Founded in 1990 in Zagreb, Croatia, Alca Zagreb d.o.o. is a private company that provides sales, logistics, and production services. Alca Zagreb has more than 1,200 employees and operates with annual revenues of approximately 133 million EUR.
Through the central logistics warehouse in Sveta Helena, and several regional warehouses, the company distributes consumer goods of well-known global brands all over Croatia. Alca delivers their partners' goods to more than 30,000 points of sale, ranging from large supermarkets, hotels, and hospitals to kiosks on the islands of Croatia.
Xenon forte, a long-standing and trusted international partner of Kyocera, has been cooperating with Alca since 2010. Acting first as a supplier of printing devices, in 2020 Alca and Xenon forte upgraded their successful cooperation with a comprehensive device rental service, as well as a solution for control and optimisation of printing using Kyocera total solution.
The Challenge
The old printing devices were owned by Alca and used beyond product life cycle, causing frequent breakdowns and delays inprinting. Further, the decentralised procurement of consumables, and the maintenance service needed, resulted in a substantial loss of time while reducing productivity of employees in the company's IT department.
For the special tasks of printing, Alca was using dot matrix printers. These devices were already heavily worn out which incurred additional high costs.
Before the implementation of the Kyocera total solution, it was not possible to track documents by user, or by cost center, therefore it was not previously possible to plan the purchase of new devices in a timely manner, or to ensure print security.
The Solution
Existing proprietary devices were replaced with new ones. The companies also agreed on a new way of cooperation whereby the devices were provided on a lease agreement. Thanks to Xenon forte's device monitoring, Alca no longer has to worry about purchasing supplies or maintenance, and the users no longer must wait for their documents to be printed. Devices are always available.
After the introduction of the Kyocera total solution and monitoring of printing, many of the tasks performed with dot matrix printers was transferred to laser devices. This resulted in significant cost savings for the company.
New devices, with a printing service tracking solution, enable control and monitoring of document flow. Most devices have the capacity for user identification with an ID card reader, and this significantly improves the security around document printing. Furthermore, it is now possible to clearly define where new devices are required due to an increased amount of printing.
The Results
The cooperation between Alca and Xenon forte, which began in 2010, continues today. These partners have elevated their collaboration to include a comprehensive device rental service, a Kyocera total solution for printing and device maintenance, and KFS (Kyocera Fleet Services), which enables the remote monitoring and replenishment of consumables.
The original devices were replaced with the service provider's devices, and this reduced part of Alca's IT department's workload in connection with service and maintenance, while helping to better manage the purchase of consumables and additional new devices. The security of printing and documents has increased and monitoring the amount of printing enables improved control over costs.
Due to growing customer needs, the number of leased devices is steadily increasing during the contract period, which also increases the volume of printing needed. This reality for Alca Zagreb further highlights the clear benefits gained in cost control, and device management, through the partnership with Xenon forte. The devices are installed in all key user locations - Zagreb Žitnjak, Helena, Kelek, Kukuzovac, Požega, Osijek, Rijeka, Split, Dugopolje, Dubrovnik.
"After many years of successful cooperation between Alca Zagreb and Xenon forte, we decided in 2020 to start using the Kyocera total solution and lease the devices. This has reduced printing costs and increased the quality of services. We are extremely satisfied with the support, which is fast and automated, as we no longer have to worry about the operation of devices and the purchase of consumables. We now have much better control over printed documents, and employees have more flexible options when printing. The changes have brought us significant savings and the quality of services has increased.”
-Mario Dunatov, Head of IT System Operations, Alca Zagreb
Kyocera Document Solutions has championed innovative technology since 1934. We enable our customers to turn information into knowledge, excel at learning and surpass others. With professional expertise and a culture of empathetic partnership, we help organisations put knowledge to work to drive change.
