Hanamaruki cuts 20,000 work hours yearly with Gemini

Hanamaruki's success shows that limited IT resources need not block generative AI adoption. The company's approach emphasized gradual rollout, starting with a small group of motivated users rather than forcing company-wide use initially. The AI supporters played a key role in fostering organic knowledge sharing, which helped build confidence among employees. The top-down encouragement from the president, who personally used the tools, combined with bottom-up peer support, created an environment where staff felt safe to integrate AI into their daily work. This case suggests that for traditional manufacturers, a phased, human-centric adoption strategy may be more effective than a big-bang implementation.