One of IKON’s key aims is to be the channel of choice linking manufacturers and customers in the world of document services. To fully realize this goal, the company faces the challenge of maximizing customer satisfaction while minimizing cost of execution. Over recent years, IKON has made significant progress toward meeting this goal. Since 2001, for instance, the company has driven consolidation and efficiency gains in sales, service, supply chain, and billing locations. This reduction includes a move to just five customer care centers in North America, including three mega customer care centers. Most important, this centralized operational structure gives IKON the ability to execute standardized processes, a key to meeting customer expectations and optimizing IKON’s cost-to-serve model. Progress is continuing as IKON works toward its long-term target of reducing selling and administrative expenses to less than 30 percent of revenues.

At the heart of this effort is Six Sigma, a powerful process improvement methodology that IKON is continuing to implement on an enterprise-wide basis. Methodical and data-driven, Six Sigma is a tool for reviewing and improving processes within the organization, always from the customer’s perspective. At IKON this means looking at operations ranging from delivery on equipment orders, to meter reads, to resolution of invoicing questions. The objective of each of these projects is faster completion, lower cost, and greater consistency. Over the past year, IKON has closed 25 Six Sigma projects and is operationalizing the benefits of Six Sigma in its business plans moving forward. In 2005 and beyond, the company plans to greatly broaden the scope and impact of the program as more IKON professionals take on projects and become certified as Six Sigma Black Belts.