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Success Story
PROCESS FINANCE SECURITY Co hanntroll dov ed er
n tio iza ea tim ar Op next of
manage improve
operate monitor
Optimized Print Services Success Story Company Profile: MEDA Küchenfachmarkt, Germany MEDA Küchenfachmarkt GmbH & Co. KG, with its head office in NeukirchenVluyn near Duisburg, is the market leader in its home state with 11 kitchen stores in North Rhine-Westphalia and one in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Founded in 1997 by its two managing partners Guido Melcher and Michael Dahme, MEDA specialises in kitchen stores with a concept focused on comprehensive advice given by trained employees, a wide product range and a good price-performance ratio. It has few equals in Germany and differs substantially from the concepts of smaller kitchen studios or large furniture stores. The company has about 150 employees, including around 30 at head office, which is also the location of its logistics centre. Quality assurance – from the mixer tap via the wooden parts to the white goods, kitchen sinks and lighting – ensures that the goods are delivered to the customer in perfect condition.
Customer’s current situation/challenge Over the years printers, copiers and fax machines have been purchased as required. As a result, one new supplier after another was integrated. “Decisions were taken on the basis of the cost structure in the market at the time,” Guido Melcher explains. “When we opened five new branches within half a year in 2008, which amounted to substantial market growth, we decided to consolidate and standardise the printing landscape that had taken shape over the years.”
Success summary There were nine workplaces each and an information desk in Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund. They were equipped with various laser and inkjet printers, copiers and fax machines. Viewed over a 48-month period, including the print volume and price per page, a monthly cost savings potential of up to 60% was identified.
Success Story Optimized Print Services
Konica Minolta, Optimized Print Services
Optimized Print Services Optimized Print Services (OPS) combines consultancy, hardware and software implementation and operation in order to develop improvement strategies on the basis of precise facts and figures. It guarantees cost reductions and trouble-free processes.
OPS Consult This analysis, undertaken on the basis of the Optimized Print Services concept, consisted of an inventory of existing devices, including counter reading, an evaluation of page volume and an overview of costs incurred and administrative outlay. The administrator had to deal with about ten different providers and contacts for ordering consumables or when technical problems arose. The wide range of types and drivers led to extra network administration. The different ways in which devices were operated also led to dissatisfaction among users. Furthermore, the short lifecycles of the inkjet printers used meant that they often had to be replaced after only a couple of years. Finally, the findings of an employee survey of print, cope, scan and fax behaviour were analysed with a view to providing software solutions to optimise workflows.
OPS Implement A concept was then drawn up for use at all branches, consisting of bizhub C20P colour laser printers for all sales workplaces, the bizhub C280 multifunctional colour system for the information desks and Konica Minolta 190f monochrome all-in-one printers for the order rooms. Kitchen plans are the main items printed, which is why colour quality matters. Simitri™ HD polymerisation toner’s tiny, uniform toner particles ensure an even print image, soft colour gradients and tack-sharp text contours. The latter are of decisive importance for printing quotations and sales contracts in particular. The bizhub C280 is used especially to digitise documents. Photos taken by the order technician, sketches, order confirmations, sales contracts, invoices and other vouchers have to be scanned by Scan-to-FTP and assigned to the order. The administration has central access to the branches’ hard drives and is thereby able to monitor all transactions at any time. In addition, customers’ identity cards are copied and the copies are attached to the hire purchase applications. Using the card copy quick dial feature, identity card copies can be centred for printing on a standard sheet of paper. Furthermore, using the PC-Fax function documents no longer need to be printed for faxing; faxes can be sent straight from the PC. In the order room the technical store manager checks all orders to ensure that measurements are correct before the data is sent to the manufacturer. He has a Konica Minolta 190f at his disposal.
OPS Manage All systems are managed by the Konica Minolta PageScope Suite software solution. Via a Web interface, IT is sent system status and reader count overviews and configures the systems. That includes central administration and allocation of user rights and cost centres. Cost centres make accurate billing by store possible. Cost transparency and precise budget planning at the beginning of every year were decisive criteria for MEDA. Furthermore, the bizhub C280 systems are connected to the bizhub SystemCare remote diagnosis system. Errors and toner status reports are relayed to Konica Minolta automatically and can be dealt with promptly. Consumables no longer need to be kept in stock in large quantities. Instead, they are supplied on demand. That has reduced the administrative cost of data processing and purchasing considerably.
OPS Customer’s comment
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH Europaallee 17 • 30855 Langenhagen • Germany • Tel.: +49 (0) 511 74 04-0 • Fax: +49 (0) 511 74 10 50 • www.konicaminolta.eu
04/2012
Overall, MEDA is very satisfied. “The entire roll-out in Cologne and Kaarst ran smoothly,” said Michael Dahmen. “In Cologne, especially, we were under considerable time pressure with the new store opening. We are now able to pass on to our customers the savings we made.”