Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. and Swiss innovation service provider Zühlke are collaborating to support the development of new products for Konica Minolta’s Workplace of the Future vision.
As part of the OEM’s corporate strategy to become a platform-led, data-centric business, Konica Minolta says it will look to Zühlke to play a key part in advising how to utilise digital technologies to provide sustainable customer solutions across the workplace.
Zühlke, founded in Switzerland in 1968, and with headquarters in Zurich, is a business solution provider and technology innovator serving a wide field of industries including, machinery and plant engineering, medical technology and the financial sector.
With an R&D strategy focused on providing holistic solutions to the challenges that come with digitalisation, Konica Minolta is actively partnering with leading pioneers. Such collaborations ensure that Konica Minolta continues to create concepts that reflect the Japanese company’s strong heritage of innovation, alongside accurately fulfilling customers’ future needs and wants. Gerald Brose, Director of Business Development at Zühlke, comments, “For us, Konica Minolta is a very exciting business as its driving innovation. The speed with which they initiate and realise development is hugely impressive. It’s a perfect fit with our philosophy and our way of doing things.”
Ranging from the generation and evaluation of new product ideas and business models, to consultation on technical implementation and operations, Konica Minolta describes the partnership with Zühlke as “a natural progression of a close working relationship between the two companies.”
“We have drawn on Zühlke’s expertise on many occasions, not only through supporting our innovation team in the technical development of prototypes, but also receiving valuable input regarding business models and feasibility concepts,” explains Jérôme-Etienne Zastrow, portfolio extension manager, Digital Workplace R&D at Konica Minolta.
One project Zühlke has already supported Konica Minolta with is the collaboration around a proposed multi-functional workplace tool, currently referred to as ‘Spoke,’ as part of the disruptive Workplace Hub portfolio. Zastrow explains: “With the ‘Spoke’ concept we are looking at creating an all-in-one IT platform for the business traveller, exploring and blurring the traditional boundaries for those working outside the traditional physical office. Thus, we required a visionary partner for the technical implementation of this product and Zühlke was invaluable with their support.” Looking to the future, Konica Minolta says that both itself and Zühlke are “already working on new ideas for untouched areas.”
