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March 11, 2025
Perhaps the word rebrand has a brand problem? When stitched together, those seven letters suggest a cosmetic makeover shaped entirely by a marketing mandate.
All about changing the logo, colour palette and typography. Sometimes even the name.
Endless brainstorming, constant post-it noting and non-stop mood-boarding. And don’t forget a new slogan and extensive out-of-home media and customer journey touchpoint campaigns.
The fun stuff on steroids, right?
Undoubtedly, this is critical work in a market run by reputation. But surface-level this is not… for the gleaming new exterior can only shine if the foundational interior is reconstructed and rejuvenated.
A marketing rebrand without strategic sales transformation is a vanity project.
“I’ve learned to be more patient,” recalled Stephen Sims, Chief Customer Officer, FUJIFILM Business Innovation (BI) Australia.
“You come into these types of roles and you think, you know what? I’m going to get this done in 12 months. But it always takes longer than you think.”
Sims is approaching three years at FUJIFILM BI, a company he joined in June 2022 with the authority to reposition a heritage brand in a highly competitive Australian market.
With almost 30 years of managed services experience to draw on, this is a leader well-versed in the art of 360-degree transformation. Turning tankers is his forte.
“It’s easy to think that because I’d done this before, then I knew what to do,” Sims said. “Nah. Forget about it. You can’t rush this type of work.
“You’ve got to follow the process, do the right foundational work and ensure that everyone is aligned on the journey before you see any results. I’m not a very patient person at the best of times but I think that’s something you learn as you get older.”
Under the stewardship of Sims, FUJIFILM BI has charted a “bold new course” to simplify offerings, consolidate brands and enhance go-to-market capabilities.
Formerly Fuji Xerox, the company has completed a widespread repositioning plan designed to extend services reach beyond traditional legacy offerings in document solutions, graphics and printing.
This is the reimagining of a managed service provider (MSP) on the largest scale possible.
“As soon as I joined and got to understand the capabilities of the group, I was surprised because most people associate the business with either print or film,” Sims acknowledged.
“Because of our broad capability, it was obvious that we needed to reposition our brand in market. But before we could jump into that, we had to ensure we had everything in the back-end ready to go.
“That process has been thorough and has taken a couple of years to finalise.”
As part of the transformation, sub-brands FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia and FUJIFILM Upstream Solutions have been rebranded to FUJIFILM IT Services and FUJIFILM Process Automation respectively.
This followed a string of key acquisitions during the past 15 years, notably Upstream Solutions (2010) and CodeBlue Australia (2020) locally, plus the global acquisition of MicroChannel in 2023.
The integration of these assets has reinforced “deeper collaboration” across all Fujifilm Group entities in Australia, including FUJIFILM Australia, FUJIFILM MicroChannel and FUJIFILM Data Management Solutions.
For Sims, this in line with the streamlined and client-centric focus of the transformation.
“When you add all of that up, we have a very comprehensive story around digital transformation – probably one of the broadest in the industry,” Sims said.
“But we had never previously went to market with a clear picture across all of it. Most of the time we still just talked about print and documents which had been the way for many, many years.
“We’re now in a transformation phase having found strong clarity on what we want to do and what we want to be known for.”
360-degree transformation
Sipping coffee in a side cafe off Martin Place in a bustling Sydney CBD, Sims was still energised by a customer meeting prior in which the new vision was showcased.
“We’ve very fortunate to have strength in the FUJIFILM brand,” he added.
“Our strong link to quality means we’re not trying to break into customers with an unknown brand. Instead, our customers are very open to having a broader discussion with us.”
Okay. So the facts have been established:
Let’s talk about the how.
“You have to address everything – customer, product, sales, people, marketing etc,” Sims outlined.
“But what order do you address them? Always focus on the people side first because if you don’t have the right leadership then you’re going to fail. Nobody will embrace change and they won’t live the same values as you and the new direction of the business.”
Putting the right people in the right roles is easier said than done in a market short on top leadership talent.
“Sure, the right recruitment takes a long time but you have to do it before you can start the process,” Sims accepted. “If you start with one or two teams lacking the right leadership then you’re wasting your time – nothing will happen.
