Canon Middle East (CME), a supplier of imaging technologies and services, has checked one year of direct business tasks in Saudi Arabia and frameworks its commitment to the future headway of the kingdoms economic development. In the last year, Canon has accomplished noteworthy progress in terms of its objectives related to employees, customers, and community and positive effect on income - an occasion marked by the visit of its EMEA CEO, Yuichi Ishizuka to the companys Riyadh headquarters to assess the first year of operations and meet clients and representatives on the ground.

Working from Riyadh with an extra two branches in Jeddah and Al Khobar, Canon Saudi Arabia represents the companys largest entity in the region. To enhance market reach, Canon has plans in place for further geographical enhancements in the year ahead, indicative of Canons commitment to customer service through enhanced coverage in the kingdom.

Yuichi Ishizuka, CEO EMEA at Canon, stated: It is an honour to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time following a fruitful year for Canon in Saudi Arabia. It is both urging and energizing to see the advancements occurring 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 conveyed 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, adaptable and financially savvy printing environment.

As per Canons customer feedback garnered from more than 100 respondents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 96% consumer loyalty was accomplished in the first half of 2019. Marking the 1st year of operation, Canon Saudi Arabia launched Hayakom customer programme to offer discounts on Canons business and consumer imaging products portfolios to Saudi customers. Canon has driven partnerships and initiatives including its Education for Life programme 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, included: Setting up 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 keep on delivering 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 proceeded: As we enter the second year of operations in Saudi Arabia, we will hold our emphasis on our customer service levels and after sales bolster which has been a key differentiator for us in the market. We will also stay focused to our goal to train young Saudi nationals as well as advance technologies in private and government sectors alike as exhibited by our latest partnership with King Abdul Aziz University initiatives that are lined up with the countrys Vision 2030.

With the target of 300 employees by 2023, Canon Saudi Arabia is further adding to the kingdoms economy and industrial diversification strategy as illustrated by Vision 2030, expanding opportunities for Saudi youth. Currently, 33% of Canon Saudi Arabias employees are Saudi nationals.

Exhibiting a guarantee 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), showing the companys commitment to community in the kingdom and its progressing support of higher education. The extent of the MoU is intended to support the education of graduates in terms of opportunities for employment and will incorporate the conveyance of workshops on HR matters.

Following Canons corporate philosophy of Kyosei which means living and working together for the common good, Canon Saudi Arabia will proceed to assemble and fortify its relationships with Saudi society through environmental and community welfare programmes as part of its broader CSR initiatives delivered across the region and globally. An ongoing model being its partnership with Saudi start-up, Packageha, which fabricates progressively reasonable and feasible paper packages for small businesses.