We hear a lot about the importance of innovation. Developing creative-thinking approaches to customer challenges is driving the marketplace today, and using advanced technology to create out-of-the-box solutions has become the foundation for companies’ economic growth and sustainability throughout the world.
But what does all of this mean for Konica Minolta? How can we keep our industry innovation leadership within a relatively mature market space?
Our Solutions Engineering Center (SEC) has been at the forefront of creating and developing industry-leading solutions. Part of the Business Intelligence Services group, the SEC is based in Windsor, CT, and Ramsey, NJ, and is tasked with delivering differentiated value to our customers every day. Our spirit of innovation infuses everything we do: from our product offerings and incubation projects, to the engineering-level professional services we provide.
In keeping with this commitment, we created the bizhub MarketPlace as a way to provide extra value to the overall user experience of Konica Minolta multifunction printers. Initially conceived as a platform similar to other app stores, bizhub MarketPlace apps were designed to add and/or extend further functionality to the MFP at an attractive price.
But then we took it a step further. We collaborated with our parent company Konica Minolta Inc. to launch and support the bizhub MarketPlace Chameleon feature set – a truly unique offering that transforms the MFP from hardware into a personalized and integral part of a company’s overall ecosystem.
With bizhub MarketPlace Chameleon, we offer something that our competitors only strive for: MFP User Interface personalization with global centralized management. An easy-to-use web-based tool allows you to quickly create customized MFP User Interfaces (UI) that group together only the controls needed to get a particular job done. These streamlined UIs can reduce the number of button pushes at the MFP, a common concern of our prospects. For instance, grouping the functions to scan, email and file a document. Similarly, company logos, images and colors can be added to the MFP User Interface to best match a company’s branding and corporate culture. Customers can choose to use one of the many MFP UIs available on the bizhub MarketPlace, edit an existing UI, and/or even create their own new UIs.
And that’s not all. Keeping the needs of the enterprise in mind, we added centralized control features as well. Now, custom MFP UIs and apps can be quickly and efficiently installed and managed from the bizhub MarketPlace website, eliminating the need for a technician to visit each MFP individually.
Since its launch last year, bizhub MarketPlace Chameleon has generated a tremendous amount of buzz and excitement. Analysts are taking note at the exceptional, innovative solutions that we are designing. Buyers Laboratory (BLI) recognized our company with the award for “Outstanding Achievement in Innovation: Konica Minolta bizhub Marketplace Chameleon,” impressed with the concrete benefits to the customer that these features offer. Given the fierce competition in the market these days, this recognition really makes us stand out from the crowd!
To keep our competitive edge in the marketplace, we need to all work together to continue to develop and offer advanced solutions to address and even anticipate our customers’ needs. In this way, Konica Minolta will continue to lead the way in innovation and excellence.
USA
Global
