Time waits for no man in the business world, and Europe`s financial heavyweights are seeking to streamline all areas of their operations in readiness for the next big thing. The shift towards a single monetary system, corporate consolidation and the growth of Internet banking proved to be huge news in the 1990s while huge yields in the international bonds market, and massive growth in the IT equity sector are already making waves in the dawn of the 21st century. Danish giant, Jyske Bank has mirrored these trends through tremendous growth in its specialised area of private banking.
Jyske Bank specialises in private banking for individual investors and small- to medium-sized Danish corporates. The bank`s personal advisers are not paid commission on the products they recommend, and the organisation prides itself on its ability to provide dynamic financial advice based solely on its expertise. Such practices fashion the bank`s unique business concept called "Jyske forskelle", or Jyske difference. "It is Jyske Bank`s objective to be as close to the customer as possible," says Andreas Molgaard, department manager for IT development at Jyske Bank.
Although the bank`s recent IT focus has been on stabilising its systems in anticipation of the Millennium bug, it recognised that strategic printing plans must come to fruition to maintain its position as a market-leader in private banking. For Jyske Bank, this plan begins with the ability to enable any employee to print all documents in colour, presenting the customer with a brave new world of colours and graphics using direct and up-to-date language.
Pioneering the mission throughout the bank, Molgaard approached Lexmark, tasking it to supply a printing solution that would allow each employee to create personal messages in colour and to print them immediately for the customer. Earlier in 1999 when the solution was piloted in selected departments, findings indicated that customer`s needs were met more quickly and in a more personal way. The result was the overhaul of Jyske Bank`s entire printing structure, replacing almost its entire installation of Hewlett-Packard printers.
"We have always been happy with HP printers, " comments Molgaard, "but when it came to colour printing, the simple conclusion was the Lexmark had the right product at the right time, at the right price."
The co-operation agreement between Lexmark and Jyske Bank also involves implementing MarkVision; Lexmark`s centralised print monitoring and management system. By identifying potential printer errors, this software plays an important role in minimising help desk calls. Its automated features streamline a variety of IT applications including network-wide updates and installation from a central administrator`s console.
Though Jyske bank has saved many administrative hours through MarkVision, it is the extent of the colour-printing project that has got executive juices flowing. With a supply of 150 Lexmark Optra Color 1200 and 350 Lexmark Optra S 1855 printers, Carsten Ottosen, Managing Director of Lexmark Denmark, has high expectations for the solution. Given the upgrade in quality, new possibilities for professional personalisation and seamless integration with existing networks, Ottosen has little doubt that the agreement with Jyske Bank will trigger interest in the colour- printing concept across the entire European financial sector.
As Jyske Bank settles down for the end of the financial year and looks toward the trends of the next century, it recognises the importance of maintaining customer relationships and the integral role its printed documents can play in staying ahead of this curve.
"With 21 bond and equity funds, divided into a range of low, medium and high risk levels, we have a responsibility to our customers to invest in a top-quality printing solution which produces documents that clearly illustrate their financial options at a glance, " comments Molgaard. "We can go forward in 2000 knowing that we have made the right investment."
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Venture Computer
Venture Computer is the sole distributor in South Africa for Lexmark; and Tally; products including consumables, with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. They were chosen by CRNSA readers as "Distributor of the Year" in 1996, 1997 and in 1998.