Xerox shoots ahead in service
Many companies know not to tamper with a proven strategy, especially in the midst of the global economic downturn that has crushed revenues and profits at companies in almost all sectors worldwide, especially IT.
Xerox Poland, which has been present here for 31 years, will stick with its strategy of selling document-management outsourcing and consulting services in 2003. Its increased push for document-management services in particular proved to be a winning formula here last year, especially after the demand for photocopiers had eroded in recent years.
The firm will also continue to develop partnerships with local companies - the latest being its announcement last month that the sales of its production systems for the graphic arts market would be transferred to Xteam, a start-up owned by Xerox Poland's former country manager, Swapam Chaudhuri.
The Polish operations of the American digital copier maker thrived last year, despite the financial woes of its parent company, which managed to return to profitability in 2002. Xerox Poland realised €33.2 million (zł. 137.5 million) revenue in 2002, with 12% profit on sales and €27.5 million (zł. 114.4 million) revenue in 2001 with 11% profit. To compare, the parent company had €14.65 billion ($15.85 billion) revenue and profit of €84.13 million ($91 million) in 2002, while it had €15.72 billion ($17 billion) revenue with a loss of €86.9 million ($94 million) in 2001.
Xerox Poland also remained unscathed by fallout from the discovery last year that its parent had overstated revenue over five years. Xerox headquarters paid a $10 million fine to settle the financial reporting violations and has been forced to restate its past annual results.
"We had some effects last June and July because there was some confusion between Enron and Xerox," said Sacha Laassiri, the new country general manager of Xerox Poland, who took over last month. Customers held off on orders until the local operations assured them that the parent company's situation would not have any bearing on them.
But with Poland an ocean away, Laassiri now has his eyes focused on issues closer to home, such as the country's expected EU membership in 2004. Like others in the IT industry, he is sanguine about the impact of union membership on his business.
"For sure it's an opportunity We expect it should boost the business and boost the investments of foreign companies in foreign countries, especially of European companies in Poland," he said.
EU enlargement, in particular, could be even more of a boon for the central and eastern European countries which will join the union, since Xerox's operations in these regions have enjoyed a trend of increased turnover in the past few years as demand for its services continues to grow. Despite the country's ongoing economic doldrums, Xerox Poland is forecasting €36.1 million (zł. 150 million) turnover this year with 13% profit on sales.
"You don't have a lot of competitors that are able to offer outsourcing and consulting services, so of course you can deliver a complete range of services to the big companies, even if you have some very big competitors in the very low-end market," Laassiri said, explaining why Xerox's regional growth has been in double-digits.
Xerox Poland, which has been present here for 31 years, will stick with its strategy of selling document-management outsourcing and consulting services in 2003. Its increased push for document-management services in particular proved to be a winning formula here last year, especially after the demand for photocopiers had eroded in recent years.
The firm will also continue to develop partnerships with local companies - the latest being its announcement last month that the sales of its production systems for the graphic arts market would be transferred to Xteam, a start-up owned by Xerox Poland's former country manager, Swapam Chaudhuri.
The Polish operations of the American digital copier maker thrived last year, despite the financial woes of its parent company, which managed to return to profitability in 2002. Xerox Poland realised €33.2 million (zł. 137.5 million) revenue in 2002, with 12% profit on sales and €27.5 million (zł. 114.4 million) revenue in 2001 with 11% profit. To compare, the parent company had €14.65 billion ($15.85 billion) revenue and profit of €84.13 million ($91 million) in 2002, while it had €15.72 billion ($17 billion) revenue with a loss of €86.9 million ($94 million) in 2001.
Xerox Poland also remained unscathed by fallout from the discovery last year that its parent had overstated revenue over five years. Xerox headquarters paid a $10 million fine to settle the financial reporting violations and has been forced to restate its past annual results.
"We had some effects last June and July because there was some confusion between Enron and Xerox," said Sacha Laassiri, the new country general manager of Xerox Poland, who took over last month. Customers held off on orders until the local operations assured them that the parent company's situation would not have any bearing on them.
But with Poland an ocean away, Laassiri now has his eyes focused on issues closer to home, such as the country's expected EU membership in 2004. Like others in the IT industry, he is sanguine about the impact of union membership on his business.
"For sure it's an opportunity We expect it should boost the business and boost the investments of foreign companies in foreign countries, especially of European companies in Poland," he said.
EU enlargement, in particular, could be even more of a boon for the central and eastern European countries which will join the union, since Xerox's operations in these regions have enjoyed a trend of increased turnover in the past few years as demand for its services continues to grow. Despite the country's ongoing economic doldrums, Xerox Poland is forecasting €36.1 million (zł. 150 million) turnover this year with 13% profit on sales.
"You don't have a lot of competitors that are able to offer outsourcing and consulting services, so of course you can deliver a complete range of services to the big companies, even if you have some very big competitors in the very low-end market," Laassiri said, explaining why Xerox's regional growth has been in double-digits.
