Sweden-based Stringo AB is a global leader that provides specialized transport equipment called “vehicle movers,” designed to move cars. By using a vehicle mover, cars can be transferred smoothly and safely without anyone needing to physically push them—an approach widely adopted by automakers, R&D facilities, museums, and law enforcement agencies around the world. Pioneering in the industry, Stringo’s products have been evolving and improving for over 40 years, earning a high global reputation to the extent that people say, “When it comes to moving vehicles, Stringo is indispensable.”

Stringo’s Japanese subsidiary was established in recent years and has been promoting expanded adoption among domestic automakers in collaboration with headquarters. The company began overhauling its CRM tools to enhance sales activities and centrally manage customer information while enabling global visibility into deals. Since all global sales locations required a standardized operation, the Japanese subsidiary decided to implement HubSpot as the central platform.
In this interview, we spoke with Sam Coleman, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Stringo AB headquarters, and from the Japanese subsidiary, Ms. Chie Sakurai, Ms. Keiko Hoshiko, and Mr. Tomohiko Inoue. They discussed the background leading to HubSpot implementation, challenges unique to the Japanese market, how the HubSpot reconstruction project was driven, and the changes that followed as well as future prospects.

【About STRINGO AB】

A Technology that Supports the Global Automotive Industry — The Expertise Stringo Built in “Moving Vehicles”

– First, could you tell us about your business?

Mr. Coleman: Stringo manufactures and sells equipment called “vehicle movers” that transport automobiles. While our main customer base is the automotive industry, our vehicle movers are used in various scenarios, including vehicle testing facilities and automobile museums.

(Photo: The Vehicle Mover provided by Stringo)

When manufacturing vehicle movers, we place particular emphasis on providing optimal solutions for each persona. Our largest customer segment is the automobile manufacturing sector, where vehicles must be moved smoothly and safely during the production process. They are also used in testing processes. In the process of creating prototypes before products go to market, vehicle movers are indispensable.

Furthermore, they are introduced in the design stage for clay modeling (creating design models using industrial clay). In clay modeling, even slight additions or subtractions of a few millimeters of clay can make a big difference in the impression, requiring great care when moving models. Our products are used in such delicate operations.

Aside from that, we have a track record of introductions in various fields such as automobile museums, private collectors of luxury cars, and the police. For example, a vehicle seized as evidence during a criminal investigation cannot be manually pushed because it is a critical piece of evidence. In such situations, our vehicle mover makes it possible to “move the car without directly touching it.”

Ms. Sakurai: The “Stringo” vehicle mover was developed about 40 years ago and has constantly been improved and evolved ever since. Today, “Stringo = Vehicle Mover” is so well recognized that the product name itself has become synonymous with the industry. In fact, competing companies only emerged in the last 10 to 15 years; before that, there were no other “vehicle mover” products anywhere in the world. In other words, our product is entirely original and unique. We have practically created the market itself.
Another major strength is our expertise in moving vehicles safely and efficiently that we’ve accumulated over these 40 years. This long experience allows us to provide flexible customization that meets the special requirements and conditions of our customers.
All Stringo vehicle movers are custom-built at our factory in Sweden, where we add options and special features to meet each customer’s requirements before shipment. We take pride in our ability to offer such individualized responses—a feat only a specialized manufacturer like ours can realize.

– Please tell us about your departments and missions.

Mr. Coleman: As the CMO at Stringo AB, I handle branding, website design, and overall marketing strategy. However, my role is not limited to simple PR. The aspect I prioritize most is “building a professional, trust-based relationship between marketing and sales.”
I work to deliver the right information, tools, and content to the sales team so they can smoothly build relationships and conduct negotiations with customers. By doing so, we raise the quality of their sales activities, ultimately improving customer satisfaction. I see my mission as establishing that cycle.

Ms. Sakurai: I have been involved since the earliest days of Stringo’s Japanese subsidiary, needing to establish every process from scratch. This meant setting up the procedures to establish the Japan office, preparing the office environment, building customer relationships, and handling daily administrative tasks—truly starting from zero.
Because we have limited resources while developing the Japanese market, our roles are varied. My work includes sales activities in Japan, coordinating with headquarters in Sweden, adapting the information from headquarters to fit the Japanese market, and relaying feedback from our Japanese customers back to headquarters—essentially a bridge role. I maintain close communication with the team and headquarters on technical product details, sales progress, and so on.

