Major Office Supplier Deploys Xerox Solid Ink Technology Saving Millions
Client is a $19 billion company with 2038 stores worldwide; and online, catalog and contract delivery businesses. The firm carries office
supplies, office machines, technology and business services. Client employs more than 76,000 associates and prides itself on offering innovative products, quality services and business solutions with a fast, friendly and easy delivery.
Client Challenges:
Like most retailers, client faces significant issues regarding profitability and each business unit is striving to save money and evaluate business processes in search of cost savings and improvements. The production of instore signage had emerged as having great potential regarding cost savings, operational efficiecies, and improve revenues. Store signage was produced (black only) in the store with laser printers. In all, seventeen (17) different types of stock were used to produce the instore signs, labels, and tags. Management of the stocks and application was less than efficient and was often error prone thus increasing the cost of labor and waste. Other applications appropriate for instore production could not be produced in black only since color was a requirement. The large number of stocks and the lack of color to produce other mission critical applicatons lead the client towards the evaluation of color printing at the store level.
Xerox Solution:
In January of 2006, client installed over 1200 Xerox Solid Ink Phaser Model 8400 printers. As a replacement of the black-and-white printers, the technology was deployed to capture customer attention, increase productivity, and reduce cost, surrounding signage, labels and tags. Early in 2009, the client proactively refreshed the fleet of solid ink printers that were nearing the end of their extended warranty period using a new solid ink model, the Phaser 8860. The Phaser 8860 offered significant improvements to the previously deployed Solid Ink printer in the area of costs reductions and physical improvements to the device.
Measurable Results:
Client’s migration to the Phaser 8860 and using an improved on-site service methodology will result in millions saved in supplies and service costs. By Clients own estimates they calculated their three year savings using the 8860 across 1525 stores to be 6 million dollars.
- Significant reduction in time to market associated with signage applications due to the use of color. In addition, the stores cut costs by reducing shipping, handling, and labor associated with the number of stocks required to support signage.
- Client originally went from using 17 different stocks some pre-printed, to 4 stocks, each of which are in the SI printers at all times. The stocks are no longer pre printed but represent the sizes required…everything is printed via the SI device. The four types of stock in use are vinyl, card stock (2), and adhesive labels.
- The new process provided far greater flexibility with the use of color and increased the proactive manner in which stores could run specials and localized promotions.
- Greater store set up efficiency is now obtained by producing color Plan-o-Grams in the store.
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