“We have always had a strong sales and customer capability within each of our business units but we wanted to create a group that sat across the top.
“When we win a customer, we can manage that customer across the entire portfolio to ensure a seamless experience. We didn’t have that so had to build the capability.”
Sims has 10 general managers across the business, five of which have joined within the last 18 months. All now operate in a revamped structure based on five transformation pillars:
Now on step five, FUJIFILM BI is primed to reap the rewards of a methodical transformation that started at the most challenging juncture.
“Sales transformation,” Sims explained. “So many people told me that the older workforce would be the hardest to change and that they wouldn’t make it.
“But I found the opposite to be true. People in their 50s and even 60s are fully embracing the change – they are investing in their own personal development and learning digital and social selling.”
Sims is no stranger to overhauling sales strategies in the pursuit of services excellence, with almost three decades of market experience leading high-performing sales teams in Australia and the UK. Notably, the experienced executive was formerly CEO of Brennan and General Manager of Business Expansion at NBN Australia.
“I’ve gone through large-scale transformations in the past and the last time, it was roughly a 30-30-30 split,” Sims explained.
“Meaning, 30% of people were already where we wanted them to be. We thought we could develop 30% and then maybe replace 30% over time.”
This time around?
“I’d put it at 25-25-50,” Sims continued. “We found that 25% were already there, 25% were developed and then we’ve reduced the size of our sales team significantly as we’ve shifted from a print centric model to a solution centric model.
“We’ve been recruiting new people in the solution space – in areas such as process automation and IT services – but that brings another challenge given the talent market. Trying to recruit high-performing sales and pre-sales people in Australia is one of the biggest challenges currently.”
While Sims acknowledged initial surprise at the percentage split – given the difference in breakdown from past transformation programs – he was quick to accept a valuable lesson that even if processes are similar, how an organisation responds to those processes will always be different.
“Take your experience from the past but don’t assume it’s going to be the same each time,” he advised. “Take the fundamentals but learn new things and tweak along the way.”
The pros associated with transforming a sizeable heritage brand such as FUJIFILM are naturally counterbalanced by the cons of having to change the corporate engine while the plane is still flying.
A blank canvas would have been so much simpler.
“Of course, if you set this up from scratch you’d do it in a certain way,” Sims said.
In an ideal scenario, this would consist of one large sales team incorporating account managers and business development managers, supported by specialists and pre-sales expertise.
“But we didn’t have that luxury,” Sims continued.
“We went through a period of trying to transform too quickly and the team suffered change fatigue. We started to see that the interaction and engagement was starting to drop off so we took a pause.”
At the height of the change management program, FUJIFILM BI was running online and face-to-face boot camp training, as well as ad hoc development initiatives.
“Then we let everyone have a little breather and refresh,” Sims explained.
The business resumed activities aligned to a different model – one full-day a month of mandatory training and development enablement for each sales person within the organisation.
Sims and his team have also relied on the specialisation of Korn Ferry on sales effectiveness and sales enablement, plus LinkedIn on the digital aspect of the change.
The end result is a five-pronged go-to-market strategy spanning:
“We’re moving away from product or technology language to better reflect our customer interactions,” Sims added. “Some customers had no idea that we had this capability which is why we’ve gone through the rebrand and sales transformation.”
Cutting through in a competitive market
As FUJIFILM BI emerges from an intense period of internal soul searching, the revamped company strategy will be powered by a new marketing initiative and slogan, ‘Work Happily Ever After’.
The ducks are in a row and the rubber is ready to hit the road.
But as Mike Tyson put it, ‘everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face’.
In Australia alone, as many as 10,000 service providers swarm the market. Granted, heavy mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity is significantly reducing that count and not all MSPs are made equal – some large, some small.
Yet the numbers are high by local market figures meaning even the best-laid plans can be disrupted by relentless competition. Hence why Sims is under no illusion that the job is only half done.
“Yes, it’s a crowded market in most areas related to a single offering – so MSP vs. MSP on a point product can be very similar,” Sims accepted.
“There’s only a very small number that have the breadth of service that we provide however. And certain customers like that angle because vendor consolidation continues to be a top priority for CIOs in Australia.”
