NEDO Supply Chain
Data Challenge

The first round of judges has been selected!
List of Passers of the 1st Round(PDF)

 

Updates
Movie / Documents
  • We have selected 23 applicants for the first round of judging!
  • Notes on the “Implementation Schedule” section of the proposal form are listed at the beginning of the web page.
  • The proposal forma has been partially revised to clarify the content of the proposal.
  • Dev PLATFORM "Examples of Satellite Data Analysis: Disaster Monitoring","Examples of Satellite Data Analysis: Port Monitoring"
  • Dev PLATFORM "Theme1, Theme2"
  • Dev PLATFORM "Approaches to Problem Solving and Use of Data in Supply Chain Issues (Ports and Harbors)","Approaches to Problem Solving and Use of Data for Disaster Management"

 

Mamoru Mohri, Special Judge

Astronaut, Chief Executive Director Emeritus of Miraikan

Looking down on Earth from space at night, all land is covered in a network of countless dazzling orange lights.
Closer inspection reveals that clusters of people are connected via transportation networks consisting of railroads and expressways.
Entering the 21st century, connections between people that are not visible from space are being formed at an accelerating rate due to the internet.
So, what is the meaning of this?
I see it as a sign of people mobilizing themselves to override national borders in striving desperately to exchange knowledge for the survival of humanity, as our numbers approach the limit of what Earth is capable of supporting.

This Supply Chain Data Challenge project is a prize-awarding industry-government-academia initiative launched for the first time by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO.
We hope it will trigger innovation by combining the networks in space and on land.
Frequent natural disasters caused by recent environmental changes and delays in the supply chain due to the spread of COVID-19 have had a serious impact on our world.
This project has great potential to provide new solutions and create new businesses through the use of satellite data.

It will bring together diverse people with a challenging spirit and a variety of capabilities. They will override borders to cooperate and compete with one another in working toward a common goal as a team, and contributing to a future of greater prosperity and peace.
We look forward to receiving applications from people in a variety of fields, especially those who are still young.

 

Due to the global spread of COVID-19, there have been delays to the supply of parts and the Japanese manufacturing industry has been seriously affected, for example, by being forced into drastic decreases in production.

The supply chain is a vast network that connects a variety of businesses, and problems in a single location can have the ripple effect of inflicting damage on the various parties involved. In order to monitor the state of the supply chain, the ongoing collection of information from businesses with direct trade links, as well as from a wide range of partner businesses and investigative experts who are linked to them via networks, is essential.

However, the supply chain is expanding globally and there is an incredibly diverse range of incidents that can cause difficulties and inflict damage, from earthquakes and flooding to epidemics. With this in mind, it is very difficult for individual businesses to undertake comprehensive monitoring on an ongoing basis. Therefore, it is necessary to deepen the sophisticated analysis and fields of utilization for this kind of information, to make supply chain management more robust, and to strengthen the resilience of industry to an even greater degree.

At the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), we are now seeking a wide range of ideas and systems that combine various information, such as mobile data that includes satellite imagery, to contribute to a more sophisticated supply chain monitoring and management. The most outstanding ideas will receive awards.

 

Entries for this competition are being accepted in the Ideas Category and the System Development Category. In particular, SCM (supply chain management) in the System Development Category is highly significant both technologically and industrially, and two themes have been set that are likely to lead to implementation.

*It is possible for a single entrant to apply for multiple themes, but only one entry is permitted for each theme.

  • Ideas Category

    Theme

    Ideas relating to technology and solutions that enable the solving of issues in supply chain management through the utilization of satellite data, etc.

  • System Development Category

    Theme 1

    Providing impact estimation and visualization services for problems in the supply chain caused by gridlock in container distribution at ports.

    Theme 2

    Providing impact estimation and visualization services for problems in the supply chain caused by disasters such as large-scale flood and storm damage.

 

Entrants who pass the first round of judging in the System Development Category will be provided with technological development support and of related data, including a development platform (computing resources) on a satellite data platform (Tellus) and satellite data. Additional data will be provided if necessary.

