The NSW Government Roads and Maritime Services has awarded Fuji Xerox Australia a $27.7 million, 18-month managed print and mailing contract.
Technically, the new contract, which runs until the end of November 2018, is for the provision of management and business professionals and administrative services.
However, it is understood that the arrangement will specifically see Fuji Xerox Australia provide integrated system, printing and mail house services associated with the NSW Roads and Maritime Services road toll notice activities.
“The contract is for the production of toll notices in connection with unpaid tolls on Sydney tollways,” a spokesperson for the agency told ARN.
The deal adds weight to the argument that there is still money to be made in print, despite a contraction in the broader printing industry sector over recent years.
Just three months ago, it emerged that Konica Minolta Business Solutions Australia had signed a massive print contract with the Australian Department of Defence worth more than $79 million.
That contract, which came with a duration of almost four years, started on 7 March and was the result of an agreement established using the Whole-of-Government Major Office Machines (MOMS) Panel II.
The arrangement between Defence and Konica Minolta Business Solutions sees the company provide equipment and support services enabling the procurement of network printers, multi-functional devices (MFDs) and scanners, together with maintenance, support and consumables, excluding paper.
At the same time, Fuji Xerox Australia is no stranger to engaging in government contracts of all shapes and sizes. In the past two months alone, the company has won well over $1 million in contracts with Federal agencies and governmental departments.
These include a $492,000 contract from the Bureau of Meteorology for the provision of printer support services, and a $375,000, five-year deal from the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for the provision of multifunction printers and monthly click charges.
The latest lucrative deal with the NSW Government comes as Fuji Xerox Australia works to shed the shadow left by an “inappropriate” accounting practices scandal that rocked the company’s leadership ranks in Japan.
Fujifilm Holdings revealed on 12 June that “inappropriate accounting practices” at its Fuji Xerox subsidiaries in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) resulted in an estimated $450 million hit to net income over a six-year period.
It emerged, via a report arising from an independent review of the company’s accounting practices, that the practices in question emerged and were widely used under the leadership of the managing director of Fuji Xerox in Australia and New Zealand at the time.
While the managing director in question has since departed the company – with a $1 million golden handshake – the company is working to put the incident behind it.
“Over the last 12 months Fuji Xerox Australia has implemented a robust corporate governance structure to support sustainable and responsible operations,” the company told ARN in a statement late last month.
“The findings of the report will not negatively affect the level of service offered to customers nor will it impact the company’s ability to fulfil its contractual obligations under existing agreements,” it said.
