BULLETIN 01732 759725 4 Printer sales surge CONTEXT reports that sales of printer hardware through European distributors increased in Q4 2022, with both volumes and revenues exceeding expectations. Data revealed a 12.3% year-on-year increase in unit sales and a 27.8% increase in revenue during the period. “This is in part due to the aggressive promotions designed to clear entry-level stock and strong business demand for higher-end devices,” said Antonio Talia, Head of Market & Business Analysis. By contrast, the consumables market declined significantly in the same period down 18.2 YoY % in unit sales and 11.4% in revenues. A decrease in sales of the ink cartridges that make up over 80% of consumable sales in the region was the main reason but toner sales also fell sharply. The average number of pages printed also fell sharply in December (by 12% YoY) despite the return to the office. CONTEXT says that with paperless policies proliferating in the public and private sectors, this fall is likely to continue. www.contextworld.com Logistics businesses losing weeks to faulty labelling Logistics businesses are losing weeks of time at the hands of faulty labelling equipment, according to a new study by Brother UK. Annually, downtime is also costing a third of logistics businesses between £1,001-£2,000, with 6% hit by more than £3,000 in costs. Just 15% said the cost impact was typically under £500. The research found that more than half (59%) lost more than seven days in productive employee time last year, with 15% losing a month or more. Just 14% experienced less than a day lost in productive time last year due to labelling related disruption. The findings show that more than half said that unscannable labels were a major cause of sapped time (57%), while organising repairs (50%) and waiting for new equipment (47%) were also widely cited as causing disruption for the sector. Gary Morris, Senior End User Client Manager for transport and logistics at Brother UK, said: “The time lost to sub-optimal labelling shows the significance of its role in warehouse and logistics operations. “But downtime due to offline labelling tech is something firms can seldom afford. Operators need to maximise employee productivity amid skills shortages, while delivering the efficiency commanded by fast and traceable delivery services.” To remedy time and money lost to poorquality labelling, the research found that most firms are looking for better integration between software and printers (63%) from their labelling systems. Easy repair and replacement services (51%), and reliable equipment (47%), also fell highly on firms’ labelling wishlists. www.brother.co.uk Shift in attitudes toward cloud Nearly three quarters (71%) of companies believe the cloud or a hybrid solution will be their preferred deployment method for labelling within the next three years, according to an annual report published by Loftware. The global survey, which draws on insights from almost 500 professionals across industries in 55 countries, found a shift in attitudes toward cloud technology. Driven by the need to insulate operations from ongoing supply chain disruptions, product shortages, cost pressures, process inefficiencies, and manual errors, Loftware’s 10th annual report revealed that 50% of businesses already deploy important business applications in the cloud. This compares to just under 40% of companies embracing cloud-first strategies for enterprise applications a year ago. “Cloud adoption is proving to be the cornerstone of impactful digital transformation programs, as evidenced by the strong feedback we have received from our customers and partners. Among the many benefits on offer, the cloud provides quick deployment times, lower upfront costs, easy access, the ability to scale, and automatic updates," said Josh Roffman, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Loftware. "As companies of all sizes strive to increase profitability, drive growth, and streamline operations, we expect to see a growing number of forward-thinking organisations adopt the cloud for mission-critical business processes including labelling.” www.loftware.com Employees frustrated by misaligned technology investments Research released by Ricoh Europe reveals a disconnect between employer and employee perceptions of the workplace experience. The research, conducted by Opinium and analysed by CEBR on behalf of Ricoh Europe, polled 6,000 workers and 1,500 decision makers across the continent. It finds that almost three quarters (72%) of decision makers say they design employee workplace processes and systems with employee experience in mind, but only 58% of workers agree. Furthermore, more than a third (36%) of workers report that new technology being introduced across their organisation won’t impact their work. This suggests that many employers are failing to understand and reflect the needs of their people when it comes to digital transformation. As a result, technology investments designed to improve the working experience may be missing the mark. Businesses that fail to act could risk productivity and growth, as well as talent attraction and retention. This is particularly pertinent given one in three (30%) employees cite working conditions and employee experience as a reason to stay with their current employer. What’s more, replacing top talent can be an expensive process for businesses, with the research finding the average cost of replacing an employee stands at €10,600 across the EU. However, uptake of digital workspace technology designed to enhance employee experience is low. One-in-three European businesses do not currently use productivity and project management software (32%), automation software (34%) or hybrid meeting technology (30%), despite employees wanting to see these implemented. www.ricoh-europe.com
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