National Sporting Goods Chain Increases Visibility With Color Printing Capabilities

BUSINESS SEGMENTRetail

PRODUCTHD Digital Color Printer

CHALLENGE• Need for high-caliber

printing on a wide variety of media

• Outsourced print vendor did not meet customer’s needs

• Insufficient customer service support

SOLUTION• HD digital color printer in

every store• Printing flexibility for

various media types• On-site training for

employees and technicians

CUSTOMER PROFILEInspiring sporting event participation and supporting local teams and athletes, this American-based company operates a network of retail stores providing a vast selection of specialty sporting equipment, athletic wear and fan gear. This company’s immediate need was to upgrade their on-site monochrome printer fleet with digital color printers in an effort to enhance their offer portfolio and provide a better customer experience.

THE CHALLENGEThe company printed a great amount of signage—local signs placed around communities, in-store signage promoting sales and product display signs—but had been outsourcing these print jobs. When it decided to bring the printing in-house, the company used a very basic sign printing program that only printed in black and white. Knowing that printing in color would help attract attention and drive sales, the retailer sought a printer that would not only produce vibrant store signage for the company’s many locations, but could also print on a wide variety of media while adhering to a sensible budget. The retailer tested a variety of color printers from manufacturers including HP, Lexmark and Xerox, but could not seem to find a solution that would meet its color printing needs and fiscal requirements.

THE SOLUTIONOKI representatives met with the sporting goods retailer to assess the challenges the company was facing and gain a comprehensive understanding of the company’s price and device performance requirements. OKI recognized the customer’s need to print on media of different sizes and weights and the desire to implement on-demand color signage printing in a cost-effective manner. Based on the initial assessment and evaluation of business needs, OKI recommended a high-quality, energy-efficient HD digital color printer.

The recommended solution was a perfect fit for the retailer and within months the company had installed an OKI HD digital color printer in all retail locations across the country. The new devices were placed in busy store areas, such as the customer service counter or front desk, allowing for increased productivity and efficiency for employees and technicians within the workplace.

The OKI color printer enabled on-demand production of signs in crisp, bright color output through the HD color printing technology’s multilevel LED printheads and microfine toner. Delivering the exceptional advantage of media flexibility, the OKI printer allowed the customer to print on a broad variety of signage, including banners, labels, envelopes and heavier card stock.

AccessVia, a partner of OKI, worked with the retailer to understand its precise objectives and helped to create impressive signage. In just six weeks, AccessVia carried out a complete implementation of the company’s Web dSignShop Software as a Service (SaaS) for the customer’s in-store publishing system. With the services of AccessVia, combined with OKI’s digital color printer, the retailer was able to achieve superior quality at an affordable price.

OKI also delivered on-site personal training for front-desk employees and store technicians in every retail location, answering questions and providing immediate, customized attention. With a knowledgeable support team in every store, there was no need to call upon outside technical assistance. The retailer’s printing and technical support was completed entirely in-house.

CONCLUSIONThe retailer has been more than satisfied with OKI’s recommendation and customer support. By printing in-house and in color, the company is saving money it was previously spending on black and white printing from a third party. The HD digital color printer from OKI enables the customer to not only meet its color printing requirements, but exceed expectations by providing on-demand in-store signage with sharp detail and bright colors. OKI’s dedication to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s print requirements resulted in a cost-effective, colorful and overall successful solution.

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