PRINTITRESELLER.UK 37 designed to strengthen supply chains, like the joint venture between Fujifilm and Konica Minolta announced last July. “One of the plans for the partnership with Konica Minolta is joint procurement through a joint venture company, in which the majority stake will be held by Fujifilm. As the number of new machines declines and the recycling of refurbished machines increases, material suppliers may focus more on other sectors, such as the automotive industry, rather than MFP manufacturers. If we and Konica Minolta can procure plants and materials jointly, the greater volumes will benefit vendors and suppliers and help ensure a stable supply. In addition to joint procurement, we are also discussing the co-production of toner, so that we can support each other in the event of a natural disaster or other contingency,” he explained. Hama stressed that there were no plans to integrate the two companies’ sales or management capabilities but did say that Fujifilm was willing to explore additional areas of cooperation with Konica Minolta and other players to enhance the fundamentals of its business. Built-in security A second area where Hama says FUJIFILM Business Innovation and by extension its resellers have a competitive advantage is security, from the multi-layered security features built into Apeos devices, which have garnered Security Testing Validation from Keypoint Intelligence, to cloud and IT security services offered by its Business Solutions unit in APAC. “When it comes to the former, we believe that the minimum requirements for us is to satisfy security standards in America and Japan, leveraging our technologies to protect customers’ data, for example by preventing unauthorised access and use of devices and by preventing information leakage through the use of data encryption. “In addition to the products’ own security features, in Japan and APAC we have been providing IT security services to protect personal computers and the network. In Japan we also have a joint venture for cloud and cloud security. We don’t have a plan to provide IT security services in the UK yet, but we hope to be able to do so in the future, because the way people work has changed dramatically since COVID. Today, MFPs are no longer just for printing paper, but also have a role to play in the provision of services and solutions.” refurbishment or reconditioning, reused or recycled machines typically only last around three years,” he said. “What we’ve been trying to do is, first of all, to disassemble our machines and reuse 84% of the material so that only 16% will be replaced with new parts; and second, to design machines so that when they go to market a second time, they will last, not for just three years but for another five to seven years, extending the total lifecycle of products to almost 15 years. “We are going to great lengths to achieve this; our machines are designed to be robust enough to last for 15 years; they are designed for easy disassembly; and new parts are made with reuse in mind. For example, many parts have two screwholes, one for their first life and one for their second. Now that efficient use and recycling of resources is expected and required, not just in Europe but globally, only manufacturers that make an effort to extend the life of products will be able to survive,” he said. Hama pointed out that because of falling unit sales not all companies will be in a position to make the substantial investment in R&D needed to meet the requirements of customers and to comply with changing regulations, particularly those restricting the use of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as ‘forever chemicals’), which he argues Fujifilm is better placed than other manufacturers to comply with due to its R&D capabilities and background in chemicals. Partnership with Konica Minolta He suggested that these challenges will encourage more OEM-type arrangements, where leading manufacturers provide products on an OEM basis to those that might be struggling to keep up with technological and manufacturing developments, as well as alliances MFPS Say hello to your new office wo Versatile and ready for tomorro Is your business pri the new hybrid worl Find out how FUJIFIL is redefining how org printing needs in the Explore Fujifilm’s com range that combines He added: “In the future, we won’t just focus on products and services we develop ourselves but would also like to embrace ideas and technologies proposed by our partners to meet the changing needs of their customers.” Hama acknowledged that Fujifilm was a latecomer to the UK and European market but said that this had certain advantages. “Because we are just entering the market, we aren’t tied to any old obligations or legacies, so we can be very flexible in meeting the demands of partners and customers. That’s one benefit.” Another, he suggested, is that it enables Fujifilm, which in APAC has been the leading provider of A3 colour devices for 21 years with a market share of 25%, to choose the countries where it believes it has the greatest opportunity to prosper. The UK is one of these in part due to the maturity of the customer base, where there is a requirement for high quality, reliable MFDs that have the flexibility to meet changing workstyles and a high level of demand for A3 colour MFPs, unlike developing markets that tend to have a greater requirement for monochrome devices. Hama said that while it takes courage for resellers to challenge the status quo with a nominally new brand like Fujifilm he was confident that FUJIFILM Business Innovation and its reseller partners would prosper in the UK. “We believe the trust we have built in the past century in the area of imaging with the Fuji brand, and the reputation for reliability we have built up in the MFP market over the past 60 years will help us to expand and grow in the UK,” he said. To learn more about the Fujifilm Apeos range, please visit https://office. fujifilmprint.eu/ or email Gary Organ: [email protected]
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