Canon Middle East (CME), a provider of imaging technologies and services, has marked one year of direct business operations in Saudi Arabia and outlines its commitment to the future advancement of the kingdom's economic development. In the last year, Canon has achieved significant progress in terms of its objectives related to employees, customers, and community and positive impact on revenue - an occasion marked by the visit of its EMEA CEO, Yuichi Ishizuka to the company's Riyadh headquarters to evaluate the first year of operations and meet customers and employees on the ground. Operating from Riyadh with an additional two branches in Jeddah and Al Khobar, Canon Saudi Arabia represents the company's largest entity in the region. To enhance market reach, Canon has plans in place for further geographical enhancements in the year ahead, indicative of Canon's commitment to customer service through enhanced coverage in the kingdom. Yuichi Ishizuka, CEO EMEA at Canon, said: "It is an honour to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time following a successful year for Canon in Saudi Arabia. It is both encouraging and exciting to see the developments taking place in what is a constantly evolving and dynamic market, creating a multitude of business opportunities as the country continues in its development and the achievement of Vision 2030. As we progress into our second year of business in the kingdom and beyond, we will continue to focus on the three pillars that have enabled our success so far: our customers, employees and the wider community." In regards its customers, the company has delivered several significant projects in the last year across industry sectors including education, banking, manufacturing, government, the arts and healthcare. Canon has delivered over 40 Managed Print service solutions across the kingdom, all of which carefully designed around its customers' specific requirements, managing their complex print infrastructure enabling them to create an efficient, flexible and cost-effective printing environment. According to Canon's customer feedback garnered from more than 100 respondents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 96% customer satisfaction was achieved in the first half of 2019. Marking the 1st year of operation, Canon Saudi Arabia launched Hayakom customer program to offer discounts on Canon's business and consumer imaging products portfolios to Saudi customers. Canon has driven partnerships and initiatives including its ‘Education for Life' program as well as participated in leading industry events such as Saudi Print and Pack. Shadi Bakhour, B2B Business Director and Country Manager for Canon Saudi Arabia, added: "Establishing Canon Saudi Arabia last year was a strategic decision that is reaping considerable business benefits in its first year with a promising outlook in terms of the commercial opportunities that lie ahead. Not only have we successfully grown our team in Saudi Arabia, we have also established some strong relationships with leading business brands operating in the market. Our objectives are clear for the next two years – we will continue to deliver a high quality of service to our customers ensuring that we achieve and maintain a market leader position as we have done across other Middle Eastern markets." He added: "As we enter the second year of operations in Saudi Arabia, we will retain our focus on our customer service levels and after sales support which has been a key differentiator for us in the market. We will also remain committed to our goal to train young Saudi nationals as well as advance technologies in private and government sectors alike as demonstrated by our latest partnership with King Abdul Aziz University – initiatives that are aligned with the country's Vision 2030." With the target of 300 employees by 2023, Canon Saudi Arabia is further contributing to the kingdom's economy and industrial diversification strategy as outlined by Vision 2030, increasing opportunities for Saudi youth. Currently, 33% of Canon Saudi Arabia's employees are Saudi nationals. Demonstrating a commitment to the community, the first year of operations saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Canon and King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah (KAU), demonstrating the company's commitment to community in the kingdom and its ongoing support of higher education. The scope of the MoU is designed to support the education of graduates in terms of opportunities for employment and will include the delivery of workshops on HR matters. Following Canon's corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei' which means living and working together for the common good, Canon Saudi Arabia will continue to build and strengthen its relationships with Saudi society through environmental and community welfare programmes as part of its broader CSR initiatives delivered across the region and globally. A recent example being its partnership with Saudi start-up, Packageha, which manufactures more affordable and sustainable paper packages for small businesses. — SG
