Konica Minolta partners with Wireless Logic to pioneer the use of remote diagnostics, ordering and fault management in enterprise printing devices

Empty toner cartridges, undiagnosed faults and falling productivity a thing of the past as printers ‘get connected’

London, 27th January 2010 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd, the global office and production printing company, is partnering with Wireless Logic, the UK’s largest M2M SIM connectivity expert, to pioneer the integration of data SIM connectivity within its range of enterprise multimedia printing devices; allowing remote consumable ordering, usage diagnostics, fault prevention – management and resolution.

As part of its CS Remote Care service, Konica Minolta is now embedding Wireless Logic SIM cards into each GPRS modem fitted to its new printing devices and is using Wireless Logic’s ManageNet platform, a fully managed connectivity service which addresses connectivity, security, managed firewall and M-VPN’s. Once a SIM is installed and activated, Konica Minolta can monitor each of its devices; usage, consumable usage and performance. It automatically re-orders consumables once the supply is running low which means that companies should never run out  – something that will be welcomed by businesses everywhere. The service can also diagnose any faults or issues immediately; sending an email to the customer organisation and mobilising Konica Minolta to call out an engineer

As a result, Konica Minolta has seen a reduction in its billing queue of 50 per cent and is experiencing significant savings attributed to early diagnosis and rectification of faults.

Each printing unit is fitted with a GPRS module, embedded with a Wireless Logic SIM card that is remotely activated when the device is dispatched and set up. Each SIM card is given a fixed IP address, with a choice of operator, allowing two way communication between the printer and Konica Minolta.

Via Konica Minolta’s ‘CS Remote Care’ service, this is then managed and monitored via Wireless Logic’s ‘ManageNet’ secure private network management platform.

Brent Mayo, Customer Support Manager, Konica Minolta says: “This technology has brought many benefits to our customers, such as automatic ordering of consumables and automatic logging of faults, which are directly logged into Konica Minolta’s ERP system.  This saves time and means we know of faults before our customers do; allowing us to be more proactive in effecting a repair. We have also seen a significant reduction in our billing queue – previously done manually, this is done automatically through Wireless Logic’s service”

In working with Wireless Logic, Konica Minolta now has a ‘one stop connectivity solution’ with one point of contact across all of the UK’s cellular networks. Tailored tariffs from each of the networks have been developed to meet the data needs of the device portfolio. Invoicing is itemised and consolidated, easing the monthly burden of multiple network billing. Dramatic cost savings have been made by utilising the infrastructure of ManageNet, avoiding expenditure of setting up their own mobile private network. ManageNet has ‘failover’ back-up systems that give 99.99% service and Wireless also Logic provides a comprehensive account management support facility with regular reviews based upon performance, tariff expenditure, and service updates.