GeoTechnologies realizes company-wide operational transparency by implementing Smartsheet, doubling the number of projects it can handle

GeoTechnologies, a leader in digital mapping, has spent years powering Japan's high-precision location intelligence infrastructure. The company is now at a major turning point in its business model. Mr. Tsukasa Enomoto, Executive Vice President & CDO, CISO, who manages the digital organizations, notes, "We were originally a service-providing company, but we have seen an increase in system integration-style projects, such as map-related contract work, that start from requirement definition. This created the need for a dedicated PMO". This structural change represents more than just business expansion for the company. Particularly in collaboration that involves large scale projects, it is essential to have not only high-quality deliverables but also extremely high transparency and accountability throughout the project execution process.

In the past, unifying project management methods became an urgent issue. Reflecting on the objective of the introduction, Mr. Hiroshi Osawa, Digital System Development PMO, "There were projects, such as belonging to large scale supply chains, that absolutely had to be advanced using a PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge)-based waterfall approach. Our perspective was whether we could utilize Smartsheet to nurture that as a corporate culture". This journey was about establishing a "strategic foundation" to elevate their unique assets—innovative mapping technology—into enterprise-level reliability. This was the true role that the company sought from Smartsheet.

Establishing a "Single Source of Truth" to Overcome Information Fragmentation

Rapid growth brought the inevitable challenge of information silos. Revealing the situation at the time, Mr. Tomoyasu Atsumi, IT Department, Smartsheet Lead, explains, "As a company, we didn't have a standard project management tool. People were using their preferred tools at the department or individual level, and we were even hearing voices saying, 'Our task management might be at risk.'" This lack of integration meant that critical progress updates were often trapped within specific teams, making it nearly impossible for leadership to gain a holistic perspective. In particular, the process of connecting real-time frontline activity to executive-level decision-making became dysfunctional. As Atsumi points out, "The process of reporting up to higher management had become a stack of manual tasks." This operational friction didn't just delay reports; it stifled the company’s overall agility.

Under these circumstances, the company advanced the standardization of management through a PMO as a specialized organization. The PMO deployed over 20 PMBOK-compliant templates and standardized management methodologies, raising the overall quality of project governance across the organization.

Simultaneously, the IT department independently designed an automatically linked dashboard utilizing Smartsheet. As a result, updates from the field were instantly visualized, establishing a 'Single Source of Truth' within the IT department that directly connected to reporting for the executive in charge.
 

Doubling Productivity and the Evolution into Digital Infrastructure

The impact of implementing Smartsheet extended far beyond mere numerical improvements; it catalyzed a profound transformation of the organization's culture. Mr Osawa noted: 

"Without a dashboard, multiple 15-minute meetings would be required for information sharing and reporting. Now, by simply reviewing the metrics and charts on a dashboard, we can conclude in just three to five minutes." He emphasized that progress-check meetings have been distilled into essential, high-level discussions. Furthermore, the automation of management has dramatically expanded PM capacity. "The time spent on manual tasks has been significantly reduced, allowing a PM who previously had their hands full with a single project to now manage two simultaneously," he explained. This newfound transparency has also resonated externally, strengthening trust with global Tier 1 companies that demand rigorous governance.

Currently, this success model is transcending the digital department and spreading across the entire enterprise, including back-office functions such as PR and Finance. Mr Enomoto shared his vision for the future: "For instance, when the PR department issues a press release, they must ideally establish a schedule and collaborate with relevant departments. As this is currently managed via email, we aim to visualize and share the progress of such tasks through Smartsheet." The company’s next objective is to build a common foundation where all employees co-create on a single platform. Moving forward, with an eye toward integration with generative AI, the scope of Smartsheet's utilization is expected to expand further as a foundation supporting company-wide operational efficiency."