Japan’s sogo shosha ITOCHU has established a Global Tech Center (GTC) and formed a partnership with FPT Software, the software contractor under Vietnam’s technology giant FPT to drive AI transformation across its overseas group companies.
In a statement on Tuesday, ITOCHU said the two sides will carry out cooperation through CISD (ASIA) CO., LTD., ITOCHU’s Hong Kong-based consolidated subsidiary for IT and digital initiatives outside Japan.
The GTC operates as a virtual joint venture, extending CISD’s in-house solution center through FPT’s global delivery capabilities and talent base. It can apply ITOCHU’s own principles, standards, and quality expectations. The model can move beyond project-based outsourcing, allowing knowledge, talent, and delivery capacity to build in step with business needs.
The two companies are also advancing the CISD AI Agent, a customized multi-agent generative AI platform based on Flezi Galaxy, an LLM-powered solution developed by FPT. The platform has been deployed across more than 100 ITOCHU business units worldwide, with applications in document processing, multilingual capabilities, and data visualization.
The GTC follows a three-phase AI adoption approach: first establishing a secure foundation separating internal company data from external AI systems; second integrating AI into ERP-related operations, application management, departmental workflows, and business process outsourcing; and third connecting SAP ERP with surrounding systems and building an orchestration layer for multiple AI agents to work across functions and support management decisions through real-time insights and natural language interaction.
Zenichiro Urakami, Junior Executive Officer and General Manager of ITOCHU’s IT and Digital Strategy Division and Chairman of CISD, said the GTC combines FPT’s global development capabilities and AI implementation expertise with CISD’s operational knowledge. The GTC can serve as a strategic hub supporting the digital transformation of ITOCHU’s overseas group companies, the executive added.
Shinya Tominaga, CEO of CISD, said AI is a common foundation across all of ITOCHU’s globally diverse businesses. The collaboration with FPT can build a practical AI environment supporting productivity, governance, and decision-making across the group.
Pham Minh Tuan, CEO of FPT Software and Executive Vice President of FPT Corporation, said ITOCHU has been among FPT’s earliest partners to apply its AI solutions in operational settings. The GTC represents the next step in scaling more intelligent operations across ITOCHU’s global ecosystem, he added.
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