Additionally, as a Japanese subsidiary, we undertake tasks aligned with Japanese business customs and legal procedures, such as drafting contracts and estimates. These business operations are crucial to establishing trust in the Japanese market, so I approach them with precision and speed.

(Photo: Ms. Chie Sakurai, Stringo)

Ms. Hoshiko: I’ve been at Stringo for three years. Because our organization is still relatively small, I handle a wide range of tasks, from sales support to technical support and marketing support.
I was central to the project implementing HubSpot. I carried out data entry, configuration, organizing how to utilize it—essentially building everything from scratch. Determining which data to record and how to structure it for easy use, balancing headquarters’ expectations with the realities of the Japanese market—these were all tasks I undertook, in partnership with Mr. Endo and the team at 100.

Mr. Inoue: My primary work centers on repairs and maintenance. When customers contact us, I go onsite to handle issues and perform inspections or part replacements as needed. This onsite work is the main part of my job.
I’m also involved in deliveries. Upon delivery, I explain how to operate the product and offer initial support so customers can use it safely and correctly thereafter. From delivery to after-sales service, I’m consistently their point of contact.

Because all of Stringo’s products are manufactured in Sweden and imported for sale in Japan, customers may naturally feel uncertain due to differences in language or technical specifications. Having a solid technical support system here in Japan provides great reassurance, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility in that regard.

– In Stringo’s global expansion, what position does the Japanese market occupy?

Mr. Coleman: Honestly, our current market share in Japan is not yet high. Nevertheless, it remains one of our key markets. One reason is that Japan is one of the few countries worldwide with multiple automakers.
Many countries have no automakers at all, whereas Japan has around 14. This is a unique market with huge potential for us.
We also have a high market share in the United States, but many of the vehicle movers sold there go to local factories of Japanese automakers. In other words, the Japanese auto industry holds significant influence globally in terms of production and technology strategy.

While our Japan office has existed for several years, we only began earnest sales efforts since the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are still in the early stages. Even so, Japan’s position is extremely important for us because it can act as a bridge between local automakers and our headquarters.

(Photo: Mr. Sam Coleman, Chief Marketing Officer, Stringo)

HubSpot was Introduced, but the Biggest Obstacle was “Quotations”? The Challenges Faced by the Japanese Subsidiary

– Please tell us the background and purpose of this project.

Ms. Sakurai: We decided to introduce a CRM tool at the request of our global headquarters. Specifically, we were directed to use HubSpot as the global standard tool for centralized management of customer and deal information, and the Japanese subsidiary was also required to adhere to this. We initially tried to implement it following the template provided by headquarters, but we ran into problems where it just wouldn’t “fit” or “be operational,” revealing fundamental issues.

Mr. Coleman: The main reason we adopted HubSpot in the first place was the need to establish a consistent global sales structure and carry out transparent, fully visible sales activities as an organization.
Stringo is headquartered in Sweden and serves customers worldwide, from automakers to various industries involving vehicle transportation. Our sales teams are dispersed across different countries, but previously each team managed customer and deal information in its own way, many using local tools such as Excel. This created silos and person-dependent information, posing risks to business continuity and transparency.

Therefore, we decided to consolidate all sales activities on a single platform, allowing real-time visibility into the status of deals across any market. We deemed HubSpot the best choice for that objective.
Most importantly, we deeply resonated with the core philosophy of HubSpot. HubSpot is not just a sales management tool—it’s a platform for building relationships with customers. Our business is not about simply selling; our aim is to build trust so customers choose us with full confidence. HubSpot’s philosophy aligns deeply with that approach.

Ms. Hoshiko: However, at that time, our HubSpot usage in Japan was not functioning as we had hoped. First, there was a basic issue with Japanese text input. Information entered in Japanese was not properly utilized—searches didn’t work, data capture was incomplete. For example, scanning a business card resulted in inaccurate information in the system. In other words, it wasn’t at a level usable for our day-to-day work. Because we shared one HubSpot account globally, we had difficulty running it in a way suited to the Japanese market.
Hence, we used Excel for most of our information management, from deal tracking to organizing account data. This made it hard to improve efficiency or achieve centralized data management.

(Photo: Ms. Keiko Hoshiko, Stringo)

Ms. Sakurai: The biggest barrier was generating quotations. Headquarters insisted we use the tool integrated with HubSpot to create quotes, but it was designed for Western markets and completely mismatched Japanese business norms. It produced beautiful, multi-page, image-rich quotes, whereas most Japanese customers want a single-page quote with a stamp (INKAN).
We didn’t want to simply accept the global directives but always considered how to localize effectively for results in Japan. We recognized HubSpot’s potential, but it remained underutilized, which felt like a tremendous missed opportunity.

