Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. (headquarters: 5-2-10 Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; president: Michiyoshi Kuriyama) unveiled a new service featuring the first full-color credit card statement in the industry to its cardholders, which provides the latest information on products and services personalized to the individual needs of each cardholder based on his or her information such as address, age and past credit card usage. The service is scheduled to start with statements issued on March 28.
With the new service, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. has partnered with JAIS Ltd. (headquarters: 1-18-10 Otowa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; president: Kazuhiko Sugimoto), a wholly-owned subsidiary, which offers systems integration, operation and printing services, of the Japan Research Institute Ltd. (headquarters: 16 Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Shunichi Okuyama) in the creation of an innovative digital printing system with the installation of 24 units of the Xerox iGen3, a full-color digital print system.
The new printing center at JAIS realizes digital on-demand print management to offer unprecedented, highly advanced information in data management services.
Information services for Sumitomo Mitsui Cardholders
Sumitomo Mitsui Card was first in Japan to issue the VISA card, and it aspires to become the main credit card for more than 13 million of its members.
The itemized credit card statement sent monthly is one of the closest contact channels with its members, as well as a means of offering highly personalized information tailored to individual needs.
The newly introduced service has been made possible with the introduction of the latest technologies at Fuji Xerox to realize full-page, full-color printing of credit card statements-an innovative step taken for the first time in the industry. Full-color printing enables sophisticated color images and text, enhancing the visibility and recognition of information for each member. Photos and color illustrations introducing information such as locations of Sumitomo Mitsui Card member stores or premium gifts in exchange for card points, are effective in adding visual appeal as well as value-added information to card statements.
In addition, the linkage of mission-critical systems with printing systems has also made possible finer segmentation of member categories by individual attributes and credit card history and delivery of more personalized information to each member. Sumitomo Mitsui Card plans to conduct enhanced one-to-one marketing based on rich customer information analysis based on CRM (Customer Relationship Management), to offer, for example, a brand shop's sale information to a female office worker in her 20s living in Tokyo who often use the card in boutiques, or a Kansai-area golf course information to a male in his 50s living in Kansai who often goes golfing on weekends. With a finer segmentation and information offering, Sumitomo Mitsui Card aims to strengthen its relationship with members and further enhance customer satisfaction.
The service is scheduled to start sequentially with statements issued on March 28. The service will be introduced simultaneously for all credit card companies affiliated with the VISA Japan Association (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; chairman: Michiyoshi Kuriyama) organized by bank-affiliated credit card companies including Sumitomo Mitsui Card.
Features of the new printing center at JAIS
JAIS Ltd., has been operating at the outsourcing center for the Japan Research Institute Ltd., offering online printing of mainframe computer output data and offline printing for detailed data catering to the specific needs of each customer.
The new printing center has been created with 24 units of the Xerox iGen3 on-demand print system, for full-scale entry in the digital printing service (DPS) market, which is expected to expand rapidly in the near future.
Application of the print-on-demand (POD) feature is expected to produce low cost, high quality data printing and, at the same time, to realize one-to-one marketing, which is viewed as an effective method for boosting marketing. This system has made possible information services that offer unparalleled added value by meeting individual customer's needs.
JAIS hopes to expand its business operation further by positioning the new service as its core in further boosting its POD business.
Fuji Xerox's digital printing
Fuji Xerox is aggressively promoting its production services business offering digital printing system equipment and operation services along with its copy/multifunction machines equipment and printer businesses.
In particular, attention is being directed to digital printing for the integration of mission-critical data management and document management. With the introduction of a new information service to members of the Sumitomo Mitsui Card, the company has succeeded in a large-scale installation of the Xerox iGen3, a high-speed, high-quality full-color on-demand printing system.
The system will create state-of-the-art on-demand processing for printing millions of documents-each tailored to the individual needs of the recipient. Fuji Xerox plans to continue offering its services as a partner in business growth with Sumitomo Mitsui Card and JAIS.
