores and processing centers.

“Blancco’s solution does not require any special hardware or software to be installed; all you need is a PC with an internet connection and you are ready to go. There are no difficulties when starting to use the solution, and it can be deployed quickly and easily, even if the number of new stores increases.”

When emphasizing the importance of traceability for the erasure reports centralized in Blancco Management Portal, Mr. Fujimaki added, “Management is essential because used devices must be erased and inspected before they can be resold. The erasures are centrally managed, linking devices, stores, and the center. If there is a problem, it can be identified immediately from anywhere via a web-based console, which makes a significant contribution to security and safety.”

Solving a new challenge: brand awareness and customer motivation

In addition to the operational support Blancco provides, GEO Mobile has also launched a branded version of Blancco Mobile Solutions, a smartphone purchase assessment app customers can download to their own devices. Through the app, customers can remotely self-diagnose the condition of their device and understand the potential purchase price.

Speaking about the promotion of this app, Mr. Fujimaki said, “We believe that there is still a latent resistance, including awareness, for customers to sell their devices in stores. One of the reasons is that they do not know how much the price will be when they actually sell, and it is also a hassle to go to the store. Therefore, if they can check the purchase price at home, it saves them the trouble of going to an appraisal, and we think this will motivate customers who have never sold before.”

He added that the purpose of offering the service as GEO Mobile through white labeling is for brand recognition. “We want to raise awareness of GEO Mobile. The GEO brand is already well recognized in rental and game trading. In the same way, we want our customers to recognize the GEO Mobile brand as a reuse mobile brand, and we want the name GEO Mobile to be better known.”

Looking to the future

As GEO Mobile expands its mobile reseller market presence and further educates customers about selling used mobiles, its relationship with Blancco is essential to dealing with the arrival of new technologies and the need to achieve even greater efficiencies.

The combined expertise of Blancco and GEO Mobile has already helped to establish the company as the major player in the Japanese used mobile market. Future developments will cement that even further.

About GEO Group

The GEO Group began in 1986 as a privately owned video rental store that opened in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Since then, under the philosophy of “providing a rich and enjoyable everyday life,” it has expanded its services in line with changing times, beginning with the media business and then moving into the reuse and mobile businesses.

Since 2002, the company has also focused on the reused mobile market, operating nationwide as GEO Mobile, a comprehensive store staffed by specialists. GEO Mobile boasts the top share of the reused mobile market in Japan.

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