Additionally, our sales activities were not visible, so we had no pipeline management, no accumulation of contact history, and everything was handled in a person-dependent manner. We realized that we would soon hit a limit in terms of organizational growth. We felt a strong need to establish a proper foundation “before it’s too late.”
Our headquarters asked, “Why aren’t you using it?” but our honest answer was, “We want to, but we can’t.” Hence, we knew we needed to partner with external experts who could transform HubSpot into a system truly usable in Japan.

Endo (Hundred): This scenario is very common. For the Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies, coordinating with the parent company is extremely challenging. One frequent example is in marketing—for instance, the main website is managed by headquarters and can’t be updated freely in Japan, or the tools don’t align with Japanese business customs. We hear such problems often.

Documents like quotations and invoices—i.e., commercial flows—frequently don’t match Japanese standards. HubSpot is a global product, so it doesn’t inherently cater to the Japanese style. Hence, our approach is to address localization thoroughly, and where necessary, integrate additional services to achieve the right fit.

– How did you learn about our company?

Mr. Coleman: We evaluated around five HubSpot partners in Japan, performing a thorough comparison. We reviewed each company’s achievements, mindset, and the services they offered in detail.
Out of those, 100 Inc. (Hundred) stood out. They weren’t merely a tool deployment support vendor; they share HubSpot’s philosophy, and they’re committed to changing the mindset and practices on the ground. That attitude really resonated with us.
When I submitted a contact form, Mr. Endo responded promptly and comprehensively. My first impression was that it was highly professional, and I immediately felt, “We can trust this person.”

Looking back, choosing Hundred was absolutely the right decision. They didn’t just teach the Japanese team how to use features; they helped change our perspective on why we should use the tool in the first place. That approach was more valuable than any technical expertise.

Same Tool, Different Premises. HubSpot Reconstruction with Cultural Gaps Addressed

– Please tell us about your collaboration with Hundred.

Ms. Hoshiko: Once Hundred stepped in, our perception of HubSpot underwent a major shift. We realized that “This tool can actually be utilized in daily work.” Until then, HubSpot had been difficult to even touch—entries didn’t function properly, we weren’t sure of the rules to follow.

Hundred started by saying, “First, please walk us through your current workflow,” and asked detailed questions. They then helped us rebuild the HubSpot properties and pipeline from scratch so they would reflect our actual processes.

For example, the headquarters template had a simple arrangement of deal stages such as “First Contact,” “Proposal Sent,” “Quote Submitted.” But in the Japanese market, there are more nuances: whether it’s through an agent or direct, whether there are multiple quotes from competitors, if we’re still in the pricing examination phase, and so on. Hundred listened to these Japan-specific complexities and proposed, “Then let’s design your stages this way.” They really worked alongside us.

They also emphasized creating a user-friendly UI and a layout that wouldn’t confuse anyone. Rather than just adding more input fields, they made it so only the fields needed at the moment appear. This significantly simplified daily operations.

Endo(100): Our approach to HubSpot support focuses on more than just explaining how to use features. We collaborate to build a system that aligns with each organization’s unique sales and marketing processes.
In Stringo’s case, the team was highly proactive—eager to make HubSpot a genuine asset. That made our work very rewarding. We meticulously mapped out the current workflow with Ms. Hoshiko, Ms. Sakurai, and Mr. Inoue, then discussed how best to represent it in HubSpot.

We deliberately decided to redesign from scratch rather than merely customizing the existing template. Though this is labor-intensive, the benefits are significant. We minimized the number of properties while ensuring quick access to the needed information.

Only when the platform is structured so that the on-site team feels “This is something I can use” or even “I want to use it” does HubSpot’s true potential emerge.

– Which part of the business was especially difficult to align with HubSpot for day-to-day use?

Ms. Sakurai: As I mentioned, quotation generation was one of the biggest challenges. Globally, the standard practice is to use HubSpot integrated with PandaDoc, producing visually appealing, multi-page documents. From the global perspective, it’s a smart, polished solution.

