Standardisation and efficiency are critical to a business like Groupe FSD. As a first step to streamlining its printing infrastructure throughout Europe, Groupe FSD renewed its entire fleet of 300 devices. Partnering with a single manufacturer made even more sense with the added value of KYOCERA Fleet Services (KFS). Hardware and KFS as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) have been combined into one holistic solution, which will help deliver Groupe FSD improved efficiency, transparency and cost optimisation over time.
Groupe FSD is a major supplier of automotive manufacturers, specialising in stamping, roll forming, assembly and tooling. In 2016, the Groupe FSD recorded a sales revenue of €834 million.
It employs around 5,700 people based across 30 sites in ten countries (China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the UK).
With machines from ten manufacturers and 90 different photocopier models at 30 sites across Europe, it became very clear that Groupe FSD had to streamline its device fleet. The Information Systems Department decided to put an end to excessive printing costs, ineffective technical management of the fleet, and complex coordination of print activities. It invited around ten manufacturers to submit a tender, with the following objectives:
The tender also called for a remote monitoring and maintenance solution, to replace numerous local contracts and provide coverage to sites where none existed. In addition, there was an extremely tight lead time of five months, over the summer holidays, between the call for tenders and first deployment.
Following the call for tenders, Kyocera Document Solutions was selected as the winner. As a first step Groupe FSD’s entire fleet was replaced with 300 devices, reducing the number of models from ninety to four. Deployment was managed by the Kyocera Document Solutions team with the support of Groupe FSD staff in France, and by Kyocera or a maintenance partner in all other countries.
With the set-up of KFS, technical and accounting information can be reported automatically. The automatic export of counter logs eliminates the need for a counter sheet to be sent by fax and data to be entered manually with a password for each unit. Previously, each site managed its own supplies locally. Now, the management of consumables is centralised by the KFS system, which automatically triggers orders and delivery requests as and when necessary. Maintenance is covered by a single contract replacing numerous contracts per site.
All in all, the solution enables technicians, working remotely, to retrieve status pages, logs and fax reports, to reboot the machine, and to amend settings and configurations. Last but not least, the various reports generated by KFS on the number of machines installed, the ratio of colour to black and white printing, and the number of incidents, provide input for the quarterly committee meetings held between Groupe FSD and Kyocera Document Solutions, enabling ongoing monitoring and optimisation.
“Kyocera Document Solutions was the manufacturer best able to meet our requirements. They also stood out on a human level, with a team that was very attentive, very tenacious... The equipment meets our needs perfectly. I no longer hear talk of maintenance problems, which proves that the KYOCERA Fleet Services solution is working. The savings made, both in terms of expenditure and time, are significant. We have streamlined our print fleet and automated the reporting of technical and accounting information. We are now going to focus on implementing a printing policy via a campaign to raise awareness among users.”
Stéphane Roux, Technical Manager, Information Systems Department, Groupe FSD