Blog

PRINT 18 has come and past, delivering confirmation that Konica Minolta is leading the charge in industry transformation. The world of visual communication is changing. Keeping up with that change is an ongoing challenge — not only for equipment manufacturing companies, but for all printing companies and their customers, who are required to manage multiple marketing channels. The disruption in media consumption is also driving transformational change in print. I myself, read more on my electronic devices than in print, and for the record, I hate it. (more…)

Do you remember your very first mentor? The first person you looked up to, the first person you idolized. My first mentor was my fifth-grade teacher, Ms. Netervala. She played basketball with us at recess. (more…)

The Print Production Industry – A Marketer’s Perspective

As a marketer, there’s nothing I enjoy better than observing brand and consumer product trends or, in marketing speak, consumer packaged goods (CPG) In the words of one of my favorite marketing gurus, Jim Joseph, “marketing is a spectator sport and we all learn by watching brands in action.” These days, in my role at Konica Minolta, my view into consumer products and brands is filtered through the lens of our clients, commercial printers and converters, who’s industry is being redefined by both consumer demands and digital trends. And while there are many trends influencing the print industry, I would argue that there are three, broad marketing trends driving much of the disruption we are witnessing today. (more…)

Over the years, I have adopted an ‘agile’ mindset, while earning several industry agile certifications in the process. By agile, I am referring to adopting a set of attitudes supportive of a working environment that reflects respect, collaboration, improvement and learning cycles, pride in ownership, a focus on delivering value, and the ability to adapt to change. (more…)

With the Labelexpo Americas just a few days away, we are making the final preparations for our third year of exhibiting at what has become the Global Digital Label Press showcase event. And in those three years, 250 clients around the globe have trusted KM to be their answer to their ongoing question of “should I invest in digital printing and with whom?” In the history of the digital label print story, has any manufacturer been so trusted so early in the evolution of their product? (more…)

When Hiring a vISO, It All Starts with a Relationship

When I was consulting I knew the best relationships I had because they would call me at any hour with random questions where they needed an immediate response. They valued the opinion and the intellectual capital supporting it. They were not embarrassed to ask and were always curious to learn. With this type of working relationship the client contact was comfortable putting me in front of the board of directors, because they were confident that I would interact with the board in the same capacity that they would.

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Earlier this month my team organized an employee volunteer event in collaboration with the non-profit organization, The New York/ New Jersey Trail Conference. We had a group of 25 enthusiastic and energetic Konica Minolta volunteers working to build and maintain hiking trails alongside a naturally occurring waterfall at the Ramapo Valley County Reservation in Mahwah, NJ. The team had a mission, to break and reposition rocks along the rugged forest floor in order to create safer hiking trails so members of our community are able to walk their dogs and hike while enjoying the natural beauty of northern New Jersey. (more…)

With PRINT 18 just weeks away, this is an opportune time to mention which products Konica Minolta will have on display in our 9,000 square foot exhibit.  Our team aims to impress by showcasing our broad range of capabilities in digital printing, decorative embellishment, packaging, wide-format printing, and finishing. It’s no small effort to get these colossal machines out to Chicago up and running on the trade show floor each year. But we believe it’s worth the effort for our customers to see the finished product firsthand as it’s made. (more…)

As a company invested in the future of work, but also committed to healthcare, we pose this question: What does the future of healthcare look like?  This question likely has many divergent, interesting and potentially controversial answers, especially depending upon who is asked. Konica Minolta, through close collaboration with our Business Innovation Center’s Healthcare Advisory Council, has attempted to answer this question by introducing our Value Based Care Platform  to deliver better care at lower costs.  These two objectives are closely aligned with Triple Aim of Care: enhancing the individual experience of care, improving the health of populations and reducing the per capita cost of care.  This initiative, begun by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)¹, was driven by our exploding healthcare cost and eroding quality.  So, before we illustrate the exciting advances in technology, and how it’s helping to meet the IHI’s critical objectives, let’s take a moment to reflect on the many changes that are occurring right now that are driving this new landscape of healthcare.  (more…)

As a Konica Minolta Philosophy Ambassador I was fortunate to attend the Transform Award and Business Contribution Award (TA/BCA) ceremony in Hachioji, Japan this summer. The TA/BCA ceremony is held annually and serves to recognize teams within our 44,000+ employees who showcase transformational and innovative thinking. My role, as a Philosophy Ambassador is to witness and advocate for our six core values, which are clearly exemplified by each of these teams. Open and honest. Customer-centric. Innovative. Passionate. Inclusive and collaborative. Accountable.

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