ThinkingReed

What ThinkingReed does

ThinkingReed Inc. (シンキングリード株式会社) is a private Japanese software vendor founded in 2008 and headquartered in Tokyo (Nihonbashi Ningyocho) with a secondary office in Oita. The company develops and sells F-RevoCRM, an integrated open-source customer relationship management (CRM) and sales force automation (SFA) platform built on the vtiger CRM codebase and offered in three tiers: a free OSS edition, a subscription-based F-RevoCRM Cloud, and a premium F-RevoCRM Enterprise edition. The product unifies customer information management, sales activity tracking, marketing, support/ticketing, reporting, and project management, and is complemented by a Customer Portal module and the ebiss smartphone sales support application co-developed with Nihon Shokken Holdings. Core technology is PHP/MySQL, with integrations to Microsoft 365 and Amazon Connect, and recently introduced AI-powered business card scanning (beta) in the Enterprise edition.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and primarily serves Japanese SMEs and mid-market firms pursuing DX transformation away from Excel/paper-based customer management. Distribution combines direct website sales, freemium OSS download, channel partnerships (notably NTT East Japan), government IT-subsidy-driven adoption, and co-development engagements for larger customers with bespoke workflow needs. Revenue is generated through Cloud and Enterprise subscriptions, professional services for implementation and customization, and a hybrid of consulting-led engagements rather than the OSS product itself. The company holds Privacy Mark certification and operates a small engineering and BD team, targeting predominantly the domestic Japanese market with no disclosed international expansion.

Name

ThinkingReed

Legal name

シンキングリード株式会社

Website

https://thinkingreed.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ThinkingReed Inc. is a private Japanese software vendor founded in 2008 that develops and sells F-RevoCRM, an open-source CRM/SFA platform available as free OSS, Cloud, and Enterprise editions, serving Japanese SMEs and mid-market firms pursuing DX transformation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CRM Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Sales Force Automation (SFA) CRM (HDAEAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

B2B SaaS & Enterprise Personalization (CRM, Sales, Support) (HDAAAGAJ), CRM Strategy & Consulting (BPAFAFAA)

Keywords

• Open-source CRM
• Sales force automation
• Customer relationship management
• Business consulting services
• Enterprise SaaS platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. F-RevoCRM Cloud Subscriptions: Monthly/annual subscription fees for cloud-hosted F-RevoCRM Cloud, including installation, support, maintenance, and additional cloud-only features. Offered as Enterprise and other editions with variable pricing based on number of users and required features.
2. OSS F-RevoCRM: Free open-source version of F-RevoCRM available for download. Revenue is not generated directly from the OSS version; customers requiring support, customization, or cloud hosting pay for related services.
3. Professional Services (Implementation, Customization, Consulting): Paid consulting services for CRM implementation, business process analysis, system customization, and ongoing support contracts. Includes co-development of custom applications (e.g., ebiss app with Nihon Shokken Holdings).
4. IT導入補助金 Support: F-RevoCRM Cloud is registered as an IT導入補助金2023 (IT Introduction Subsidy 2023) supported tool, making it eligible for government subsidy reimbursement of up to 1/2 of eligible costs for qualifying small/medium businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ThinkingReed develops and sells F-RevoCRM, an open-source CRM and sales force automation (SFA) platform offered in three editions: OSS (free self-hosted), Cloud (hosted SaaS), and Enterprise (on-premise). The company also provides business improvement consulting services and operates ebiss, a smartphone communication app.

Product overview

ThinkingReed's product portfolio centers on F-RevoCRM, an integrated open-source customer relationship management system available in three editions: OSS (open source/free), Cloud (SaaS subscription), and Enterprise (premium paid). The core platform unifies customer information management, sales activity support (SFA), marketing, support/ticketing, and project management. Key add-on modules include Customer Portal for customer-facing information exchange and ebiss, a smartphone sales support app co-developed with Nihon Shokken Holdings. ThinkingReed also provides implementation and business consulting services to translate business challenges into system requirements. The Enterprise edition extends the OSS version with AI-powered features (business card scanning), enhanced integrations (Microsoft 365, Amazon Connect), and advanced security (MFA, Passkey, TOTP).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• F-RevoCRM: 高機能オープンソース顧客管理システム（CRM）。マーケティング영업、問い合わせ、レポートなどの基本機能が備わった統合型顧客管理システム。OSS版とクラウド版がある。
• F-RevoCRM Cloud
• ebiss
• F-RevoCRM Enterprise

