Nuremberg, October 13, 2021. winwin Office Network AG partners met with UTAX representatives in Hamburg on September 30, 2021 under the motto "A partnership without borders". The guests from all over Germany learned first-hand about hardware and software innovations from the information management specialist. The focus of the meeting was to discuss common goals and the future of the strategic partnership. The importance of the collaboration was confirmed by both sides in August 2021 when the partnership was extended by six years.

"A successful digital future requires ambitious goals and strategic partnerships," says Christopher Rheidt, Managing Director of TA Triumph-Adler GmbH. "For me personally, it is always important that the collaboration is fun - and that is always the case with winwin. We share the same values, goals and ideas. That has been our formula for success over the last ten years and also forms the basis for our future together." The development of winwin has always been important to UTAX, said Rheidt at the event. "Our partnership is based on openness, flexibility, equality, trust, customer focus and speed. This also enables us to master current challenges such as sustainability, solution orientation, new work, digitalization and the effects of Covid-19."

"winwin was extremely exciting from the very first minute," emphasized Frank Eismann, CEO of winwin Office Network AG. "We quickly found a common answer to the question 'What do SMEs need? In order to achieve the best results, we sometimes have controversial discussions - but always respectfully and with mutual regard. This is an important basis for success, because our business is not just technology. Business is done with people and if they follow the same path, then they will be successful together. With now 52 winwin member companies, UTAX has remained the only strategic partner to date.

Sven Hagenbach, recently appointed to the board of the winwin specialist trade cooperation, saw it as a positive signal that 70 percent of members use the winwin bonus programs: "This shows that they are suitable for everyday use and bring something". The Managing Director of Hamburg-based HKP Office Solution is responsible for manufacturer and strategic partnerships at winwin. "At UTAX, the hardware is top-notch and with the solutions team around Markus Müller, this also applies to the software. Overall, we are currently doing well," says Hagenbach.

After the publisher of "Info-Markt", Hans-Joachim Schneider, had attested to the special significance of the winwin Group in the market, the industry expert gave the audience an insight into the development of office technology from the typewriter to the quantum computer. His conclusion: "The age of the lone wolf is over. What is important is a homogeneous group whose brand essence is recognizable. The Service-Company' fits in with winwin, because the merger offers a uniform service concept from Flensburg to Füssen".

Various UTAX colleagues presented the latest hardware and software solutions and services on the day - moderated by UTAX Sales Director Inland Daniel Gleixner, who came on board in March 2021. "I was sitting in your chair just a short time ago," said the new UTAX man, who has worked on the manufacturer side for many years and was most recently Managing Director of an IT system house. "That's why I also know that services and solutions make the difference when it comes to building deep customer loyalty." His goals are to align the UTAX product range even better with the project business, to become more energy-efficient - i.e. more sustainable - and to increase user-friendliness. With the presentation of the first production printing system from UTAX, the guests at the Schmidt Theater experienced a premiere. "As a winwin partner, you will be the first to see the Pro15 in the UTAX channel. For customers with an in-house print shop, this can be an interesting option that is also convincing. Include the offer in your customer discussions," Gleixner recommends.

As Andreas Meincke emphasized at the presentation of the hardware news, the UTAX product range is the most comprehensive on the market, "the advantage of which is that it is based on a uniform printer platform. This helps technicians and users". For the new UTAX DIN A3 family, which will be launched this fall, a licensing model will apply for the first time, the Product Marketing Manager announced. "Nine models are generated from four basic systems. The advantages for specialist retailers are obvious: less stocking - or storage space - less capital tied up and more flexible product ranges". The licensing approach also contributes to sustainability: "We produce less hardware, require less packaging and energy and reduce logistics". The new toner technology used in this product family, which requires less heat and therefore saves energy, is also sustainable. "This lowers the TEC values, which are particularly important for public tenders."

Simone Wunderlich, Head of TA/UTAX Dialog Marketing ITST, had a contingent of 1000 free calls for the winwin partners: "We work with passion to promote our joint topics and successfully open doors for our partners with potential customers". Time recording and climate-neutral printing are current topics for joint telephone campaigns. Maike Zumbrägel, General Manager Marketing and Corporate Communications, presented the plans of the communications department: "We have launched a digitalization offensive for UTAX, the first step of which was the relaunch of the UTAX website". The next steps planned include modernizing the partner area on the website, setting up social media channels and creating automated content that all partners will have access to. In addition, new formats will support recruiting, a digital campaign will be designed and the topic of sustainability will be integrated more strongly into communication. "We are already doing well in this area. We just need to raise awareness of the fact that UTAX already fulfills many sustainability factors". These include the UTAX smart energy manager, the reduction of emissions and noise, 75 percent less packaging, the responsible use of chemicals and the offer of climate-neutral printing, which will be launched shortly. "We are inviting five winwin partners to a design thinking workshop in November 2021 to further develop the communication tasks and tailor them to the needs of the partners in the best possible way. The aim is to adopt a joint concept by the first quarter of 2022."

Markus Müller, Head of UTAX Software Sales, and his team presented the latest software products. Practical examples from everyday office life were used to show how modern time recording, scanning processes with automated filing workflows and secure and simple two-factor smartphone authentication at the MFP make everyday work easier. "Customers' IT staff can be massively relieved by automating user management. This can be achieved with solutions that can be seamlessly combined with each other," said Müller and announced: "UTAX is making a new start in the field of document management. It has to be low-threshold, fast and inexpensive. We want to retain customers with the 'Zeitblick' time recording system, the new yuuvis cloud archive, ScannerVision and aQrate. The UTAX software sales team will support you both remotely and live".

Daniel Gleixner summarized the joint measures for the near future of the strategic partnership with winwin Office Network AG: The product line-up for multifunctional systems, expansion of the production printing business, more sales support, joint campaigns with dialog marketing, a design thinking workshop as a pilot project and other measures to further develop the topic of sustainability. "We also need more project business in the pipeline. We are already working on a new concept for implementing solution training for our winwin partners." Keynote speaker Frank Eilers concluded the event on the stage of the Schmidt Theater with in-depth insights into the phenomenon of "New Work". His conclusion: "Despite all the digitalization, proximity to people must not be lost. Technology builds bridges, but does not replace human contact. We need to find the right balance here in the future".

Christopher Rheidt and Frank Eismann agreed that they did not want to wait another ten years to celebrate the partnership between UTAX and winwin: "We hope that the spark has been ignited. We at UTAX are highly motivated to take the partnership with winwin to the next level," says Rheidt.