AIC Asia
Automated Business Flows by MVDP
"FUJIFILM Business Innovation Hong Kong has provided us with the finest equipment and services support, helping us greatly optimize our routine administrative and operational efficiency."
-- Danny Kong, System Officer, American International Cargo Services (Asia) Limited
BACKGROUND
Hong Kong has been playing a critical role in global logistics operations as one of the Asia Pacific’s major entrepots. Founded in 1899 and headquartered at the United States, AIC Asia has started to develop its service network in Hong Kong since 2005. The company has provided logistics services for clients on the Sino-US trade, which is in the highest demand among toys manufacturers. AIC Asia’s footsteps in the mainland China cover major harbour cities including Tianjin and Dalian, providing seamless logistical experience from import clearance and transshipment, to related legal compliances.
CHALLENGES
Since the establishment of AIC Asia’s Hong Kong office, it has been using NCR printers, the dominating printer in the logistics industry, to cater the tremendous demand in printing, just like other logistics enterprises. However, it has been causing operational disruptions. System Officer from AIC Asia, Mr. Danny Kong indicated that the loud noise during operation was the major downside of NCR printers. Printing quality could also be greatly affected by slight misplacement of papers and technical errors like pen failure, leading to blurred contents on the second and third layers of the printouts, thus fatally affecting customs clearance and administrative works.
RESULTS ACHIEVED
In 2015, AIC Asia learned about the benefits of Mahogany Variable Data Printing Solution (MVDP) and Multifunction Devices (MFDs) from consultants of FUJIFILM Business Innovation Hong Kong. After a cost-effectiveness evaluation, AIC Asia decided to deploy the solutions and replaced all NCR printers in the office after a half-year testing period. The transaction document printing procedure has achieved a comprehensive optimization.
The new MVDP solution allows customers to use standard A4 papers for bill of lading in most situations. Danny appreciated the great improvements in the clarity of printed texts, as well as the elimination of color fading, a usual phenomenon for NCR systems. Besides, NCR printers required more complicated maintenance and strict positioning guidelines. Not only does staff has to pay high attention to paper placement, but wear and tear of printing supplies was also frequent, thus requiring much storage space for back up supplies.
The MFDs provided by FUJIFILM Business Innovation Hong Kong support a larger variety of papers with different weight and sizes. The “Press to Print” feature enables automatic selection of suitable templates, paper trays and colored papers which enhances the flexibility of administration work by offering experiences beyond transaction document printing. MVDP’s e-format data backup feature also allows storage of bill of lading on the server for as much as seven years. Thanks to the backup feature, it simplifies checklist reporting, search and retrieval of data, and saves the storage space in the office.
In addition to printouts, AIC Asia also recognizes the support services provided by the FUJIFILM Business Innovation Hong Kong, and is planning on upgrading to MVDP Capture, which allows digital signature with an electronic pen, and immediate sharing of document with business partners, contributing to truly paperless operations. On the other hand, Danny highlighted the durability of the brand’s machines. In rare cases of error, engineers were able to provide onsite troubleshooting services within an hour in most situations, with no additional charges on the parts, making the brand an outstanding partner for enterprises in providing information and communications technologies.