(Image: Sample Invoice from PandaDoc used globally)

But in Japan, it simply didn’t work.
Japanese customers expect a single-page quote with the total cost and breakdown clearly stated, often stamped with an official seal. Sometimes they’ll even ask for an Excel version. In Japan, there’s a strong emphasis on familiarity and reassurance.
Explaining this gap to headquarters was harder than I’d anticipated. It wasn’t merely a language barrier but rather a need to convey the cultural context of why it’s necessary. Still, I kept reiterating that “The way quotations are presented is part of service quality for Japanese customers.”
Simply talking about it can only achieve so much. So we decided to “build a system that works for the Japanese market on our side.” That’s when Hundred suggested we implement a quotation creation tool called “board.”

Mr. Endo (100): We’ve supported many Japanese companies, particularly foreign-owned subsidiaries, and the issue of quotes and invoices almost always comes up. While the Western standard emphasizes design and process automation, in Japan, the “document format” directly influences decision-making. The stamping culture remains strong, and even if it’s a PDF, “it needs a seal” is still common.

For Stringo, PandaDoc is very powerful, but if we present it unchanged to Japanese customers, they may not accept it as a legitimate quote. That would be detrimental for the sales reps—completely defeating the purpose.
Hence, we recommended “board,” a domestic tool that can seamlessly pull data from HubSpot to quickly generate Japan-style quotes. Originally developed for small-to-medium businesses in Japan, board aligns with local business customs. Its layout is simple, stamping is enabled by default, and the API integration with HubSpot was relatively straightforward—keeping operational load low.

(Diagram: HubSpot-to-board integration flow)

Once board was introduced, the challenges surrounding quote creation were resolved at once. Ms. Sakurai and the team commented, “We can use this in the field,” and “Our customers will accept it naturally.” We felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

– Were there any other issues caused by Japanese business customs?

Mr. Coleman: As CMO, I oversee global sales and marketing activities as a whole. Naturally, one of our key KPIs is “How many deals are in the pipeline and at what stage?” The main reason for introducing HubSpot was exactly to grasp the current state of sales in real time and with accuracy.
However, looking at the data from Japan, the number of deals always seemed disproportionately large compared to other regions, yet the close rate was low. After consulting Mr. Endo, we discovered the cause was “competitive quotes.”
Frankly, I had never encountered this concept before. Essentially, multiple distributors submit quotes for the same end customer, and each quote is recorded separately as if they were different deals. From the headquarters’ perspective, we had completely overlooked this.

If you only look at the numbers, you might think, “We’ve got five new deals!” But actually, it’s just five companies quoting the same customer. If we reported this as is, we’d risk making the wrong strategic decisions. Numbers must always be interpreted within their context, and this was a stark reminder of that.

Endo (100): I was impressed that although Sam said, “I didn’t know about this,” he immediately started thinking about “How do we accurately reflect the reality, then?” Many global managers find it challenging to look into local details, but Sam was eager to learn about Japan’s real sales processes.
We dissected Stringo’s sales flow in detail and devised a system to “correctly unify deals from the same customer.” Concretely, we introduced the idea of “Primary/Others.”

1. When the first distributor receives the customer’s inquiry, that deal is tagged as [Primary]
2. Any additional “competitive quote” deals are tagged as [Others] and excluded from the main pipeline figures as duplicates
3. When the deal is won or lost, all related [Others] deals are also processed together

We created this rule specifically to align with the Japanese market’s realities while keeping HubSpot usage straightforward. The local team found it reasonable, and more importantly, headquarters could now obtain accurate figures.

(Screenshot: HubSpot deals with “Primary/Others” tags)

Mr. Coleman: It was a very logical solution, so we decided to apply it in other markets as well. It standardized our data and improved reporting accuracy, becoming a valuable lesson for us.
Moreover, implementing board for quotes in the Japanese market was also effective. For instance, connecting it with local accounting software, such as Yayoi Kaikei (a popular Japanese accounting system), met Japan-specific needs. Through these experiences, our team recognized that “each market requires adjustments suited to that country,” and we now keep that perspective in mind for other regions’ rollouts, too.

– How did you overcome the psychological resistance to HubSpot at the on-site level?

Mr. Coleman: As a marketing leader, I’m always conscious of “How do I build trust between sales and marketing?” This remains true for CRM implementation. No matter how great HubSpot is, if the sales team doesn’t trust it, its value is zero, or worse, it might just remain unused. I’ve seen that happen many times.
I personally spoke with our team on multiple occasions, but dialogue alone has its limits—especially when trying to bridge differences in business customs. That’s where Hundred’s role became truly vital.

