We are not certified FCE experts. These company analyses are based on our current knowledge of the subject.

Their work at Sapi

They both took over the family business.

To talk about the performance of use, we have to focus on Sapi Service. The activity of Sapi Service is to provide services around the refurbished printers and spare parts (made by Sapi) to their clients. Most of the time Sapi Service rent the printers and will therefore manage its installation, its maintenance and its end of life. In this case, Sapi Service stays the owner of its products. Sapi Service can also sell the printer to the client and take care of the services around (maintenance...). Sapi Service will study with the client his needs and estimate a cost per copy which will be included in the contract. The client will be invoiced every 3 months according to the evaluation of his needs (number of prints). This contract includes a number of copies, maintenance, spare parts and management of the end of life of the product. Sapi Service provides a "collection box" to its clients. Then, through a partner, they collect  back the cartridges and refurbish them. If the client exceeds the number of prints estimated in the contract, he will have to pay an amount per additional copy. Upon request, Sapi Service can also do an environmental assessment for their clients.

Sapi Service tries at the same time to communicate and educate the client on the environmental issues. But for now it is still quite difficult for the client to see more than just the economic aspect of the solution that Sapi Service is providing. But as Sara and Chiara said, "it is something that is going to get more and more important as the time goes by".

Sara and Chiara can see the importance of the human resources for the company activity. The company is going to celebrate its 30th anniversary. During all these years, they have developed specific skills, mostly manual, which are difficult to find today. These are skills that take time to acquire and therefore require time to train new people. These skills are therefore central to the group's activity, there are part of the human capital. 

Furthermore, they identify the importance of the relationship with the client, whom they see rather as a partner. Values such as trust and loyalty are at the heart of the relationship they try to establish with the client.

Due to their activity centred on the circular economy (reconditioned printers and spare parts, factories located in Italy), some positive externalities could be identified : 

• On the environment: for example, a reduction in the extraction of raw materials for the manufacture of new printers (destruction of biodiversity, use of energy...). A reduction in waste in the territory and therefore a reduction in the pressure on waste treatment centres and on the health of local populations. 

• On the society: having its factories in Italy allows to dynamize the territory, to develop some expertise and to create new jobs linked to the activity of refurbishing printers and printer spare parts.

The main cooperation that came out of the interview concerns the relationship with the client. Indeed, the role of Sapi Service is to analyze the client's needs as well as possible. The company tries to make a proposal adapted to the client. The type of contractualization (see in the performance of use part) allows an accompaniment of the client throughout the duration of the contract. Confidence and loyalty being two important resources for Sapi Service in the relationship with the client, the company tries to install long term relationships with them.

• Sapi Group web site 

• Sapi Service web site

• Be pro SRL web site 

• Sapi has no control over the products they refurbish, which come from brands such as HP, Canon, Ricoh, etc. So they have to adapt and understand the technologies of the new products to know how to refurbish these. The work of the R&D lab is focused on these issues.

• Sapi is in direct competition with the Asian market where newly build spare parts are very cheap. Also, in the client's mind, refurbished must be cheaper than new. Moreover, contrary to our believes, the operating costs of a refurbish production line are higher than for traditional production from raw materials where everything can be anticipated. Sapi's positioning in terms of price is therefore very complicated.

• As Sapi processes waste for refurbishment, it is confronted with many regulations and quality standards that take time and energy.

We focused on Sapi Service because it is the entity of the Sapi Group that allows us to make links with the FCE model.

The services offered are centred on refurbished printers and printer parts. The contract with the client, based partly on rental, is interesting because it allows Sapi to handle the entire life of the printer and its spare parts. The client's needs seem to be carefully analysed in order to create a specific contract. Sapi Service will try to create a contract based on the client's real needs in terms of number of prints in order to invoice them as close as posible to real use. This is an interesting approach that could be developed by working with the client to reduce its printing needs (less prints = longer lifetime for printers = less maintenance costs, ...) 

