Konica Minolta has announced the appointment of Daisuke Mori as the new Managing Director of Konica Minolta Business Solution India. Mori has more than 25 years of hands on experience in the printing industry. NCN recently caught up with Daisuke Mori & Kuldeep Malhotra, Vice President Sales, Sales Planning & Communication, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. to know more about their India plan and how Konica Minolta is helping the SMB’s by offering solutions to meet their demands.
What will be your major focus points for India?
The printing industry in India is undergoing a rapid change owing to the increasing digitisation measures being implemented by the government combined with the unprecedented influx of smart devices in the country. Printers today are no longer just an office peripheral, but are proving to be enhancer of business processes. In the industrial printing space, enterprises are increasingly hunting for new digital printing solutions as the demand for quality print outputs in minimal time is at an all time high. Expansion of Konica Minolta’s footprint across the country, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 towns will be our utmost focus. We will also aggressively focus on helping businesses leverage our Optimised Print Services as well as Document Management System which will enable them to streamline their operations and improve on their productivity. Also digital Printing trends indicate that the share of the total print market will soar from 9.8% in 2008 to 20.6 % in 2018, with inkjet growing faster than electro photography. We will also strengthen Konica Minolta as a brand in the digital industrial printing segment to help the printing businesses in India tap new markets and revenue opportunities as well as promote green operations.
What are the major growth opportunities you can see that KM can leverage on through its products or solutions etc?
India being one of the fastest growing economies is a land of tremendous opportunities. We are witnessing a hefty growth in key verticals of the country like Information Technology and SMBs. We will also cater to the new age demands for printing businesses and offices with our next generation industrial printing and Multi Functional Printing Solutions. Automation of business processes in enterprises is another promising opportunity which we will harness in the country.
Our solutions are also tactically priced to fit in the budgets of small and medium businesses in the printing segment while furnishing them with maximum output and operational efficiency at the same time.
Please tell us more about Workplace Hub and when we can expect it in India?
Workplace Hub is a seamless solution which integrates an enterprise’s workforce, devices and business processes. It empowers a business to leverage unprecedented scalability and operational efficiency to bolster its productivity. It also eliminates the operating expenditure of a business significantly and enhances standards with the integration of latest cutting edge technologies. Though, we don’t have immediate plans to initiate the same in India.
It may be too early for you but can you tell us about your investment plans in India for this year?
We will invest significantly to enhance our customer service support as well as delivery network pan India, particularly in the Optimised Print Services and Document Management System. We will also invest heavily in expanding our channel partner network as well as for offering them with strategic training and consulting to help them better advice their customers and deploy the most relevant solutions for them. Also in about five years down the line, we see our company’s position further cemented in domains such as industrial printing, MFP and production owing to continuous R&D efforts and technological innovation. We also plan to roll out a single end to end solution to usher in a new era in the Digital Printing by the name of Accurio Brand. The solution will offer maximum scalability to businesses along with unprecedented efficiency and print quality of the highest quality. The solution will serve a host of printing businesses ranging from dedicated printing houses to creative design houses. The company’s overall plan is also to expand its footprint in the highly diverse and untapped markets of India and continue with a double digit growth.
How important is the small and mid range industrial printing segment for Konica Minolta?
Small and Medium printing business industry is largely unorganized and lacks the awareness about the new age printing solutions which can help them grow manifolds on their productivity. Konica Minolta is committed to help this segment by offering them with solutions, specifically tailored to meet their varied demands. Our solutions also perfectly align with the budget expectations of SMB printing businesses and can cater to varied printing jobs along with unparalleled scalability.
Why your products are ideal solution for SMB’s? Some highlights on Bizhub press and its deployments?
Konica Minolta is dedicated to help the SMB’s by offering them solutions to meet their demands, our products are designed to meet the expectations of the SMB’s and also align with the budget expectations of their printing business. Our bizhub PRESS series comprises of a host of digital industrial printing solutions for printing businesses with varied customer demands. The different models vary by size and available features and each of these solutions are crafted to handle utmost efficiency and highest output quality. With cutting edge technologies like the SIMITRI HD toner embedded in these solutions, bizhub PRESS has created a distinctive image in the printing industry. A number of solutions from the series are already installed by printing businesses across India and we expect the deployment figures to further soar in the coming months.
Channel strategies for 2017-18
In the FY 2017-18, we will primarily focus on strategic tie ups with new partners to enhance our footprint in high potential verticals like corporate, SMBs, Information Technology etc. across all major cities of the country. We will also expand our presence in industry verticals like hospitality, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing etc.Also we will continue to strengthen our legacy of offering comprehensive support and training to our partners for mutual growth.
We will continue to help the printing businesses in India, leverage the potential of digital printing. The country is witnessing a rapid transition to digitisation and we as a company will help fuel this transition by rolling out new cutting edge printing solutions as well as programs to aware the printing segment in India about the new trends and demand shaping up in this vertical. In five years down the line, we see our position further strengthened in the production, industrial as well MFP segment as we continue to come up with innovative technologies.
We plan to launch a single solution for a new era in Digital Printing by the name of Accurio Brand. It will expand flexibility and efficiency and ensures high print quality for businesses ranging from dedicated printing houses to creative design houses.
Also, company overall plan is to expand its footprint in diverse markets of India and helped printing businesses to switch to digital industrial printing to enhance the business output. Have played an Instrumental role in growing the company revenue from 100 Cr. to 500 Cr and keep the pace of double digit growth YOY.
