Challenges at the time of introduction, and what prompted the consultation
Please tell us about the challenges your company originally faced.
The challenge of efficient route planning in home-visit nursing
In our home-visit nursing business, we were facing a situation involving multiple interacting variables, such as the following.
- About 150 patients served by roughly 10 nurses
- Differences between individual nurses in shift availability, home-visit nursing experience, and areas of expertise
- Requests specific to each patient (for example, "I'd like this day of the week" or "I'd prefer a female nurse")
In addition, variation in the skill of the staff creating the routes, and the fact that the reasoning behind "why this route was chosen" was not adequately shared, led to a lack of confidence in the routes.
Please tell us what led you to consult with us.
We had been paying attention to quantum computing technology as an approach to solving this challenge.
While consulting people knowledgeable in this field, we met CEO Inoue. We learned that he had deep knowledge of quantum computing and was also well versed in AI, which is what led us to consult with him. The fact that the cost was also well balanced compared with other companies was a further deciding factor.
Our approach to the challenge
After the project with us began, what approach did you take?
We proceeded with the project using an approach similar to system development. By sharing knowledge in our respective areas of expertise and complementing each other's gaps, we were able to move forward efficiently. In the early stages especially, we placed importance on explaining our workflow in detail so that Elith could also understand the particular characteristics of home-visit nursing.
What did you think of our proposals and support?
What impressed us most was that although Elith was not initially familiar with home-visit nursing, after hearing our explanations they came back to us with more than double the level of understanding. Even where our explanations had been vague, they organized the content into a more concrete form and proposed it back to us, and every meeting built our sense of anticipation through this communication.
If there were any unexpected challenges or difficulties, could you tell us how you overcame them?
There may have been some, but we are not aware of having run into any particularly unexpected difficulties.
We were always mindful of keeping communication open throughout the project, and Elith's team never compromised, consistently and proactively proposing "what could be possible." Because we also contributed our own opinions at the same time, whenever an issue arose we could quickly arrange a discussion and resolve it smoothly.
Please tell us about the results and effects
As a result of the project, what outcomes did you achieve?
We feel the results exceeded our expectations. Given the sheer number and complexity of the variables we originally raised as challenges, even the parts we worried "might not be achievable" were given excellent solutions.
What impressed us most was getting to feel firsthand the possibilities of today's AI technology. It was a new discovery to see "AI can solve even a problem this complex," and we are very satisfied.
In terms of quantitative and qualitative results, development is still ongoing, but improved operational efficiency is a near-certainty, so our expectations are high.
In particular, we believe that eliminating the variation in quality between the staff creating routes will also raise overall user satisfaction.
Please share any plans you have for the future
How do you think collaborating with us will help your future business development?
We are considering turning the system we developed this time into a SaaS offering. We believe that if we can provide this solution not only to our own home-visit nursing business but also to others in industries facing similar challenges, more workplaces could become more efficient.
If you have any comments or a message for Elith, please share them
Looking back on the whole project, what left the strongest impression was that, despite being outside our company, Elith understood our operations faster than our own staff and showed outstanding insight. Thanks to this, the project progressed very smoothly and discussions moved along at a good pace. When recommending Elith to other companies, I would definitely want to convey the depth of expertise that lets them draw out the full potential of AI. I can say with confidence, "it's worth consulting them first."
