Entering Japan is easy to describe. Finding the right type of partner is the hard part.
「想進日本市場」很容易說；真正困難的是找對合作角色。
A Canadian outdoor-accessories brand wanted to explore Japan. The obvious idea was to find distributors — but the market was full of retailers, manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, and companies that looked relevant for very different reasons.
一個加拿大戶外配件品牌想進入日本。最直覺的想法是找 Distributor，但市場上同時充滿 Retailer、Manufacturer、Importer、Wholesaler，以及大量「看起來相關、其實角色不同」的公司。
44 candidate mentions became 34 unique companies, 20 full research records, and 12 final SHORTLIST_READY prospects.
44 個候選提及，去重後成為 34 家 Unique Companies，完整研究 20 家，最終留下 12 家 SHORTLIST_READY。
The business problem
商業問題
The brand did not need a long list of outdoor companies. It needed organizations that could realistically help bring an overseas brand into the Japanese market.
這個品牌需要的不是一長串「日本戶外公司」，而是真正有能力把海外品牌帶進日本市場的合作對象。
Retailer ≠ distributor
Retailer 不等於 Distributor
A famous retailer may be highly relevant to the category but still be the wrong first partner for market entry.
知名 Retailer 可能非常符合品類，卻未必是海外品牌進場時該優先接觸的合作角色。
Importer ≠ strong channel
Importer 也不一定是強通路
Having an importer role is only the start; distribution reach, category depth, and brand representation still matter.
即使確實是 Importer，也還要看 Distribution Reach、品類深度與代理品牌能力。
Easy to contact ≠ good fit
找得到聯絡方式 ≠ 值得開發
Contactability was kept separate from commercial fit so a convenient form or email did not inflate priority.
聯絡方便與否被獨立處理，不讓「有 Email / Form」變成商業適配度的替代品。
What FlyPig actually did
FlyPig 實際做了什麼
The job was to keep broad discovery open, then progressively narrow the market with evidence.
做法不是一開始就猜答案，而是先廣泛探索，再用證據逐步收斂。
Discover broadly
廣泛探索
Use English and Japanese searches to surface importers, distributors, retailers, wholesalers, and related firms.
使用英文與日文搜尋，把 Importer、Distributor、Retailer、Wholesaler 與相關公司先納入候選。
Remove duplicate identities
去除重複身份
Merge English/Japanese names, brand pages, directory entries, and repeated search hits into one canonical record.
把中英文名稱、品牌頁、Directory Entry 與重複搜尋結果合併成同一家公司。
Verify the commercial role
查證真正商業角色
Check official evidence for importing, distribution, wholesale reach, overseas-brand representation, and category fit.
查證 Import、Distribution、Wholesale Reach、海外品牌代理與品類適配等官方證據。
Challenge the shortlist
重新挑戰名單
Re-review every qualified company and actively look for reasons it should be downgraded.
每一家 Qualified Company 都重新從反方檢查，主動尋找應該降級的理由。
Where the list changed
研究過程中，哪些判斷被改掉
The value appeared in the corrections, not just the final count.
真正有價值的地方，不只是最後留下幾家，而是哪些原本看起來不錯的公司被重新判斷。
Real importer, weak demonstrated reach
確實是 Importer，但 Distribution Depth 不夠
The company stayed relevant, but the evidence did not justify first-wave priority.
公司仍然相關，但現有證據不足以支持 First-wave Priority。
Strong fit, but too new
定位吻合，但公司太新
The business model looked right, but channel reach had not yet been demonstrated.
Business Model 看起來正確，但實際通路能力尚未被證明。
Great prospect, wrong public contact route
公司很適合，但公開聯絡方式不能用
One company remained commercially qualified even though its public form explicitly prohibited solicitation.
其中一家公司仍保持 Commercial Fit，但公開表單明確禁止 Solicitation，因此 Contact Route 被標記為不可使用。
Result and business takeaway
成果與商業心得
The 12 shortlisted organizations are evidence-backed prospects worth the next business step; the experiment does not predict replies or purchases.
這 12 家代表有證據支持、值得進入下一步商務接觸的對象；並不代表一定會回覆或採購。
Trying to enter Japan — or any market where the partner landscape is unclear?
你也正準備進入日本，或另一個合作角色不清楚的新市場？
Give us the product and target market. We can run the same research process and build a qualified partner / prospect tracker for your team.
把產品與目標市場交給我們，我們可以用同樣的方法替你研究市場、找出真正值得接觸的合作夥伴與 Prospect。