InfoPrint Solutions has increased its traction in Asia Pacific (AP) with the opening of its regional headquarters in Singapore.
The US-based printer maker said it decided to ramp up its Asia operations and increase headcount to keep up with the increase in demand for digital printing solutions, a direct result of Asia’s thriving business landscape.
A joint venture between software behemoth IBM and Japanese office equipment maker Ricoh, InfoPrint has been operational in the region since June 2007.
The company focuses on providing end-to-end solutions for production printing for enterprises and commercial printers as well as solutions for office workgroup environments and industrial segments.
Asia contributes 5.9% of Ricoh’s global revenue of USD 1 billion and with the new expansion plans, the organisation looks to grow this revenue by 100% over the next three years.
Currently, the company has some 1,500 employees globally but sees this number increasing to about 3,200 by the end of 2008.
It plans to hire 500 new staff globally by November and will also absorb 1,200 IBM employees this June.
In AP, Ricoh plans to increase its headcount by 30% by the end of the year. Employees will be hired to fill positions such as solutions development, systems integration, customer sales and after sales support.
Speaking to reporters at its official launch last week, Tony Romero, president and CEO of InfoPrint said that with the enlarged AP headcount, the company is ready to tap into fast-growing segments of the digital output management service market such as Print-on-demand, Workflow and Productivity Optimization and Transpromo.
Transpromo, which has been gaining the most traction in Europe and slowing gaining speed in the US and according to Romero, will soon take Asia by storm, refers to a technique that mergers transactional items such as customer invoices or bank statements with promotional materials such as marketing collaterals or discount coupons into one document.
According to Beniot Chatelard, vice president and general manager for InfoPrint’s AP operations, such techniques have been proven to be increasingly effective at generating sales and nurturing long-term customer relationship.
Still in its neonate stages in Asia , Transpromo is seen as the next marketing holy grail because not only does it lower mailing cost, it also creates an opportunity for more personalised marketing since the promotional materials which are printed on the bills can be tailored made to the customers’ spending patterns.
However, the main obstacle that may hinder the uptake of such a service, according to Chatelard, is the high start-up cost.
To address this concern, InfoPrint recently opened an Innovation Enablement Center in Shanghai, China. This facility will serve as a test bed for industries such as telcos and banks to develop and test their transpromo application until they have reached a volume where they are comfortable that the business will take off.
Besides Singapore, InfoPrint currently operates from China, India, Australia, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. |