Products and services

• F-RevoCRM OSS Edition

Quantifiable outcome

• New product repeat rate and repeat purchase amounts improved after implementing ebiss sales app based on F-RevoCRM
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nihon Shokken Holdings Co., Ltd. (日本食研ホールディングス株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Joint development partnership to create the 'ebiss' smartphone sales support application. ThinkingReed worked closely with Nihon Shokken's sales teams through on-site observation, interviews, and a 4-month trial period to design a system that supports quality-focused (not volume-focused) sales transformation. The ebiss app is built on F-RevoCRM with features including sales planning ('Yomi'), success story sharing, and internal social networking.
• Rakus Co., Ltd. (株式会社ラクス)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2022Co-hosted webinar on December 8, 2022 with Rakus and R&AC on the topic of business process improvement through digitalization, covering customer relationship management (F-RevoCRM), sales management, and accounts receivable automation.
• R&AC (株式会社アール・アンド・エー・シー)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2022Co-hosted webinar on December 8, 2022 alongside Rakus, focusing on digital transformation and process improvement for back-office operations and accounts receivable management.
• NTT East Japan (NTT東日本)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Strategic partnership for joint DX promotion targeting Japanese SMEs. NTT East Japan selected ThinkingReed as a partner to provide F-RevoCRM and Amazon Connect integration services to their SME customer base. F-RevoCRM is featured in NTT East Japan's 'cloud introduction and operation services' for IT efficiency. The partnership was featured at the NTT East Japan Solution Forum 2022.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Money Forward: Japanese SaaS platform spanning accounting, HR, and business management tools for SMBs and mid-market. Competes with F-RevoCRM for IT-spending budgets of Japanese SMEs undergoing digital transformation, including via overlapping subsidy program positioning.
• Salesforce: Global CRM/SFA platform incumbent offering a broad enterprise CRM suite with Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. Competes with F-RevoCRM across virtually all Japanese mid-market and enterprise opportunities, with vastly larger R&D and brand recognition.
• freee: Japanese SaaS provider of cloud accounting, HR, and CRM-adjacent tools targeting SMBs. Overlaps with F-RevoCRM in the Japanese SMB DX buyer journey and competes for the same IT導入補助金 subsidy-driven purchasing decisions.
• HubSpot: Leading CRM platform for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service, with a freemium model analogous to F-RevoCRM's OSS-plus-Cloud structure. Competes for the same DX-transformation Japanese SMB customer profile with strong global brand and content-marketing muscle.

Emerging players

• Eight (Sansan): Business card scanning and contact management app from Sansan, targeting individual business users and SMBs. Adjacent competitor to F-RevoCRM's AI business card scanning feature and customer data capture use case within the Japanese market.

Direct peers

• Pipedrive: SMB-focused sales CRM and pipeline management platform. Comparable in target customer (smaller sales teams) and core SFA functionality to F-RevoCRM, with similar pricing tier structure, though lacking Japanese-specific localization and OSS distribution.
• Sansan: Japanese business contact and CRM platform specializing in business card digitization and enterprise sales intelligence. Directly competitive with F-RevoCRM's AI business card scanning feature and Japanese SMB/mid-market CRM positioning, with much larger scale and brand presence.
• vtiger CRM: The open-source CRM foundation on which F-RevoCRM is built. Direct overlap in target market, product capabilities, and open-source distribution model; ThinkingReed differentiates via Japanese localization, proprietary extensions (Customer Portal, ebiss), and managed Cloud/Enterprise tiers.
• kintone (Cybozu): Japanese low-code business application platform with strong adoption among SMBs and mid-market for custom workflow and database apps, including CRM-style use cases. Competes with F-RevoCRM's customizable CRM/SFA positioning for Japanese DX budgets and the same customer base.
• Zoho CRM: Multi-tenant SaaS CRM platform serving SMBs and mid-market with broad sales, marketing, and support automation. Closely comparable to F-RevoCRM's integrated CRM/SFA offering, with comparable pricing points and a similar appeal to cost-conscious Japanese SMEs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/thinkingreed-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ThinkingReed