Océ Case Study

Williams Lea

Challenge—streamlining processes To maintain its edge as a global leader, Williams Lea has to be able to

source and implement cutting-edge technology. This means keeping

a finger on the pulse of the fast-changing technology industry—and

an ear to the needs and long-term goals of high-profile clients. This is

the challenge that Williams Lea Chief Technology Architect, Michael

Vorel faced when tasked with streamlining processes and upgrading

an on-site print room for a premier financial services provider.

The financial services provider, which specializes in private wealth

management, produces monthly and quarterly statements within

extremely tight print windows to ensure compliance with SEC

regulations. The reports were being produced in-house on 10-year

old digital presses that could no longer keep up with increasingly

demanding print windows. “The systems’ slow speed was becoming

an issue as the reports got bigger and more sophisticated and it

took longer to produce them,” Vorel recalls, “we began to have

concerns about making delivery dates and complying with regulatory

requirements for delivering statements within a specified timeframe.”

The quarterly statement combined five different applications merged

and bound to create one 120-page booklet. However, because the

older technology couldn’t merge the documents, the in-house print

team had to manually collate the various pieces into one large, cover-

bound booklet. Clearly, it was time for a faster, more capable printing

system. “Our goals,” Vorel states, “were to produce high volumes of

duplex output at double the speed of our existing devices, to improve

productivity, leverage trans-promo marketing opportunities, reduce

costs, and print tabs, pre-printed inserts and lightweight substrates,

while minimizing floor space. We wanted a plug-and-play solution

that could handle the preconditioned mainframe data streams used to

produce the report—without changing applications or platforms.”

Breakthrough digital duplex and document management technology help Williams Lea keep its customers satisfiedIf you’re a world-leading organization looking for a stellar information technology solution or facilities management

provider to help you gain a competitive edge, chances are you’re working with Williams Lea. Ranked 25th in the

world for global business process solutions, Williams Lea is a leading provider of corporate information solutions

and business process expertise. Its approach combines an exceptional balance of people, processes and technology

with a global infrastructure to enable process re-engineering that transforms the way organizations communicate

and exchange printed and electronic information.

The solution—an Océ VarioPrint 6250 printer and Océ PRISMAproduction and Doc Works Pro software After evaluating several leading manufacturers and their solutions,

Williams Lea selected Océ technology to help its client accelerate

turnaround, ensure regulatory compliance and produce reports in

ways they couldn’t before. In January 2007, one Océ VarioPrint®

6250 digital duplex cut sheet printer was installed in the print center

to replace two existing devices, along with Océ PRISMAproduction™

software to convert proprietary KDK data streams, and Océ Doc

Works Pro™ software to automate workflow.

“We were impressed with the RIP speed, the speed of the VarioPrint

6250, its ease of use, reliability, capacity, and the fact that Océ

PRISMA™ software solved the print stream problem. We ran tests for

four weeks to debug the preconditioned print streams and then the

VarioPrint 6250 took off,” Vorel recalls.

At 250 letter-sized prints per minute, the Océ VarioPrint 6250

printer is up to 70 percent more productive than any other cut

sheet printer in its class—and twice as fast as the 110 page-per-

minute devices that were previously used to produce the quarterly

statements. Powered by Océ Gemini Instant Duplex technology,

the Océ VarioPrint 6250 presses images into both sides of the page

in a single pass, resulting in higher productivity, offset-class quality,

near-perfect registration, and greater operational efficiency.

Vorel recalls, “We went from 110 pages a minute to 250 without

rewriting applications. It was a plug-and-play replacement just as

we had specified. No downtime. No failures. No ‘oops-we-forgot

incidents’. Just instant productivity, and a lower cost of doing

business for our client.”

Breakthrough results and ongoing business benefits Today, with the integrated Océ VarioPrint 6250, PRISMAproduction

and Doc Works Pro solution, the print center has no problem

printing the one million pages of output it takes to produce the

financial statements within the required 15-day print window.

During other production cycles, the print shop uses the Océ

VarioPrint 6250 printer to produce other documents on a variety

of substrates.

Already, Williams Lea’s client is realizing significant business benefits.

“It’s only been a few months,” notes Vorel “but already we’re seeing

results. Our customer benefits from an improved class of service

because they can take advantage of presentation features that simply

weren’t available before. They can use pre-printed specialty paper for

one tab section and a different media or substrate for another. They

can add tear-outs, tear-offs and return response cards that enable the

marketing team to target personalized messages to customers using a

highly automated process.”

Replacing two machines with one Océ VarioPrint 6250 has

enabled the print shop to achieve its corporate initiative of being

an environmentally-friendly business operation, thanks to lower

heating and cooling requirements and more efficient power and

toner consumption. They’ve also been able to free up valuable

floor space. “As you can imagine, when you’re doing business in

Manhattan, floor space is a precious commodity. Thanks to the speed

of the VarioPrint 6250, our client can do the same amount of work

in half the space—space that can be used by investment managers

who generate revenues.”

The financial services customer also is realizing significant cost

savings. Vorel notes, “Freedom to use different substrates means we

can print on thinner stock, which affects the cost of mailing, storage

and distribution. The less the firm has to spend on mailing and

producing reports, the more they can spend on R&D and service

enhancement. The firm’s CFO is pleased to see the cost of business

steadily decreasing in man-hours and in hard cash flow—by bringing

outsourced jobs in-house, by shaving hours off production time, and

by distributing printing closer to the point of need, which reduces

turnaround times as well as transportation and handling costs.”

The new technology has helped with security concerns as well. By

keeping jobs in-house, the firm is better able to protect customer

information. Confidentially is paramount for the financial services

providers’ clientele. Because they work with sensitive financial data,

the more that can be done in-house, the lower the risk of exposure.

Vorel adds, “While the financial statements are still the primary

application, since we turned up the new engine, three other business

units have come to us asking to use the new printer to do things they

either couldn’t do before or that had to be outsourced at higher cost.”

It’s no surprise that one of the biggest improvements is in

productivity. “The VarioPrint 6250 printer is much more

productive,” states Vorel, “It has more paper drawers, has scanning

technology and enables us to accept input from analog and digital

environments and bring them together. We can do more with less,

and we can do it faster. In fact, the Océ technology meets all of our

client’s requirements—privacy, time of delivery, variable content,

speed, productivity, and flexibility to use a variety of substrates. It’s a

win-win for everyone involved—it’s a win for our customer’s clients,

for our client and for Williams Lea.”

For information and services, visit us at www.oceusa.com

© 2007 Océ. Illustrations and specifications do not necessarily apply to products and services offered in each local market.

Technical specifications are subject to change without prior notice. “Océ”, “VarioPrint” and the Océ logo are registered trademarks of

Océ-Technologies B.V. “PRISMAproduction”, “PRISMA” and “Doc Works Pro” are trademarks of Océ-Technologies B.V. All other

terms and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.