ANOTHER foreign business executive has given a thumbs up to the Philippines economic outlook.
Hideaki Kato, president of Fuji Xerox Philippines, Inc., sees the country’s market providing good business in the New Year 2019
He met with Filipino and foreign journalists last week at the launch of the Japanese multinational technology company’s 14 new models of digital color multi-function printing machines at The Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati City, Metro Manila.
In an interview, he told SDN — Science and Digital News and other media organizations his bullish outlook of the country.
“The Philippines market is one of the very unique markets because (of the) Philippine population. More than 60 percent (of the workers are) working for established business, especially outsourcing business, call centers, BPO (where documents are many. Another aspect, because of President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build,’ many (in) the construction is growing rapidly.
“So, that is why, the Philippine market is expected to steadily grow, 6 to 7 percent per year, this is long-term,” said Kato.
Fuji Xerox Philippines, Inc. president Hideaki Kato shows versatility of one his company’s new models of digital color multi-function printers on connectivity that allows printing, scanning, faxing through the use of smartphones. (EKU)
The Fuji Xerox executive said a growing market requires lots of information, so document volume is also increasing.
He said expects sales volume for the year at about 10 to 15 percent. Meanwhile, he declined to reveal the final figure for fiscal year 2018 as it has yet to end this March.
“So, that is why for us, we are only selling the products, but printing volume also increases. So, including the machine sales and also the after-sales, both are our profit source. Then, we can expect steady growth in the Philippine market,” an optimistic Kato said.
He does not see any problem about supplies for the products of Fuji Xerox, including the 14 new models of state-of-the-art printing machines, the ApeosPort-VII C and DocuCentre-VII C.
“We already imported from our regional warehouse in Singapore,” Kato said, adding they company has already made available the printers in the 14 countries of Asia Pacific region.
One of the innovations, he said, embedded with the printers is predictive maintenance which is enabled by artificial intelligence (AI).
With the kind of traffic in Metro Manila, he said, that with predictive maintenance Fuji Xerox engineers do not have to go to users of the printers, saying that about two weeks before the machine breaks down, Fuji Xerox will already know what spare parts need replacing.
“But many of the cases through predictive remote maintenance, we can fix the machine before the machine breaks down. We will know what is happening two weeks before (it breaks down). (Then), we change the spare parts,” said Kato.
An ApeosPort-VII C digital color multi-function printer. (Image: Fuji Xerox)
AI in Fuji Xerox’s latest printers
Kato said this is because AI which enables the printers to send information to Fuji Xerox.
But if the machine breaks down, he said they can always send their engineers to do the repair.
The new printers, he pointed out, developed for one and a half-year in Yokohama, Japan, the company’s research and development (R&D) center, are “totally different concept. We added functionalities, also connectivity.”
Fuji Xerox’s printers are based on the Smart Work Gateway.
The company said:
“Smart Work Gateway devices are the center of an ecosystem designed for productivity improvement, With mobility, cloud, connectivity, complete with security and intuitive user experiences, Smart Work Gateway delivers valuable services out of the box.”
Fuji Xerox (Japan) is a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (75 percent) and Xerox Corporation of the United States (25 percent).
On the other hand, Fuji Xerox Philippines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuji Xerox (Japan).
Oscar Dolendo, head of Marketing Department, Fuji Xerox Philippines, Inc., recalled the the Philippine subsidiary was established in 1965 and has 238 employees at present.
Dolendo laid down the company’s achievements in the country, such as:
- 1965 — First plain paper copier to be marketed in Southeast Asia and in the Philippines.
- 1983 — Introduced the first fax machine in the country.
- 1988 — Introduced the first full-color copier in the country.
- 1993 — Introduced the first full-color digital copier in the country.
- 1996 — Launched the first multi-function device in the country.
- 2002 — Launched the first black & white color-capable multi-function device in the country.
Fuji Xerox Philippines has been a leading a provider and trusted partner for quality document services and communications, enabling people and businesses to share knowledge across all platforms seamlessly.
Its new printers cost Php300,000 for entry level to Php1 million for high-end. (EKU)