Canon 2003 Annual Report Download - page 19

Fiscal 2003 Review
2003 marked a period of transition for the office imaging and
business machine segment, as the rising demand for network
digital MFDs indicated a shift from monochrome machines to
color products and a trend toward higher-end features.
Throughout the year Canon introduced new models,
including the first color offerings in the powerful imageRUNNER
series. The Color imageRUNNER C3200 (iRC3200N) achieved
healthy sales, adding to Canon’s market share worldwide.
Competition in the monochrome MFD segment was fierce.
The high-end iR5000 series and iR105, however, continued
to register strong sales during the term. The introduction of
the compact Satera PC1280 (Japanese market model) for
small and medium-sized businesses consolidated Canon’s
position in this important market segment.
In the color copying machine segment, the mid-speed
imageRUNNER C3100 (iR3100CN) again recorded strong sales.
For the development of MFDs, Canon makes effective use
of a deep and wide pool of technologies from the fields of optics,
mechatronics, electronic photo processing, chemical materials
and image processing. Canon’s MFDs are differentiated chiefly
by the use of leading-edge SOC (System On a Chip) technology,
the iR controller, which acts as the “brains” of networked MFDs.
The iR controller provides easy integration with customers’ IT
environments together with speedy high-quality image
processing. The result is boosted office productivity, which
has garnered uniform acclaim from business customers.
At the time of publication, the 2003 market share figures
for office imaging products were pending, but it would appear
that Canon has repeated its 2002 performance: top share for
total sales in the three major sales regions of the U.S., Europe
and Japan. As the business trend toward adopting MFDs
accelerates, Canon is confident that its market position will
grow even stronger.
Solution sales, centered on the installation of Canon’s pro-
prietary MEAP (Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform)
on MFDs, currently account for under 5% of total sales, but
the aim is to drive up total solution sales until they account
for a more significant proportion of the sales volume. MEAP,
a Java-based software platform, allows Canon Sales in Japan
and Canon Inc. to work jointly on the presentation and imple-
mentation of specialized customer solutions.
For the term, Office Imaging Products recorded sales of
¥1,061.1 billion (U.S.$9,917 million), a year-on-year increase
of 3.7%.
Fast, flexible and efficient, the networkable Color
imageRUNNER C3200 is Canon’s latest entry in the
color document processing market.
1,100,000
0
9999 0000 0101 0202 0303
880,295880,295
861,594
861,594
980,053
980,053
1,023,131
1,023,131
1,061,099
1,061,099
Sales results:
Office Imaging Products
(Millions of yen)
17