  • Development Platform

    • SAKURA Cloud GPU V100, SSD 100 GB/SSD 2 TB
    • SAKURA Cloud 4 core 8 GB/SSD 100 GB
    • Satellite Data Master 3 + QGIS
      *The Satellite Data Master 3 platform is as follows.
      CPU: virtual 8 core
      Memory: 16 GB/SSD 800 GB

  • System Development Category

    [Related to Theme 1]

    • ASNARO-1
    • Pleiades
    • ALOS-2
    • ASNARO-2
    • GRUS
    • AIS data
    • Cell phone location information data
    • Business-to-business information database
    • Various types of statistical data, etc.

    [Related to Theme 2]

    <Satellite-related data>
    • Sentinel-1
    • Landsat-8
    • MODIS
    • SPOT
    • GRUS, etc.

    <Other data>

    • Social media data relating to information about damage at times of natural disaster
    • Business-to-business information database
    • Cell phone location information data
    • Aerial photography/drones
    • Oblique aerial photography/video, etc.

  • Theme1 Approaches to Problem Solving and Use of Data in Supply Chain Issues (Ports and Harbors)

  • Theme2 Approaches to Problem Solving and Use of Data for Disaster Management

 

For both the Ideas and System Development Categories, the first round of judging will be based on the screening of documents while the second round of judging will be in the form of presentations (pitches).

  • March 18 to May 17 Entry (online)
  • End of May First round of judging
    (documents)
  • June to November Mentoring
  • End of November Second round of judging
    (presentations)

 

  • Go Otsuka

    Go Otsuka

    HOSONO LAW OFFICE.
    Attorney at Law

  • Hiroyoshi Kawakami

    Hiroyoshi Kawakami

    Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University
    Professor

  • Mikio Kiura

    Mikio Kiura

    ANKR DESIGN Inc.
    CEO and Founder

  • Yasuo Matsuura

    Yasuo Matsuura

    Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory LLC

  • Naoki Takarada

    Naoki Takarada

    Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory LLC

  • Itaru Nishioka

    Itaru Nishioka

    Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC

  • Ken Mori

    Ken Mori

    Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC

  • Hisanaga Oba

    Hisanaga Oba

    Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC

  • Michiko Sugihara

    Michiko Sugihara

    for ideal Japan ,Inc.
    CEO

  • Takuma Matsuda

    Takuma Matsuda

    Faculty of Commerce, Takushoku University
    Professor

  • Tomonari Yamasaki

    Tomonari Yamasaki

    Uchida & Samejima Law Firm
    Attorney at Law

  • Hiro Hayashi

    Hiro Hayashi

    Chief of Space, Aviation & Aerospace Unit Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. Commercial Production Department 5th
    Senior Manager

  • Takashi Uemura

    Takashi Uemura

    epiST Inc.
    Representative Director and CEO

  • Naoki Matsumoto

    Naoki Matsumoto

    MAD Inc.
    COO

  • Hirokazu Mori

    Hirokazu Mori

    Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.
    Associate

  • Yuta Kimura

    Yuta Kimura

    SPARX Innovation for Future Co., Ltd.
    Vice President

To be added.

 

Application requirements

It is possible for corporate entities, individuals, and groups to enter this competition, and no distinction will be made between so-called big business, start-ups, listed or unlisted companies.

Important points

  • Applications from ideas that are clearly not intended to be commercialized will not be eligible for selection.
  • Ideas or systems that have already been commercialized or made available as products will not be eligible for selection.
  • It is possible for start-ups, etc. to enter, even in the case of fundraising from institutional investors being undertaken.
  • Entries will not be accepted from criminal groups and individuals; from anyone with any kind of connection or interaction with criminal groups or individuals, or from anyone who has had business dealings with, paid money to, or benefited from contributing to criminal groups or individuals in the past or in the present, either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, entries will not be accepted from anyone who is affiliated with criminal groups or individuals, or from any group or organization in which anyone who has interacted with criminal groups or individuals has been appointed to a position of responsibility, is an employee, or is involved in management.
  • Regardless of the aforementioned, for cases in which the secretariat has recognized something as inappropriate, or for cases in which the requirements of this competition have been disobeyed, or that involve wrongdoing in relation to this competition, depending on the secretariat's decision, entitlement to enter may be withdrawn, or all or part of the judging results may be revoked.

