ARBÖ

About the company

Around the clock, if someone dials ‘123’ in Austria, the breakdown service arrives without fail. Serving over 500,000 members, the Austrian Association of Motorists, Motorcyclists and Cyclists (ARBÖ) acts as a reliable partner for motorists. From start-up assistance, services and vehicle inspections to towing services and vehicle repairs, it understands their diverse needs. The highly-motivated ARBÖ team also offers used car checks, seasonal tests and a range of other services throughout Austria.

The challenge

Customer focus is crucial in every department of ARBÖ. Working across a total of 93 national test centres and busy driving safety centres, the ARBÖ team offers help and advice on both minor and major issues. Supporting this important service, ARBÖ’s IT department ensures the organisation’s computer systems run smoothly and have adapted the service’s print infrastructure to meet the diverse range of requirements it faces.

These everyday IT and print operations place significant demands on ARBÖ’s equipment. In addition to conventional printing schedules, a range of processes must be followed relating to authorities or central registers, for which specialised software tools are used. One example is the partial scan required to issue truck driver cards. In order to transmit the data to the Austrian Federal Electronic Data Processing Centre, complete software integration is needed, along with the official authorisation of all devices used in the process.

Exact process specifications also apply when issuing reports, inspection badges, moped licenses and so on. This means precisely adapting all interfaces on the multifunction printers and clearly defining the user settings. In addition, some locations require the equipment to be robust, especially if housed in the workshop area where there is exposure to fluctuations in temperature.

The solution

ARBÖ’s IT infrastructure is designed to maximise the available resources linked to the services the organisation provides to customers. For this reason, a range of software solutions are set up in accordance with precise process specifications. They must also meet all relevant regulatory requirements and provide employees with a reliable ‘plug-and-play’ solution in their everyday work.

Günther Frühwirth, Managing Director at the large ARBÖ Driving Safety Centre in Salzburg acted as Project Manager for the new Managed Print Services implementation: “First and foremost, our employees are vehicle technicians that work around the clock, 365 days a year,” he said. “To support their work, the infrastructure, the network and the printers need to work at the touch of a button.”

During the project, ARBÖ implemented a total of 31 OKI multifunction printers, including both colour and mono A3 and A4 devices. OKI’s Managed Print Services offering includes a comprehensive five-year plan covering hardware, printing material and complete range of related services.

Prior to a new print service being implemented, ARBÖ IT managers were offered a comprehensive trial version of OKI’s devices at the ARBÖ headquarters in Vienna and Salzburg. The ARBÖ team tested all the requirements step-by-step, with support from specialist OKI partner, Halli Data. “There were a few tricky applications, but we were able to solve them, said Frühwirth. “Once the test was complete, I knew that the solution worked.”

As part of a Managed Print Service, Frühwirth says he considers personal support to be of particular importance – something the OKI team delivered: “In a round-the-clock service, the contact person is often crucial,” he said. “During the very tough evaluation phase, OKI’s expert contact proved to be highly professional and motivated.”

The benefits

Since switching to the OKI Managed Print Service, ARBÖ has benefited from the use of 31 new OKI high-performance, robust A3 and A4 multifunction printers consisting of a range of mono and colour devices. This provides ARBÖ with increased functionalities and the ability to seamlessly integrate their new MFPs with their existing business processes relating to official bodies and registers. Additionally, IT administrators now have centralised control to set user access rights and manage default settings at specific locations, meaning employees spend less time clicking to switch between printers and paper trays.

A dedicated OKI expert was available from the consultation process right through to the implementation. Overall the MPS solution delivered was well suited for ARBÖ’s purpose and provided good value for money.

The future

After a successful implementation, Frühwirth says he is pleased with ARBÖs decision to trust OKI’s Managed Print Service: “The service and value for money provided by OKI was ideal for our needs and the project went extremely well. I would definitely make the same decision again.”

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The OKI Smart Managed Print Services programme encompasses a range of tried and tested methods and tools to establish the current state of an organisation’s print related costs and processes before OKI create a professional bespoke proposal to suit individual customer specific requirements. Our sales and engineering staff work closely with our key partners to offer Managed Print Solutions with maximum customer value.