Printer company Fuji Xerox seeks to earn more by encouraging less printing

Fuji Xerox, one of the world’s largest suppliers of printers and copiers, is looking to boost revenue from its managed printing business in the Asia Pacific region to some US$6 billion by the end of the 2016 business year, by helping companies print less. 

Masashi Sakamoto, president Fuji Xerox Global Services, said the key to this apparent contradiction is expansion of its next-generation managed print services business, which in some cases actively helps businesses reduce the number of printers used and the volume of printing.

“Maybe your image of Fuji Xerox is that it’s a printing company, so if the volume of printing reduces that would mean reduced revenue for Fuji Xerox,” Sakamoto said. “So we have been challenged to change our business style to not only printing but also outsourcing services.”

Sakamoto gave the example of a large Japanese firm where the new service reduced the number of printers needed across the company from 1,000 to 450, causing a reduction in CO2 emissions as less electricity is needed to run the machines.

Interest in managed print services has picked up in recent years as companies look to cut costs, increase efficiency and burnish their green credentials. The services typically on offer from managed print firms include analysis of printing and copying needs, setting up and managing printing systems and training of staff.

While a mature market in Europe and the US, managed print services are still growing in Asia, with China and India two markets offering great potential. Gartner senior research analyst Lam Lai-ling forecast that the managed print services business in China would be worth US$337 million with a growth of 11 per cent in 2015.

She added that the business would grow at a five-year compound annual rate of 15.5 per cent in China until 2019.

However Sakamoto said that while Fuji Xerox is targeting double-digit growth for its services segment in China, it does not plan to launch managed print services yet as the market is not mature.

“We have a big opportunity for China because I think there are many, many improvement points for Chinese companies,” he said.

“So that means we have a big opportunity to solve these issues.”

Fuji Xerox is a joint venture formed in 1962 that is 75 per cent owned by Japanese firm Fujifilm and 25 per cent by US-based Xerox.