Entry document downloads

For further details relating to entries, please refer to Main Points Regarding Entry
● Main Points Regarding Entry (PDF)
● Information Regarding Entry (PDF)
● Separate documents:
(Type 1) Entry form (for use by corporate entities and consortiums) (Word)
(Type 2) Entry form (for use by individuals and groups) (Word)
(Type 3) Proposal form (Word) *Updated

Method of submission

Submission of application materials after the deadline or changes to the application materials after submission will not be accepted.

 

Ideas (entrants) that pass the first round of judging will be given the opportunity to receive mentoring from an expert (mentor). The second round of judging will be in the form of presentations (pitches) given in a location open to the public and it is here that the prizewinners will be selected.

Judging results of the first and second rounds will be published on the NEDO homepage and on a dedicated website, and all entrants will be notified of the results via email.
In addition, please be aware in advance that we will be unable to respond to any inquiries relating to the judging results.

First round of judging results published: beginning of June 2022 (tentative)
Second round of judging results published: beginning of December 2022 (tentative)

 

  • Ideas Category

    Theme

    Ideas relating to technology and solutions that enable the solving of issues in supply chain management through the utilization of satellite data, etc.

    Prizes

    1st prize: 1 million yen
    2nd prize: 500,000 yen
    3rd prize: 300,000 yen

  • System Development Category

    Theme 1

    Providing impact estimation and visualization services for problems in the supply chain caused by gridlock in container distribution at ports.

    Prizes

    1st Prize: 10 million yen
    2nd Prize: 5 million yen
    3rd Prize: 3 million yen

    Theme 2

    Providing impact estimation and visualization services for problems in the supply chain caused by disasters such as large-scale flooding and storm damage.

    Prizes

    1st Prize: 10 million yen
    2nd Prize: 5 million yen
    3rd Prize: 3 million yen

 

Regarding the Application

  • What is the limit on the number of characters?
  • Please keep each section to within around 250 words.
  • Can I use graphs and charts in my proposal?
  • You may use one graph or chart per section to supplement your text.
  • Can I apply from outside Japan?
  • Yes.
  • What should I write in the “Execution Schedule” of my proposal?
  • Enter your schedule for the period after passing the primary screening until your secondary screening (June – November).
    For applications in the Ideas Section, enter information on what you plan to do during this period, and what activities you will engage in to bolster your plans in the proposal.

Regarding, e.g., Intellectual Property Rights

  • What will happen to my intellectual property rights associated with the proposal?
  • All intellectual property rights stemming from this project shall belong exclusively to the applicant. As such, no restrictions shall be placed on the operation of any business based on any intellectual property developed for the purpose of this project.
  • Will I be asked to provide a source code?
  • No.

Miscellaneous

  • Are there any restrictions on the use of prize money?
  • No restrictions shall be placed whatsoever on the use of prize money after the project ends.
  • Inquiries relating to the organization as a whole
    Space Industry Office, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
    Contacts: Ina, Mizukami, Soma
    Email: uchu-satellitedata@meti.go.jp
    Tel.: 03-3501-1511 (ext. 3844)
    03-3501-0973 (direct line)
    03-3501-7062 (fax)
  • Inquiries relating to the undertaking of this competition
    National Research and Development Agency, New Energy and Industrial Technological Development Organization (NEDO)
    Innovation Promotion Department
    Contact: Sato(Masaaki), Sakai
    Email: scs-r3@nedo.go.jp
    044-520-5170 (direct line)
    044-520-5178 (fax)
  • Inquiries relating to entry content
    NEDO Supply Chain Data Challenge Administration Secretariat
    Email: info@nedo-supplychain-data-challenge.jp