Mr. Inoue: Their HubSpot training sessions impressed me greatly. They didn’t just give us an operations manual; they thoroughly explained “Why do we do this?” and “How does this lead to results?” in a clear, well-structured way.
After this training, the initial sense of unfamiliarity with data entry faded. We realized how easily information from customer inquiries could be shared, and that HubSpot was actually a tool to support and enhance sales performance.
 Following that, the dashboards and reports set up by Hundred became part of our weekly sales meetings, naturally prompting discussions like “Where are deals getting stuck this month?” or “Which stage is overloaded?”

(Photo: Mr. Tomohiko Inoue, Stringo)

Mr. Coleman: CRM is fundamentally not about numbers but about managing human relationships—between sales and marketing, between the local office and headquarters, and across teams in different locations. Once those relationships function well, the numbers finally start to make sense.
What I found truly valuable in partnering with Hundred was that they helped us share the “purpose” behind using this tool. Their technical configuration was excellent, but more than that, they soothed the team’s anxieties, generating assurance and trust with the right words and attitude.
This wasn’t just a system installation but rather the work of motivating people. Knowing we had a partner who could take on that challenge with us gave us the ability to take the first step forward.

A Data-Driven Organization Through Sales Activity Visualization

– Please tell us about the tangible results.

Mr. Coleman: The biggest outcome of this project is the newfound ability to visualize our business. Before implementation, we honestly had no clue how many deals were in motion or how many leads originated from which channels.
We weren’t sure which deals came through marketing or which were from an independently created sales quote. We couldn’t even track how many quotes were issued, where deals were lost, or why we won. We basically had zero insights.
At the time, we had just taken over the Japanese market from a former distributor, needing to regain the market share they once held. It was a period requiring rapid action, yet we had no data for decision-making. In hindsight, it was risky.

Now, we can open HubSpot reports to see which deals are in which stage and precisely why they were lost or won. We see the velocity of deals, average days to close—everything is in numeric form. I get an automated weekly sales report that lets me monitor the situation, confirming that we’ve finally built a system that gives us real-time data.
Seeing the numbers is not merely about oversight but about guiding next steps. Previously, we had no idea why we were successful when we succeeded or what caused failures. But now, patterns and reasons become clear.
This is both the minimum requirement and the greatest weapon for making strategic decisions.

Ms. Sakurai: If I had to pick one thing that changed the most, it’s that we can now track leads from events like trade shows properly. We can see how many potential customers were added, who they were, and how they progressed over time.
When we managed this in Excel, details like who followed up, how deals originated, and whether those leads turned into projects were all fragmented. But now, we can say, for instance, “We added X new leads from a show, and Y deals resulted from those leads,” supported by data instead of guesswork.

This shift is significant not just for our Japanese office but also for our Swedish headquarters. Previously, it was hard for them to see exactly “What sort of sales activities are going on in Japan and how successful are they?” But now, if headquarters wants to check, anyone can look at the data. This is a big step forward in building trust globally.

We’re still not at the stage to show quantitative improvements like “XX% growth year over year.” But the mere fact that “we can see what’s happening” is already changing the quality of our activities. We can now pinpoint areas for improvement—where customers are dropping off, for example—and that’s the greatest benefit for us in Japan.

(Photo: Yutaro Endo, Director at 100 Inc., Project Lead)

– Lastly, please share your future outlook.

Ms. Hoshiko: After all this work, I feel like we’ve finally built a foundation. We’re consolidating our information, visualizing deals. Our next step is “making use of this unified information” and utilizing more advanced HubSpot features.
For example, every vehicle mover we deliver has a unique product serial number. We’d like to link each number to the delivery date, service history, etc., and manage it all in one place. Information previously recorded in Excel could be integrated into HubSpot to simplify internal information sharing. This should also make customer service more efficient.
On the sales side, we plan to go beyond automakers, our main focus until now, and look into broader markets such as automotive dealers, museums, and law enforcement. We already receive inquiries from those segments, and we realize there’s huge potential.
Through this project, we’ve set up the basis. Next, we want to enhance our “sales quality,” “customer engagement quality,” and “organizational scalability.” We’ll continue strengthening the team.

Mr. Coleman: Our U.S. team has already achieved stable HubSpot use—consistently generating leads, responding appropriately, and converting them through the pipeline. That process is well established. I’m convinced we can accomplish the same in Japan.
It requires proper training and an adoption period. Mastering HubSpot, the operating rules, collaboration between marketing and sales—solidifying those areas is essential. Then we can make the “right investments” looking forward.