In an interview with ET Online, Manabu Yamazaki, President & CEO of Canon India, elaborates on the company’s offerings, its focus beyond cameras and its positioning as a comprehensive provider of digital imaging solutions. He underlines Canon’s commitment to sustainability, including initiatives like planting a tree for every multifunction device (MFD) sold. Edited excerpts:ET: How is Canon supporting MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), which are crucial for the economic growth of the country?
Manabu Yamazaki: We have always focused on introducing new products and innovative technologies that assist our customers in their digital transformation journey by streamlining their infrastructure and increasing efficiency. Supporting SMEs and the startup ecosystem has been a core focus area of our enterprise business. We offer customised products and solutions for businesses to enhance their data management infrastructure and support their business growth. With a significant growth in the SME sector in tier-2 and tier-3 markets, we have assisted many vendors, printers and copy-shop owners with tailor-made solutions for their ecosystem and requirements, helping them scale up their customer base.
Our holistic office automation portfolio has put us at the forefront of client support in today’s competitive environment. Industries such as BFSI, SMEs, and manufacturing are adopting office automation solutions to improve work-life productivity, leading to increased demand for our office automation tools and document management systems (DMS). Our new consumer printers further support the growth of MSMEs. For small and medium-sized businesses, the new MAXIFY series offers low-cost printing and water-resistant printouts, combined with a refillable ink tank system. For SMB and enterprise customers, our new compact image CLASS laser printers are designed to enhance productivity with high-speed and auto-duplex printing.
ET: Tell us about your sustainability and carbon neutrality goals. How is the brand working with vendors on aspects like sustainable sourcing, adopting green technology, and adhering to global sustainability standards?
MY: Globally, Canon is committed to achieving net-zero CO2 emissions from our business by 2050. This commitment encompasses the entire product lifecycle — operational sites, supply chain and customer use. We meticulously quantify emissions and leverage technology to reduce them. Our commitment extends to supplier selection as well. As part of our sustainability strategy, we mandate environmental conservation activities throughout the supply chain, promoting a collective commitment to sustainability across our network of suppliers.
We have also introduced printing technology powered by renewable energy that consumes less power and produces lower emissions. We plant a tree for every multifunction device (MFD) sold, which has resulted in the plantation of over 35,000 trees.
ET: What goals have you set for the new year?
MY: We are focused on becoming the fastest-growing sales company among all groups, with a quality-first approach across all pillars. In 2024, we aim to continue being at the epicentre of innovation, solidifying our industry leadership as a futuristic and innovative technology brand, with henkaku (Japanese for transformation) as our core mission. By integrating imaging solutions in more areas, we plan to expand business propositions and create business avenues. We will continue to go above and beyond to create meaningful experiential offerings for the new-age informed customer. A key focus area will be to enhance our reach across the country to further hone the technology ecosystem. Our goal is to maintain the dynamic momentum, stay on top of changing industry trends, and consistently delight our customers through experimentation and innovation as a one-stop shop for all digital imaging needs.
ET: Canon says it underwent a significant transformation in 2023. Can you shed some light on its transformation strategy and its implementation?
MY: In 2023, we kickstarted the next phase of our growth story in the country with henkaku, meaning transformation, as the key strategy. Transformation was the cornerstone of our progress, revolutionising three key pillars: product & service offerings, corporate infrastructure & workflow, and organisation structure.
The first step in implementing this transformation strategy was the launch of the company’s ‘Live Office’ in Mumbai and Kolkata to bring together all portfolios on one platform. We expanded our innovation-first imaging solutions to cater to the evolving demands of customers and businesses. For instance, we launched 16 consumer printers to address the new-age requirements of SOHOs, SMBs, hybrid working professionals and students. On the B2B front, we entered cybersecurity and further revolutionised the professional printing industry by introducing innovative products, keeping in mind the dynamic needs of vendors and print shops. Overall, transformation dictated our dedication to delivering a quality-first approach across all pillars of business to revolutionise experiences and uphold our legacy as a total hardware and software solutions provider.ET: What is so special about this Live Office product offering?
MY: It represents an end-to-end experiential journey, aligning with Canon’s entire flagship ecosystem available for viewing and interaction on a single platform. This new-age office infrastructure integrates technology and experiences by creating a seamless and immersive experience for all our key stakeholders, including employees, partners and customers. It is aimed at empowering stakeholders to learn about Canon’s diverse product portfolio.
Live Office is a significant investment that we intend to implement across key locations in India in the coming year and is a step up from other successful experiential formats such as Image Square, PIXMA Zone, BIS Lounge and NVS experience centres.
ET: What have been your key launches this year? Which segment has seen the most growth?
MY: Our professional printing segment, which has recorded exponential growth this year, saw the introduction of innovative products like imagePRESS V and imagePROGRAF TC-20 series which cater to the evolving needs of jobbers, print shops, remote worksites and AECM segment. For enterprises, we launched an easy-to-operate document scanner and MFDs, that are designed to meet the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Further, while we strengthened our consumer printing portfolio with 16 products supporting new-age working situations, the imaging portfolio was also packed with launches, wherein we introduced specialised products based on industry requirements such as the EOS R8 for wedding professionals and EOS R50, EOS R100 and PowerShot V10 for content creators.
We also launched three new broadcasting cameras to propel growth in the booming industry with two indoor 4K Remote PTZ Cameras namely and outdoor PTZ cameras.
The response so far on all our key launches has been tremendous and our trusted customer base has been a core factor that has enabled us to maintain industry leadership over the years. For instance, we have maintained the No.1 market share in the overall laser copier market (A3/A4 category) for 7 consecutive years since 2016, along with the No. 1 share in the DILC global market for an impressive 20 consecutive years. Our relentless pursuit of excellence has led to a two-fold increase in newer customer segments, including cinema, OTT, education and vlogging, compared to 2019.
ET: With the rapid pace of digital transformation, how is Canon adapting to the changing needs of Indian consumers?
MY: As businesses dynamically evolve in India, Canon has been transforming its product portfolio. Automation remains the biggest trigger for sectors as they look to simplify repetitive daily tasks, improving convenience, efficiency and productivity. To enable this, we introduced office automation tools and software solutions that have been witnessing massive demand from printing, BFSI, healthcare and startups as they play a crucial role in data analytics and assisting organisations on their digital transformation journey. Our cloud-based solutions have helped customers extensively in simplifying their business operations and reducing costs, as the total ownership cost is much less compared to on-premises solutions. To further empower businesses with smart automation solutions, we also entered the cyber security domain through a strategic partnership with ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity. The platform provides robust protection against various cyber threats, including targeted attacks, ransomware, zero-day threats, advanced persistent threats and phishing attacks.