In 2025, 63% of Australian CIOs will consolidate the number of outsourcing partners in an overhaul of third-party services capabilities. That’s according to Moxie Research, which surveyed 202 IT decision-makers in Australia during January 2025.
Based on the data, services engagement will significantly evolve during the next 6-12 months as 80% of CIOs outsource strategic innovation projects to key partners, while 66% will increase reliance on consultative value partners.
This suggests a shift away from volumes of transactional resellers in favour of a concentrated group of high-value providers.
“Exactly,” Sims continued. “That’s a great opportunity for us as we introduce our new and unique offering.”
The jewel in the crown is a “no lock-in contacts” model designed to differentiate from a market fixated on keeping the customer pinned down for lengthy periods of time.
“I know managed services incredibly well and do you know the reason why most contracts are three or five years?” Sims asked.
“That means, two out of three reasons are not customer focused and are driven by the MSP,” Sims stated.
“This is another example of how we’re trying to differentiate our offerings and value to the customer, rather than just following the same approach. It’s changed the culture and behaviour of our organisation because our staff have embraced this – they know customers can just walk away if we drop our quality.”
Armed with a 66% swing in his favour, Sims is pressing ahead with plans to achieve aggressive growth in what many consider to be a flat market.
“Are you asking for a hard number?” he responded. “I always say this to the team and I’ve said it in other organisations that I believe we should always be able to grow 20% per year.”
Sims’ positive stance is at odds with a market seemingly in reverse however.
Based on Moxie Research, the most pressing strategic priority for Australian CIOs during the next 6-12 months is still cost control and expense management. Improving profitability levels is also a top consideration, as well as enhancing operational efficiency and collaboration.
“Sure but if we’re executing well – with the right offering that is competitively priced and has great customer support – then why wouldn’t it be achievable?” Sims questioned. “Some people say that it’s unrealistic in a declining market but it’s something I honestly believe.
“You achieve that 20% by breaking up the results into small, incremental chunks of improvement. This isn’t about hunting for one big win, rather improving four or five elements by 10% to arrive at those outcomes.”
Opportunities do exist within a core base of businesses focused on accelerating the journey to technology modernisation in 2025 however, as highlighted by 78% of Australian CIOs surveyed by Moxie Research.
“If the MSP industry was booming it would be because businesses wanted to expand and incumbent providers would no longer be big enough,” Sims outlined.
“But it’s also the same in reverse because if the market is declining then businesses are seeking disruption and change. Those MSPs not providing great service become exposed and that in turn creates a lot of market movement.”
Mirroring Sims’ sentiment, the goal of empowering organisations to simplify operations, enhance efficiency and stay ahead in a digital-first world is ever-present within the corridors of power at FUJIFILM BI.
According to Yasuyuki Matsumoto – Managing Director of FUJIFILM BI in Australia – the change heralds a “new era” for the Japanese provider in Oceania.
“Our clients demand a trusted partner to navigate complex challenges, and we believe we are uniquely positioned to deliver real impact,” he said.
Integrating consulting and advisory expertise, managed IT services, process automation and advanced communication solutions is seldom straightforward however – which is why the patient approach of headquarters in Tokyo is all the more reassuring.
Yes, Oceania is viewed as a growth engine for digital transformation and managed services and yes, there’s always room to move faster and grow quicker.
But realism is key.
“We’re very much built on the model of open communication, trust, honour and respect which are core Japanese values,” Sims shared.
“It’s a very different approach to US companies that run monthly calls on hitting targets. We don’t have that type of pressure, rather what’s the strategy and are we aligned to that strategy? If so, then let’s execute perfectly and we’ll achieve the results we want.”
An example of this supportive nature in action has been the regulator visits of Naoki Hama – President and CEO of FUJIFILM BI – from Japan to Australia.
“They’re investing, they’re patient and they’re supportive,” Sims said. “If we’re successful then over time we will emerge as one of the leaders in this space.
“If I say Volvo, you think safety. If I say. Ferrari, you think speed. If I say FUJIFILM BI, we want you to think digital transformation.”
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