Since the completion of the tender in late 2006 and the announcement of the tender results, an analysis of the printing system was carried out and discussions took place between Konica Minolta and EBG concerning the precise parameters of the services supplied and setting thereof, such as creation of a new centralization method and significant data recording. The agreement was concluded for a period of five years, when Konica Minolta will deliver its services to all EBG’s branches in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Croatia.
In the Czech Republic, Konica Minolta will install 300 equipment items per month in 654 branches of Česká spořitelna. Upon installation of Konica Minolta’s print solution, Česká spořitelna will use three quarters of printing equipment items less maintaining, however, the same volume of print outputs. The estimated printing volume is approximately 90 million copies per year.
In order to ensure the central administration and security of the printing system in accordance with EBG’s requirements, the secured printing service (eSetQ) with modified hardware and software elements was used. The eSetQ service is operated on the SafeQ platform of Y Soft, the supplier of hardware and software solutions for Konica Minolta in this project. Secured printing primarily protects documents against disposal, where unauthorized persons cannot dispose with documents and documents are printed after the user’s authorization by a chip card and the user thus has physical control over every printed document.
The uniqueness of this solution is based on the offer of complete services and not on the offer of a concrete machine. This finally enables flexible installation or moving of individual printing equipment for example in the event of extension or establishment of further EBG’s branches. Konica Minolta won the international tender inter alia thanks to its ability to ensure printing services in the same standard within the framework of the entire EGB holding (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Croatia).
The costs of the operation of the print solution will be much lower. In the case of the older print solution model, printing machines were in the possession of the company and were administered and operated by the company itself. In such an event, it was impossible to obtain precise information on the printing costs. In the new model, EBG purchases printing services and need not administer the huge amount of printing machinery. The lump sum payments for the delivery of printing services are transparent and enable clear monitoring of costs. All procurement of the operability, services and dozens of other parameters is specified in the agreement with Konica Minolta, which is in charge of the cited activities.
