Irvine-based Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. has established a new unit to handle document and other information services for large companies.
Toshiba Managed Business Services is targeting companies with more than 500 employees in the healthcare, financial services, higher education and retail sectors.
Services include print and digital document management, software, consulting and digital signage—a new foray for Toshiba.
It will compete against Norwalk, Conn.-based Xerox Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. in Palo Alto, among others.
TMBS is the first division launched by Toshiba America since the mid-1990s, when it established Toshiba Business Solutions.
Toshiba spent 18 months planning the new unit, and has invested several million dollars into its launch. Thirty new employees were hired, with a special emphasis on sales staff, professional services consultants and software developers, according to the company.
About half the employees are based in Irvine, with the others scattered across the U.S.
The new unit is intended to leverage Toshiba America’s office equipment technology and dealership network in a bid to build market share in a growing segment that carries higher margins than traditional equipment leasing and sales.
Toshiba America, a unit of Japan-based Toshiba Corp., has annual sales of about $1 billion and employs 300 people in Orange County and 3,000 companywide. It has a network of more than 250 resellers and a direct sales team of about 100 for its printers and other products for business.
Changing Habits
The push to develop a more service-oriented unit based on project work was prompted by changing habits among the company’s business customers as they have adapted to the economic downturn and slow recovery as well as the growing use of mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets.
“They have to do more with less and are adopting mobile technologies rapidly,” said Bill Melo, general manager of TMBS. “Over the last year we’ve seen a pretty rapid shift in customer buying preference towards solutions providers.”
Melo, who also serves as vice president of marketing, services and solutions for Toshiba America, reports to Chief Executive Mark Mathews.
Chris Applegate was named director for enterprise services of the new unit, and will manage daily operations.
Clients
Toshiba America counts a roster of corporate clients, including notables such as ConAgra Foods Inc., SunTrust Banks Inc., American Airlines Inc. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., among others.
Many are moving away from outright purchases of equipment as technological advancements outpace equipment product cycles, according to Melo.
“Our aim is to engage with customers over multiple years,” he said.
TMBS also sees potential to work with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Inc., a Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based company that specializes in point-of-sale services.
The company was established in April through a joint ownership with IBM Corp.’s retail services and solutions unit and Toshiba Tec Corp., a retail arm of the parent company.
Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions sees some $1.1 billion in annual sales and counts some of the world’s largest retailers as customers, including Wal-Mart and Starbucks
Digital Signage
The shift from paper documentation to digital data prompted TMBS to enter the digital signage segment, which ranges from conventional marquees to electronic monitoring, registration and payment systems.
That can range from interactive maps at a maternity ward to bedside digital screens, where patients can watch TV, order food or surf the Internet while their doctors can bring up their medical history and order medications on the spot.
Toshiba America recently relocated to a larger space at 9740 Irvine Blvd., home to a cluster of companies, including TMBS, under the parent banner.
