ECUADOR - Telecoms & IT

Evolving Legacy

Country Manager, Xerox

Bio

Omar Monroy has a diploma in business management from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (TEC Monterrey), and has studied at American Junior College and the Escuela Politécnica del Ejército E.S.P.E, both in Quito. Before taking on his current position, he served as manager of corporate accounts sales, managing both sales and operations in this area, as well as other notable positions within Xerox. Since 1994, he has received numerous awards including the highest grade of recognition within the company on five occasions, and was responsible for Xerox Ecuador being awarded Best Emerging Market Affiliate on four occasions.

"The government in Ecuador is an important customer that has multiple service requirements."

How has Xerox contributed to the economic development of Ecuador?

While Xerox has been growing annually, our goal has also been to promote our team’s efficiency and productivity as much as needed to achieve the right goals. In that sense, for many years, we have set out our expectations according to a number of metrics such as customer and distributor satisfaction, which are both on the rise. Paper use is decreasing daily due to several environmental factors, adding up to efficiency and cost savings. For many years, this has been a negative trend for us, because we have been focused on printing paper. Now, we have recognized that the only way to survive in this multimedia world is by concentrating on creating efficient solutions in document management. Therefore, Xerox has always been a partner for our customers and not just a retailer. We focus on a few different market segments, including SMBs and top-tier corporates. On these three levels we have always made an effort to provide efficiency through consulting to our business partners. Our consulting services are based on managing their documentation processes to better understand how we can assist them. Being a business partner implies generating networking relations at all corporate levels and investing money, time, and technology. After all, we have a similar approach to smaller businesses. As a result of our consulting services, we have transformed our business model. At the same time, we have promoted the digital document process geared toward customer productivity.

What is the importance of Ecuador within Xerox’s global portfolio?

Xerox Ecuador has been the best operation model around the globe over the past four or five years. There are four main regions, including the US and Canada, Asia, Europe, and the emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and the CIS. Among these 180 countries, Ecuador has delivered the best performance and YoY growth. We have also had the biggest market share increase and implemented many unique services over the past three years.

“The government in Ecuador is an important customer that has multiple service requirements.”

Why is the Ecuadorean market such a strong performer for Xerox?

There are several reasons behind this, one being that Xerox has been here for around 48 years. For instance, our success is our passion; we’re proud to be Ecuadorean and hard workers. Also, our customer’s trust due to our value proposition is key.

Last year you mentioned that Xerox still faced the challenge of being perceived to be focused on paper. What have you been doing to change that?

This has been hard for us to be honest. We’ve been emphasizing Xerox’s involvement in digitalization and the outsourcing of technology business processes, including the banking segment. Our communication to top executives is that Xerox offers IT services and more. We are now closing deals on this matter with some of the largest companies in the region. This organization is divided horizontally and vertically, meaning that we have units that focus on specific segments such as electronic archiving and banking and education services. One of our projects, Yachay Laboratories, is where we’re investing to develop new service technologies.

How important is the public sector for Xerox in Ecuador?

The government in Ecuador is an important customer that has multiple service requirements. There are around 6,000 companies in this segment, meaning the government is our biggest client.

Looking forward, what are your major goals for the next few years?

First of all, our customers are our main focus. Xerox is doing well in terms of revenue, profit, market share, inventory, and collections. However, our purpose is to leave a legacy based not only on financial results. Secondly, our customers are going to receive fewer documents printed by Xerox, because we are corporate citizens conscious about the environment. Consequently, we develop software, technology, and electronics in order to cut down on paper use. We also keep social investment in mind to reinvest our earnings in social projects. For example, we reforest native trees on our main forests in Quito, having planted more than a thousand trees. We have recycling strategies for toners and cartridges. Last but not least, we’re keen to develop our employees, since they are our main asset.