INTERVIEW 社員インタビュー

Why I'm at Commerce Media

My name is Kurata, and I am under contract with you. I am a mother of three children, but I am also a hard-working career woman (laughs). Today, I would like to tell you about why I work in e-commerce, what kind of work I do at Commerce Media, why I am a contract worker, and so on.

I joined the EC industry because I like selling products

I was originally interested in selling things, so when I graduated, I worked at a major supermarket, doing various tasks such as customer service and purchasing at the actual store. I enjoyed working at the actual store, but after marrying someone from the company, I felt that it would be difficult to continue working there, as it would affect my child-rearing if we were to work during busy periods together, so I decided to quit.

Honestly, there is no symbolic event that made me interested in EC, but I have always bought things online, and I thought that EC was a business model that would definitely grow. Furthermore, with EC, you are not tied to a place of work, so you can focus on your work while also taking care of your family. I felt many such possibilities even back then.

Although I left my previous job, I had no experience in e-commerce, so I joined a staffing agency specializing in e-commerce as a contract employee in order to gain skills. From there, I was seconded to two companies, a cosmetics company and a food trading company, where I worked for one year each while learning about e-commerce, and when I had gained a certain level of skill, I quit my contract and signed a contract with an e-commerce operating company as a self-employed person, which allowed me to start a new way of working.

The e-commerce company allowed me to work remotely, which was great as it allowed me to work in a way that allowed me to prioritize both my family and work. However, the business started to downsize and the budget was reduced, so as a contract worker, I had to look for a new contractor.

I was looking for a job again that would allow me to work from home and support e-commerce, when I had an interview with a company and they introduced me to Commerce Media. I applied and they smoothly offered me a contract for services.

I was also able to work on a contract basis, so while my main contract is with Commerce Media, I am also doing a little bit of the work from my previous job. If I had been a full-time employee, I would have quit completely, but I have a strong attachment to the company, so I am very happy to be able to continue working with it in the future.

Choosing to outsource in order to prioritize both work and family

I am often asked, "Why contract work?" It's not that I'm particularly attached to contract work, but for the lifestyle I'm aiming for, it's more convenient to be able to work from home, and after narrowing down my search, contract work was where I landed.

I grew up in a place with a lot of nature, so I love the countryside and wanted my children to grow up surrounded by nature. However, the further I went into nature, the further I got from the city center, so my commute took a long time. Of course, I thought about finding a job nearby, but since e-commerce companies are concentrated in Tokyo, it was difficult to find a good place.

If my workplace is far from my home, I can't go and pick up my child right away if something happens to him, so I'm very grateful to have a workplace that allows me to work remotely. Although I live now in a place far from the city center, I'm able to cherish both my family and work.

Specific work content

In fact, I was on maternity leave until recently and am currently in the midst of raising my child, so I am working reduced hours, but I believe this is due to the trust that I have built up between Commerce Media and me.

When I was working full-time, I was simultaneously handling all aspects of e-commerce operations, including handling customer service and logistics for a total of five companies, updating websites, etc., and I was responsible for order processing and customer support in the morning, and product registration work, running each company's events and campaigns, and coordinating with the warehouse including storage and receiving and shipping in the afternoon, among other tasks.

In addition to our own EC site, we also manage EC malls such as Amazon, Rakuten Ichiba, and Yahoo! Shopping. Of course, I don't do everything by myself, but with so many different things to do, it's not easy.

Also, when operating multiple sites at the same time, a lot of different information comes in, so basic business skills are required, such as being careful not to leak information and making sure to check chats to avoid any discrepancies.

For now, I have asked her to reduce her workload a little, but I plan to return to work as soon as possible. There will be times when I will have to take my eyes off her for a while due to childcare, but I hope to be flexible in my response.

Manuals are available, but flexibility is necessary

I was surprised when I joined the company to find that Commerce Media has comprehensive know-how about the entire EC business, has prepared manuals for each client, and has an environment where experienced people can do their work just by looking at the manuals. However, it wasn't as easy as just relying on the manuals and everything going smoothly.

Since Commerce Media operates on a contract basis, decisions related to the policies of brands and manufacturers must be escalated (raised) to the client. However, since clients also work by trial and error, instructions are rarely given with a solid scheme in place. I understand their feelings well, as I have experience with in-house operated e-commerce, but in such cases, we need to make suggestions such as "This decision would be better off not making it as it would place a large burden on logistics" or "This scheme has the potential to cause this kind of problem, so please take measures to mitigate the risks" and guide the client.

Their ability to carry out instructions properly is impressive, but as e-commerce management professionals, we need to work alongside our clients and not just take their orders, in order to realize what they want while reducing risks.

Some of you may be thinking, "I wish I'd signed a contract with an easier company" after reading what I've said so far. However, the reason I want to continue working in this hard and difficult job is because the people at Commerce Media don't treat me as a contractor, but treat me like a member of the team. They are flexible with me in many ways, but I think of the contract as just a contractor, and I work as if I were a member of the team. Thanks to them, I feel comfortable here and I feel like I'm working with good members in a good environment.

Whether you are a contract worker or a full-time employee, you are definitely part of the same team. We are a company that truly values ​​our teams, clients, and partners, so if you can relate to that, please let us talk.