As I mentioned earlier, an increasing amount of our work involves digital originals. I expect rapid growth in that area as we introduce services like "File, Print…Kinko’s" and continue to grow our business with mobile professionals at companies of all sizes.


WTT: Earlier, you mentioned Document Scanning Services. Who is your target market, and what kind of demand are you seeing for those services?

GK: Kinko’s Document Scanning Services help companies store, manage and locate critical information among volumes of hard copy documents. The service converts documents into fully searchable, indexed electronic images available in a variety of formats, including CD and DVD. The data created by Kinko’s Document Scanning Services integrates easily into most software or database document management systems.

Any company that needs help storing, managing and locating critical information among volumes of hard copy documents would benefit from Kinko’s Document Scanning Services. The biggest call for this service is in legal departments, disaster recovery for governments and municipalities, and management of medical or employment records.


WTT: Other than the move to Dallas, what would you say are the most significant changes at Kinko’s in the last year?

GK: I’d say that the most significant changes were around the overall outcome of our strategic planning process at the end of 2001. Rather than draw out changes we knew needed to be made, we did what I called "ripping the Band Aid off quickly." This included relocating our headquarters, installing a mostly new executive team and re-examining our field support structure. We also moved to local branch networks and more targeted use of 24-hour locations to better leverage our scale and our resources. Just one of those changes would have been an entire year’s objective for most companies.


WTT: What might we see from Kinko’s in the future? What are some of the changes you envision?

GK: Kinko’s will continue to make technology accessible and develop new technologies that add convenience and value for our customers. In the near-term, that means things like "File, Print…Kinko’s."

Kinko’s will continue to be more competitive and nimble than we have been for years. We will be known for not only our retail locations but for our Kinko’s Commercial Solutions with an increasing number of on-site facilities and outsourcing solutions.


WTT: Gary, thanks for your time today. Before we close, are there any other thoughts you would like to share with our members?

GK: Actually, there’s one more topic I’d like to touch on. One of Kinko’s Core Values involves our commitment to reducing our environmental impact. This is a long-standing part of the Kinko’s culture, which isn’t surprising considering that the company was founded the same year as Earth Day. I’ve taken up the mantra since joining Kinko’s and would like to encourage your readers to adopt sustainable business practices for their companies.

At Kinko’s, our efforts focus on several areas, including reducing and recycling waste streams, reducing energy consumption, buying renewable energy, and using and promoting the use of recycled papers. For example, we stock our copiers and printers with paper containing recycled paper content, the greeting cards we sell are from Recycled Paper Greetings, and we offer our customers the option of selecting 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper as well as tree-free and process chlorine-free stocks.

We have several programs ready to roll out later this year to further our efforts. I can’t provide details quite yet, but watch for more on this in the near future!


WTT: Thank you again for your time today, Gary. This has been very informative for our members. We look forward to checking in with you in the future.


See part one