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Konica Minolta wins the BLI PaceSetter Award for Serviceability and Support 2020-2021 in Western Europe awarded by Keypoint Intelligence for the second time. The recognition honours the OEM that offers the best-designed tools, programs and trainings to enhance the serviceability of its products and services. With its “shift left” approach, Konica Minolta provides systems to empower its clients to help themselves, such as using online trainings or providing support through remote tools. This year’s award also reflects these company solutions that support safer office environments through remote services, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pursuing a customer-centric approach, Konica Minolta always focuses on the needs of its users for its products and services. This also goes for solving issues and providing support. The IT specialist empowers its customers to help them solve problems quicker and more efficiently by using innovative tools, training methods and remote support. With this “shift left” approach, the issues are solved closer to their origin and field presence of service experts can be reduced significantly. This helps to limit physical contact points which increases safety for customers and technicians, as travel from client to client can be minimised in the time of Covid-19. Several tools support the self-service of Konica Minolta’s customers: with “iTraining”, a variety of online videos provide explanation and guidance, as does the portal “eCommerce”. When remote support is needed, the AIRe Link – at the moment in beta test-phase – brings an innovative way of consulting and training employees, using audio and video connection. “Chatrine” is a chatbot that learns on its own and supports customers with their enquiries. With its Cognito iQ-developed platform, Konica Minolta is able to analyse operational performance of its field service in real time.
Leading in serviceability and service with innovative solutions
With the award, Konica Minolta is honoured for its tools and offerings that improve serviceability and support for their customers. Keypoint Intelligence conducted an in-depth study to decide on this year’s champion. Putting focus on various disciplines in this field, the evaluation included: company vision, in-field support, environment, tools and trainings provided to service technicians across direct and indirect channels. This year’s award also comprised the changing working environment due to the pandemic. Konica Minolta has received an honourable mention for adapting to the current situation: being able to support customers remotely and via online trainings while maintaining highest standards of quality differentiated the IT specialist from the competition.
Being recognised repeatedly in this way shows us that we are pursuing the right approach: empowering our customers for self-help while maintaining our customer focus with remote counselling and online trainings – this has proven to be the right approach, especially in the challenging times during the Covid-19 pandemic." In today’s fast-evolving office environments, where working conditions can change quickly, IT complexity is also increasing. Providing the right service and support is therefore absolutely key for devices and solutions – and to foster customer relations. “Service and support provide the backbone of satisfied customers”, said Deborah Hawkins, Director of Keypoint Intelligence’s Office Group. “Organisations understand how critical the MFP is to business processes, and they cannot risk downtime caused by poor support (…)”.
About Keypoint Intelligence
Keypoint Intelligence is a one-stop shop for the digital imaging industry. With our unparalleled tools and unmatched depth of knowledge, we cut through the noise of data to offer clients the unbiased insights and responsive tools they need in those mission-critical moments that define their products and empower their sales. For over 50 years, Buyers Lab has been the global document imaging industry’s resource for unbiased and reliable information, test data, and competitive selling tools. What started out as a consumer-based publication about office equipment has become an all-encompassing industry resource. In a landscape that’s ever evolving, we change with it.
About Buyers Lab PaceSetter Awards
Based on exhaustive questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and a proprietary rating scale, Buyers Lab PaceSetter awards recognise document imaging OEMs that have shown market leadership in a variety of categories, including with technologies, services, and key vertical markets.
About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan. With its unique expertise in imaging, data processing and data-based decision making, Konica Minolta creates relevant solutions for its customers - small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises and public sector - and solves issues faced by society.
As a digital workplace solution provider, Konica Minolta helps its clients to identify and unlock the potential digitalisation holds and reach the next level in the digital maturity of their organisation by rethinking the workplace. In support of an ‘Intelligent connected workplace’, Konica Minolta offers cloud, IT, managed print and video solution services for remote working, collaboration, workflow management and automation and security. The company’s success in driving transformation is also confirmed by IDC, since the ‘IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Print Transformation 2023 Vendor Assessment’ has named Konica Minolta a “Leader” in print transformation. Konica Minolta has been a Microsoft Global Managed Partner since 2021.
Konica Minolta's Igniting Print Possibilities offering helps printers, converters and brand owners maximise workflow automation to increase efficiency. The company delivers consultancy in all communication matters as well as top-of-the-line production, packaging as well as label printers. Its finishing devices create print products that stand out and create added value. Konica Minolta has established itself as the production printing market leader for more than a decade in Europe (InfoSource).
For an increasing number of organisations, success today is more than the narrow definition of financial prosperity – it also includes protecting the environment and having a positive impact on their workforce as well as the societies they are embedded in. With its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Konica Minolta has pledged to consistently pursue its sustainability and social responsibility goals.
The company has been repeatedly recognised for its rich history of social contribution as well as for working towards achieving the SDGs throughout its business and supply chain. Konica Minolta received a GOLD Level Recognition Medal in the EcoVadis sustainability ratings for 2024.
For its remote services, Konica Minolta was awarded the prestigious ‘Buyers Lab (BLI) 2023-2024 Pacesetter Award in Remote Service for the Western European market’ from Keypoint Intelligence.
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With more than 8,800 employees (as of April 2024), Konica Minolta Europe earned net sales of over EUR 2.13 billion in financial year 2023/2024.
Worldwide, the company has over 40,000 employees and is operating in over 150 countries.
For more information, please visit https://www.konicaminolta.eu/eu-en/news and follow Konica Minolta on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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