As the printing market is very competitive in terms of price, it is still quite difficult for Sapi to move away from a logic of volume. Indeed, they always have to sell more to be profitable to benchmark themselves against the Asian market. Some externalities that have value for the territory have been identified (on the environment and society). But it is still difficult for the group to justify  the value created on the territory, for example, and therefore to take full responsibility for them. 

Sara and Chiara put human resources at the centre of their activity. Sapi's employees have a unique expertise that it is important to take into account and develop. We have not been able to see whether these so-called intangible resources are managed, but they are at least clearly identified.

External cooperation is mainly based on the relationship with the client. They didn't tell us about any cooperation with other actors in the sector or with public institutions such as the municipality. This is a subject that could be developed in order to reach a territorial performance (meet the needs at a territorial scale).

We would like to make it clear here that there is no question of negative criticism of this project. The aim is to imagine a fictional story about he development of a similar company through the FCE concepts. It is also a way to inspire people in a concrete way.

We are in 2030, Sapi has continued its efforts. These efforts have become more productive, more relevant and more visible to more and more local actors thanks to the framework provided by the FCE...

New printers and spare parts on the Asian market are still cheaper than those refurbished by Sapi. 5 years ago, Sapi decided to switch its business model in order to get out of this price war. The race for volume was no longer consistent with their values. At the same time, the italian government tightened its circular economy policy (increasing the rate of refurbishing in the printing sector). The government is increasingly supporting its local small and medium companies in recognition of their expertise.

Sapi is no longer just a supplier of refurbished printers and parts, but a printing projects "guide".  

Achieving this new model requires a phase of experimentation with some trusted clients whose interests converge towards more sustainable activities: moving away from a logic of volume and towards a territorial performance.

Last year, Sapi worked with PastaBella, a producer of traditional sauces, on the printing of their packaging. Sapi brought together different actors to provide a relevant response to the client’s needs: storing the sauce and communicating (marketing, nutritional values, etc.). A joint offer was created with a glass recycler and a communication agency of the same territory. They all agreed on PastaBella's needs and the distribution of the monetary value created. In this way, we are moving away from a traditional linear value chain. The recycler has supplied PastaBella with 2,000 glass jars for reuse as deposits. Sapi prints the labels in its own factory, co-created with the communication agency and PastaBella. Sapi has a fleet of versatile printers in its factory to meet the occasional needs such as the one of PastaBella. Thus, PastaBella doesn't need to buy a printer and relies on Sapi's expertise.

As this last example illustrates, Sapi is attached to the territory and wants to create more and more cooperation projects like the one with PastaBella.

Alongside these projects, Sapi continues to supply refurbished printers, retaining ownership and maintaining them on the client’s site. Contracts, paid on a monthly basis, include training for the client in the use and light maintenance of the printers, an after-sales service available for heavy maintenance (breakdowns, mechanical problems, etc.) and reconditioned spare parts. In addition to this monthly fee, there is a fixed cost per copy printed. Sapi will therefore work with the client to reduce the number of copies printed to the minimum necessary. It's a win-win solution that means less maintenance for Sapi and lower printing costs for the client. Thanks to this method of contractualisation, Sapi has every interest in supplying printers that last as long as possible to ensure a regular income.

These new forms of cooperation drawn the attention of public entities, including the municipality, which sees the positive impact this is having on its territory (revitalising the local economy, reducing environmental impact, etc.). The municipality is therefore participating in the development of the solutions provided by Sapi.

French similar initiatives 

• L'imprimerie partagée (ex Flex'ink): Printing company that follows an FCE trajectory. With this new model, their revenue is based on the reducing of their client's waste.

• Lyreco: a company that seeks to cooperate with its clients, for example by assisting them with their printing projects.

• HD Automatisme: a maintenance and optimisation of industrial equipment company that follows an FCE trajectory to respond in a better way to the client's needs.